Who: Tom Bachik, Artistic Director, Creative Nail Design

What: NAILS’ November cover, photographed by Caesar Lima

Where: Caesar Photo Studio, Calabasas, Calif, [just north of Los Angeles] Tom and his wife Liz drove up the night before our shoot with their three children so they didn’t have to fight Monday morning rush hour traffic.

When: Monday, April 9, 2001

Why: Tom, who travels the world educating nail techs for Creative Nail Design, is hard to pin down, so we figured why not get this master tech to do two covers at once. (Bachik also did the jeweled nails on the August 2001 cover.)

Keeping things simple this time around: Since the August cover was so intricate, we opted for a simple, short length. Tom polished model Mason’s nails with Creative Mystique nail enamel — a shimmery wine colour for fall.

It’s all about the cuticle cocktail: Tom achieved this look by smoothing and shaping Mason’s natural nails with a Kanga board and Koala buffer. Next he created a “cuticle cocktail” using Solar Oil and AHA Cuticle Eraser, massaging it into the cuticles to “microexfoliate” and hydrate. Knowing good and well that the nails would be scrutinized the world over, Tom used a pusher and curette to finish creating meticulous cuticles. He buffed the nails to a high shine and applied Stickey base coat, two coats of Mystique nail enamel, and finished with Super Shiney top coat.

Makeup inspired by W magazine: We asked makeup artist Shalini Strawn to create an extreme smoky eye look inspired by something we really liked in W. She combined this with a silk flower tucked in her sleek hair for an extra sultry look.

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