Meet Nails 101 New Student Blogger (and Associate Editor at NAILS) Sigourney Nuñez

Hi Guys! My name is Sigourney Nuñez and I am NAILS Magazine’s associate editor. I’ve been on staff for one year and I’m excited to share my nail school journey that is just starting. 

Before working at NAILS, I studied journalism at Cal State Northridge, internship-hopped among reputable news outlets including Los Angeles Daily News, Ventura County Star, Telemundo, La Opinión, and was even trained by editors from The New York Times. When I graduated college in 2011 and was on the prowl for a full-time gig as a writer, I had a lot of down time. That’s when I discovered nail art — thank you Instagram! I was inspired by a subtle manicure with a heart on the accent finger and was determined to recreate the look. Countless failed attempts and about three hours later, I did it. I was proud. I found a new passion and I decided I was going to make a career out of it.

By 2013 I was working in the non-profit sector as a public relations associate. I loved giving back to my community but my inner artist lacked fulfillment. So I chose to start blogging about nail art from the consumer perspective. At this point I was working 10-hour days, but  I would still polish my nails daily to have fresh content to post on my blog (BySig.com) and on my nail-focused Instagram page (@nailartbysig). I was all in.

With an intention to focus on nails and journalism, I had my eyes set on working at NAILS Magazine. Talk about a dream job, right? I’ll spare you the boring details about getting rejected after the first interview (and crying about it — a lot), and instead focus on the good news: I eventually made my way in and got hired in May 2014!

Fast-forward nearly a year later and here we are. On May 19, I officially registered as a nail tech student at Advance Beauty College in Garden Grove, Calif. (40 miles away from my apartment, but I’ll get into that in another post). I chose this school to be surrounded by students who are hungry to learn about nails and improve their skills. This school offers a 600-hour advanced course that delves a little deeper into techniques than just the basics. California State Board only requires 400 hours, but as you might have figured out, I love a challenge.

Some goals for this experience include: finding new story ideas, learning new techniques to share with you all, and broadening my perspective to see things as a nail tech. As an editor at NAILS, I do a lot of research on the industry, but it’s one thing to write about a subject in theory and another to write about it from experience. This adventure will help transform the way I approach content to share and ultimately make me more legit as an editor dedicated to the success of nail professionals.

I hope you guys are ready for a wild ride!

-Sig