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Trina

Profile

Full Name: Trina Wright
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Salon: OohSnaap Nails by Trina
Preferred Nail Art Medium: Gel, acrylic, mixed-media
Favorite Nail Trend: Handpainted art

Hi, I’m Trina. I’m from Honolulu, Hawaii but presently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’ve taken the chance to follow my creative flow in life and here we are! Following our passions and living out dreams. Hope you’ll join me in this journey, Let’s go!

WEEK # 9

Miami Swim Week

At first sight, Halston’s aesthetic looks minimal and simple however throughout the week I realized how complex and intricate his style really was. One of the articles I read about Halston stated that he was obsessed with orchids and I thought what a perfect metaphor that was for his designs. Halston’s artistic designs embodied a natural and soft reflection of beauty as he created long drapey glittering silhouettes.

To capture Halston’s essence in my set I used 4 CND shellac colors; Romantique (a sheer pinky nude), Gala Girl (a light-brown toned nude), Radiant Chill (a bronze with dimension) and Violet Rays (a deep beautiful violet). These colors paired together brought that richness and luxury to the set. Because Halston was known to love suede/microsuede textures I sugared the Violet Ray colored nails with CND’s intense pink acrylic which seemed to bring out a metallic undertone in the matted color. To bring Halston’s vintage sequin gowns into the set I applied a nude glitter on the Radiant Chill sections. For the Miami swim week twist on the nails I used the trending 3D swirl design and made (generated with plexigel and CND’s No- Wipe Top Coat) on a matted Violet Ray chrome which brought a classy aquatic feeling to the set. The adornments of floating diamonds, pearls and metallic belts were added to take the look to a new level of minimalism.

I really learned a lot about the balance and the thought process behind the discernment of minimal art. I see how beautiful and complex that space and color can bring to nail art. I hope you can see what I felt in making this set. Thank you to CND for allowing us to experience a different depth and intricacy in nail artistry.

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WEEK # 8

The Glo Up

I chose to create a mini MANIPro Glo lamp that featured 3 mini color sleeves. I used 9 nails to build the lamp and the sleeves each interchangeably have the 10th nail. I love the color sleeve accessory for our lamps, it’s just like our nail art and nail colors where we can express our feelings/vibes for our differing feelings/phases we go through. I was reminded of life phases and the nail art journey I am currently on. I come from years of working in salons where it’s a mad rush of manicures and pedicures, back to back. Although, I love the satisfying aspect of doing manicures and pedicures my heart has always been with nail art. For the last 8 years I would fulfill my nail art passion through my own nails and press ons. Recently, I have transitioned to having regular clientele that want detailed nail art on their nails. There are differing techniques and learning organize the art steps is a quite a process. It’s a phase of switching real life color sleeves and learning to trust the process. We all go through life transitions and growth and I’m so grateful to be a part of the generation where we can share our stories and take part in each other’s creative journeys cultivated through technology. Thank you KUPA for the fun challenge and inspiring our nail community’s glow up, I’m here for all of it.  Let’s…Glo!

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It was easy for me to imagine I was sitting at a table, enjoying dinner and drinks looking out over the ocean during sunset. I was supposed to go to Barcelona with my friend Leslie back in October 2020 and well…yep, Covid happened. So this set was exciting to me as it’s the closet I’ll be going to the Mediterranean anytime soon. For the set I freehanded a picture that I found looking over the Amalfi Coast on the Tyrrhenian sea. I created a window-esque magnet frame where I used CND’s Vinlylux  to create wispy bougainvillea. I imagined sitting at a table enjoying Greek salad and drinks where the tablecloth and bowl came from the marketplace (called Artisan Bazaar, the name of the purple shade in the collection) from that day’s stroll around town. Because I’ve never been to the Mediterranean I actually had to look up the names of the colors and research what some of the names were. It was interesting to learn about Mediterranean vacation vibes. I was especially drawn to Limoncello, a Lemon Liquer (the yellow shade) and created an aquarium bottle of it to go with my Greek salad. I really enjoyed creating this set and I wanted to thank CND for letting us play with your new collection. The colors really did transport me to vacation for a week-a nail art version of vacation, of course. When Leslie and I do end up going on a trip I will definitely try the Limoncello and will cheers in honor of this set.

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For this week’s challenge we were asked to create our own Monogram fashioned after KUPA’s monogram which is displayed on their Mani Pro Glo Lamp. Using our monogram, we were to create a set of 5 nails only using KUPA’s signature colors of black, white and red.

In researching Monograms and logos, I learned that our monogram should reflect the essence of our business. I used the initials from my business name/my Instagram handle (@OohSnaap) where the “O” and the “S” made up artistic twisted heart shape. I wanted my monogram essence to reflect our LOVE for nail art. The artistic heart was a perfect fit.

The aesthetic for my set this week is a mashup of velvety monogram print accented with the old school saddle shoe feels.

To create this set, I prepared a set of press on nails which was overlayed with KUPA’s structure acrylic. Then I used KUPA’s dipping powders and adhesive with our popular sugaring technique for the velvety vintage curtain look that streaks diagonally through the set. I was really impressed with the dipping system and the various ways we can use it. Surprisingly, the adhesive isn’t glue it is a LED adhesive made from acrylates. A new world of possibilities for nail art has been opened for me! Lastly, I created a chain link bracelet to pair with the nail set, made with Kupa’s

Enrich RX builder mixed with red glitter. This challenge was fun and I would like to thank KUPA and our Sponsors for encouraging artistry in our nail professions.

Watch her video diary. 

Watch her Instagram video. 

 

 


The set I created is my interpretation of the theme “Limitless”. One hand represents our struggles and challenges that we feel imprison us. Everyone experiences hard times in life from trauma, self-image issues, mental health challenges, addictions and such. The other hand is on the opposite side of the spectrum which is the idyllic-princess-happily ever after, white picket fence type of standards that are instilled in us as children. I feel limitless is somewhere in-between which is represented by the infinity mirror thumb nails. Limitlessness is a space where we find ourselves in the present not worried about the past and not anxious about the future but in just being where we are with what we have. I am happy I made through to this challenge as the cause of BCLE really resonates with me. I have been a mental health worker for 20 years as well as a a licensed nail tech for 7 years. Being in the beauty industry is like social work in a sense as we give back to our community/our clients, to ourselves as a creative outlet which in turn initiates limitlessness. Thank you to our sponsor CND for all that you contribute to our industry, our community and for your inspiration!

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In designing this set, I was inspired by the vitamin-infused aspect of KUPA’s EnrichRX builder. The vitamin-infused builder allows us to offer our clients a sense of renewal and newfound strength for their natural nails; it’s like the essence of spring blooming from the EnrichRX bottles right on to the client’s nails. When I think of Spring and flowers, I think of Cherry Blossoms (also known as Sakura). In Hawaii we honor many different cultural traditions and one of the major influences we have is of the Japanese culture. To me, springtime and cherry blossoms go hand in hand as the flower symbolizes new life, strength and is also known as a metaphor for the human lifespan. In Hawaii, we have an annual Cherry Blossom festival where they crown a Miss Cherry Blossom. One year I did a few Sakura nails for the contestants in the pageantry, it was fun.

For my day set I chose to hand paint the traditional Japanese fan/wave motif on a hot pink metallic background (tying in the pink from the flower accessories). For the added accessories I hand crafted a Pop art take of the Sukura blooms and added magnet’s which can be added swiftly after work on your way out to the party. The Sakura flowers are the perfect addition to accessorize your daily manicure for your next Pau Hana (Happy Hour) out!

Thank you to KUPA for your generous gift of products and a fun challenge to play with our EnrichRX builder, it was great to work with.

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Watch her EnrichRX TikTok


WEEK #3

Over the Top

In honor of CNDs innovation(s), I foresaw the nails of the future as being our businesses that we carry around on our nails. I’m calling it The Business Boss Set! The Business Boss Set includes our business QR codes so the clients can pull up the menu, mobile credit card readers for payment and our Brand in hologram form dancing around on our fingertips. Wouldn’t that be so exciting?! Hologram brands of our businesses floating from our nails. Especially, in this day and age, where self-employment has sky-rocketed since lockdown. I chose to make the nails a metallic green to add some alien vibes for this futuristic set. I was able to achieve this by using CND’s over the Top chromes. This chrome can add a luminous metal shimmer to any nail color. This set was exciting and fun to create. Thank you so much to CND for all the nail goodies and especially for all that you have done for the nail industry and continue to do.

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Watch her Over the Top reel


WEEK #2

Color Me KUPA

The first set was inspired by the Moonlight Unicorn color sleeve. This army green, mermaid-shimmer color reminded me of the moonlight of a little island on the Windward side of Oahu that we call Chinaman’s hat. I chose to recreate a local Hawaii artist Tesia Fernandez ‘s painting of this landmark on the nails.The second set was inspired by the Mermaid color sleeve. The color of the Mermaid color sleeve reminded me of cotton candy evening skies in Las Vegas. All the lights and excitement are reflected in ambiance of this set. The third set brings both the country and the city life together into one manicure. The third set’s ombre dusk colors and a starlit background display its interchangeable qualities with its ability to mix and match. However, there is also a secret sequence in this third manicure that is a half island and a half building heart that can be pieced together. To push the third set even further, a piercer was used to outline the heart and led lights were added behind this set making the heart glow in true MANIPro Glo Fashion. Thank you to our sponsor KUPA for this challenge inspiration, the amazing MANIPro lamp, color sleeves and nail products!

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The newest release of CND’s PlexiGel Builder gives us nail tech’s the ability to create brush-on nail enhancements in both strength and beauty. In order for me to share my nail art piece in its full capacity I would like to share a little history of who I am and where I come from. I was born and raised in Hawaii as a foster child. I was raised by the Angell family, who had fostered 33 children over the course of their lives. By the time I came around, I was their 32nd foster child. Growing up, my Mom would always wake me up saying in her sing-song way, “It’s a Brand New Day-time to wake up!” or “Guess what Today is? It’s the first day of the rest of your life!” As a kid/teenager I thought that was the most annoying thing ever. However, as an adult I realize that because of this, my Mom has given me the gift of one of my dearest strengths…perseverance.

This nail set represents what a kid feels like on a Saturday Morning; watching cartoons, eating cereal, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, excited for the day. Utilizing my love for mixed media nail art and CND’s color Builders I tried capture what perseverance feels like to me…a fresh start…a brand new day…Let’s go!

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