One beautician spends up to 14 hours painting a single set of nails with intricate 3D designs – and says her most expensive set costs $1,800.
Lisa Kim, 27, started painting her nails in 2022, but at first she would only use block colors.
She quickly realized that to get noticed for her work she would need to think outside the box and began creating incredible designs, including an afternoon tea set, an ocean themed design and a “wicked” theme.
Lisa can spend anywhere from two to 14 painstaking hours on each intricate design – which she usually pulls out on the spot.
Clients pay anywhere from $110 to $140 an hour for her work.
Lisa, from Melbourne, Australia, said: “When I started doing nails I knew I wanted to be the one in Melbourne known for crazy designs.
“It took a lot of work to get to this point.
“Fortunately, I’m very lucky to have clients who trust me.
“When I first started, I was doing very simple designs, doing what everyone else was doing.
“I realized that what I have to do to be different is to think outside the box with my designs.”
Lisa started her business three years ago after quitting her job as a table game seller at a casino.
She attended a nail course and quit her job with no clients.
Lisa said: “I don’t like to be plain or simple, I like shocking people.
“I started straight away from COVID – Melbourne had a huge lockdown, so I started doing nails full time.”
Lisa says she doesn’t practice her designs – choosing to do them for the first time with her client.
She asks the client what color or theme they would like and is usually given the freedom to do what they want.
Lisa said: “Most of the patterns you see on my clients are the first time I’ve ever done it.
“I made wings on the spot.
“My usual meetings will last about two and a half hours.
“The longest meeting I had lasted 14 hours.
“It was ocean themed with a lava lamp effect, each finger had a different sea animal.”
Lisa said she gets a lot of inspiration for her designs from watching old Alexander McQueen runways.
She said: “I take a lot of my designs from catwalk pieces, especially Alexander McQueen.
“His vintage pieces are very dark and edgy, his fashion pieces tell a story and I’m trying to do that through the nails.
“Doing my nails is my creative outlet, it calms my mind.”
On average, Lisa will take on one to two clients per week.
Lisa said, “In a good month, I’ll make $8,000 to $9,000 with nails, social media and brand deals.
“Most of my income comes from the nail and nail art classes I teach.
On average, I’ll have one or two clients a week and spend the rest of my time doing social media or working with brands.
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Image Source : nypost.com