My name is Megumi Sawase. A few years ago, I came to America from Japan to compete in American nail competitions, and now I currently own a nail salon in Los Angeles. I started competing seriously in 2008 and have 23 top-10 finishes with five trophies.

I recently went to the NailPro Cup in Sacramento, and I competed in the Soak-Off Gel, Sculpture Nail, and Salon Success categories. There were a lot of talented competitors there, and I managed to win Second Place in Salon Success. It was a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun too, and I would like to thank my models, staff, and family for supporting me.

Up next is the Nailympics in Long Beach, on Oct. 23-24.

In Japan, there is a very different culture surrounding nails, with very interesting styles that may seem weird or different to Westerners but I think it would be fun to talk about it.

I hope to share more about it with you as I continue to post on this blog, and I hope you will all find it fun and interesting.

I’m currently working hard to get ready for the Nailympics, and as we say in Japan, “Gambarou!” (Let’s try hard!)

See you in Long Beach J

— Meg