Five years ago, back when NAILS was still running our Nail Tech of the Year and Salon of the Year awards, Patricia Yankee was named Nail Tech of the Year in 2005. Part of her prize package included a trip to California to do the cover nails for NAILS Magazine. We never seemed to be able to settle on a date that worked for both of us. And all of a sudden, it was five years later and we were still trying to figure out a good time for her to come out. Thankfully, it all came together this past June. (She squeezed it in right before her son graduated as valedictorian of his high school.)

 

Patricia Yankee flew out to California for less than 24 hours to do the nails for this month’s cover. She had something important to get back to New York for — her son’s high school graduation!

As executive technical educator for Dashing Diva for the last 11 years, she’s heavily involved in product development for the Dashing Diva Professional line. She creates the nails for much of the company’s advertising and promotional materials, and she travels to shows to educate other techs all about Dashing Diva’s lines. A salon consultant and an agency tech, she’s also no stranger to photo shoots and media work. "I work with an agency out of New York City where I service celebrity clients, such as Rachael Ray, Kim Kardashian, and Kate Winslett," Yankee tells us. Through her agency she also does editorial work and contributes to consumer magazine articles. She was even recently on "Good Morning America" talking about nails.

In addition to all this, she’s currently serving as a proctor for the Nail Specialty Practical Exams for the state of New York. As a result of all of this extracurricular work, Yankee (who has been doing nails for 25 years) has downsized her salon, Pattie’s Place in Deer Park, N.Y., to a small office space where she works with an assistant. "I now service only my favorite clients," she says.
"I kept about 80 clients out of my original client list." With all that she’s got going on, we’re excited we finally found a time to bring her out here. And the results, as you’ll agree, are stunning.

 

Here's  how you can do these nails:

 

1. Start service on feet that have been completely pedicured. (Note: It is best to perform the pedicure early and allow the toenails to sit for at least an hour so all the moisture can evaporate from the nails. Otherwise apply Metallic Toe Nails first and perform the pedicure service after.) Trim the toenails as short as possible so they will not extend beyond the full cover toenail tips. Prep cuticle area and remove surface shine from the nails.

 

2. Size Dashing Diva Metallic Nails for each foot.

 

3. Apply Dashing Diva Tailor Bond glue to entire toenail surface.

 

4. Apply Tailor Bond to inside cuticle portion of Metallic Nail.

 

5. Place Metallic Toe Nail snuggly up against the cuticle area and lower it onto the nail plate at a 45-degree angle. Clean any excess glue from under the free edge and around the cuticle and sidewall area.

 

6. Clip the tab off the nails and
file them to desired shape and length.

 

7. Use glue to adhere rhinestones or embellishments if desired. Seal with Dashing Diva Top Seal.

 

8. Embellish skin with rhinestones and studs using It’s So Easy
Body Glue.

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