The past few years I haven’t done anything for New Year’s Eve, but thanks to Black File Nail Social, I’ve been inspired to hit the town. Black File is located in Fountain Valley, Calif. I heard about the salon from social media and knew nail tech Diana Nguyen (@ricekittynails) from the January issue’s Nail Art Studio. I decided to ask Nguyen for an appointment, using New Year’s Eve as an excuse to change up my nail art.

Black File is known for doing cool, current nail art. The term “nail social” says it all. Clients sit at a nail bar, so they are encouraged to talk with their tech and with one another. The pedicure chairs are lined up too, so clients can chat with a friend at the bar. Social media eye candy is everywhere — from the impressive retail options that include rings, masks, hats, and clothing, to the polish wall lit up with custom neon signs. Even emojis reign supreme, appearing on the service menu and on sample nail tips. While the front of the salon looks like a fashion-forward storefront, the interior is all nails, and services are nails-only.

Nguyen considers herself a broken glass specialist, so that’s what she opted to do on my nails. First, she offered me my choice of “glass.” Then we discussed gel-polish options. For a more subtle look, she recommends a lighter color, and for a more dramatic look, a darker shade. She cuts the Mylar into triangle shapes, then layers them over each other. Nguyen continued the glass theme by using three coats of a holo glitter gel-polish on half of my nails. Being a more-is-more type of girl, when Nguyen asked if we should embellish further, I said “yes.” We settled on a chunky stone for the glitter-based nails and blue rhinestones that matched the iridescence of the Mylar for two of the other nails. I was impressed with Nguyen’s twist on the broken glass trend. By breaking up the design, she made it more refreshing.

Once the design was complete, Nguyen walked me over to the lightbox at the end of the nail bar. We took photos with five hand poses, videos, and a Boomerang (or two). Nguyen has only been doing nails for about a year, but her background in graphic design gives her an eye for nail art placement and for snapping the perfect nail photo. The end result is an icy, on-point New Year’s Eve set that we both posted to all of our social networks.

Click here to see more nail art options for New Year’s Eve. You can also sign up to get Nail Art Gallery Magainze for FREE, featuring New Year's Eve nail art in the December issue.

Which hand pose did you like best? Tell me in the comments below.