Hair, makeup, nail and voiceover artist Tanya Barlow is one of our absolutely favourite people. A true artistic virtuoso, the ultimate ensemble of talent, Tanya has hosted an Ensemble panel discussion on size inclusivity, talked readers through her morning skin routine, allowed us into her glorious living space, bonded with Lorde over being stoned at the nail salon and bought metaphorical as well as literal warmth and vibrancy into our lives.
When it came to creating our first puzzle, we knew Tanya had to be involved. She’d previously floated the idea of a nail and cake editorial to Zoe, so when Rebecca suggested a puzzle set around a cake and jewels, we saw marrying the two as kismet. We’ve thrown many challenges to Tanya since launching Ensemble (see: all of the above!) and she’s surpassed expectations with every one of them. The puzzle was no exception.
Tanya pulled out her magpie drawer of baubles and proceeded to spend nine hours crafting the perfect nails for our plan. The nails she created were so beautiful and deserving of their own, dedicated close-up, giving us the perfect opportunity to crawl into Tanya’s mind and find out where she seeks her inspiration, and how nails are the perfect canvas for her art.
(You can buy the Ensemble x Father Rabbit puzzle at Father Rabbit stores or by clicking here)
What do you call these two nail looks?
I've come up with some pearl puns for ya:
What a Pearl wants
Never met a Pearl like you before
Material Pearl
Hot Pearl Summer
Pearls on Top (nicely echoes the cherry on top!)
Technically, you'd call both of these designs 3D nails if you were asking for them at the salon.
What was your inspiration behind them?
I love maximalism (more is more is more!), so when I pitched this editorial idea, I was mainly inspired by Zi Sweet's nostalgic cakes and wanting to create 3D nails that matched them, as I was experimenting with 3D nail art at the time.
Also some inspiration from Ensemble's new logo and colourways, which led to the cake’s colours, and the deep red base for the pearl nails.
I think pearls are forever timeless and always add a layer of decadence. I also used very tiny gold beads on either side of some of the pearls to imitate jewellery settings to elevate them.
How long did they take?
In total? About nine hours all up, including approx. two hours for removal and rebalancing the structured manicure (creating an apex for strength) using builder gel.
How do you possibly do your own nails? How often do you do them?
Haha. A lot of patience and 10 years of experience have led to a steady hand and being kind of ambidextrous. I redo my own nails about every five weeks. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. Sometimes incredibly detailed (the Garfield/Snoopy nails I did recently were done over three days as I sculpted them using 3D clay by hand!), sometimes not. I treat my nails like walking billboards or examples of cool stuff I want to inspire my clients to try out.
What are the biggest trends you're currently seeing in nail art?
Airbrushing – in particular reverse French ombres, which I'm currently sporting for Libra season. Chrome is having a moment (although I personally find the "glazed donut trend" incredibly boring), and 3D embellishments and abstract blob shapes are still going strong. Cat-eye/magnetic/velvet nails have come back around again too – after 10 years of doing nails, I've found most trends almost always make a comeback after a few years. I've learnt to keep everything just in case!
I keep joking about crackle polish nails making a comeback, and I kind of hope it does, cos it'd be very funny.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I follow a lot of internationally based nail artists, I love seeing how trends trickle down and morph into other things. I like reverse engineering buzzy techniques and figuring out how they were done and putting my own spin on it. I mainly get inspired by unexpected colour and texture combos, or prints I come across, but I get the most satisfaction from a specific brief from a client and watching them leave very happy.
Where do you get your props and baubles?
For a hot minute I made earrings under the name Dangly Bits. I sourced beads, pearls and trinkets in lots of dusty old supply shops in Hong Kong. They always come in handy.
*Tanya’s books are closed to new customers, but follow her on Instagram for inspiration and straight-up infectious joy.
