Nail Art Express

Welcome to Nail Art Express

Hi! My name is Ying, and I own Nail Art Express. At Nail Art Express, nail art is art. I pride myself on my commitment to perfection, and I don’t skimp on quality. I have more than two years of experience in this industry, and I have worked on over a thousand customers by now … Continue reading »

Acrylic Extensions + Gel Mani: Betty Boop Bridal Nails

Carol purchased the bridal nails package and topped up an additional $80 for acrylic extensions. I started by extending her nails with acrylic sculpture extensions, and then got my partner Jenrine to take over for Carol’s spa gel pedi while I discussed with Carol the art for her mani. Carol had decided on her pedi … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Chanel X Hello Kitty

Did this set for Angie for her birthday! Another chance to put to good use what I learnt from a special workshop conducted by my nail school awhile back! These were done with Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #39 and #29, and yes, everything except the Chanel crystal logo is freehanded/handmade!

Tutorial: Lace Floral Glamour

Hi everyone! Today I have another tutorial to share. If you’ve been following my Facebook page, you might have noticed my announcement that I would post a tutorial for every new 200 “likes”. Thus, this new tutorial is to celebrate crossing 1,800 “likes”. My next tutorial will be posted when I hit 2,000 “likes”! Today’s … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Seashells by the Seashore

For her mani, Cheng Min also picked out something from the August issue of Nail Max! I had it done on my July nail art wheel: It’s always easier doing designs on nail wheels because the nails are so much bigger! I had to do a bit of “resizing” and “cropping” when doing the art … Continue reading »

Customisation: The Dark Knight Rises

Analise asked me to do this design over 3 nails: Honestly, when I saw the picture, my heart sank. I wasn’t expecting anything complicated because this was just my usual 2 hour appointment slot, and I always advise customers to send me complicated designs in advance so I can set aside enough time or practise … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: All Laced Up

I love creating art on nails, but what I love most is when customers are happy with the art and appreciative of my work. Whether it is from the smiles on their faces when they look at their nails, the sweet thank-you messages that they send me afterwards, or recommending me to their friends, these … Continue reading »

Tutorial: Angel Pro Gelly Polish x Little Twin Stars

Today’s post is going to be a long one, because I have something special to share. It’s no secret that I’ve fallen in love with Angel Pro Gelly Polish – I’m sure many of you have noticed that my designs are increasingly featuring this Korean gel polish rather than the more commonly used Gelish or … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Hello Kitty x Ribbons

This month, I’ve been lucky to serve a couple of lovely new customers, and Shirley is one of them! She’s a busy mother of two cute kids and she dropped by to fill a last-minute slot that I had posted on my Facebook page. She liked the embossed Hello Kitty designs from my June nail … Continue reading »

Gelish: Strawberry Fields

Sometime ago, I tried out this design from one of my many nail art magazines. There is a panel with a border of lace, and inside are embossed strawberries and white flowers, plus the occasional crystal. Priscillia was game enough to give it a try after seeing it on my nail art wheel, and this … Continue reading »

Gelish: Ethnic Denim

Vanny requested for this design: I did it with very minor alterations – I used solid gold instead of gold striping tape for the lines, and I stuck to one denim design instead of 2 different ones as Vanny preferred this one. I used Gelish Pink Smoothie as the base for the ethnic design and … Continue reading »

The end of my journey in PRINA’s Diploma programme…

Today, my nail school (Pink Room International Nail Academy) released the results of the 2012 Diploma Examination. It was a poignant moment for me because it finally closed a chapter of my life, marking the end of my learning journey as a Diploma student at PRINA. In 2010, I enrolled in the Diploma programme at … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Diablo

Reblogged from The Nail Artelier: Hi everyone! Last weekend, I had a unique customisation request for Diablo-themed nails! For reference, my customer sent me some pictures in advance. Apart from the cover illustration and the icons for the special powers, she also sent me this picture which shows how the icons were used in a … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Alexander McQueen - Iconic Yellow Dress

Reblogged from The Nail Artelier: Hi everyone! It’s my birthday today but I’m a bit of a workaholic so here I am posting even though Jenrine told me not to do anything work-related. Oops! Actually, I woke up early from dreaming about the opening of the salon and my heart was racing so I couldn’t … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Elegant Garden Wedding

Reblogged from The Nail Artelier: Hi everyone! I’m taking a break from preparations for the salon opening to post this design I did for a lovely bride recently. She wanted flowers sculpted on the tips of a few nails, and I suggested pairing them with soft gradient tips and embellished tastefully with small clusters of … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Tokyo Mode

Reblogged from The Nail Artelier: Hi everyone! I had some awesome guests over the other day and I’ve been dying to share the news. Here goes… Yukie-san and her crew from Hello Asia dropped by to film an episode for J Diary! Thanks to Evonne, who recommended me for the episode on Japanese-style nail art … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: McDonald's-Themed Birthday Nails!

Reblogged from The Nail Artelier: Good morning everyone! Today, I’m sharing this super fun set of birthday nails I did recently. My client hosted her birthday party at McDonald’s, hence the request for a set of matching nails. Isn’t it such a cute idea? It was a customisation request as she provided me with reference … Continue reading »

Customisation: Floral Lattice

Cheryl asked for a floral design on a mug to be done on her nails. The original design had too much detail to be replicated onto the nail, so I simplified it and retained the overall look – abstract florals in a lattice design, with a large cluster in the center and small flowers framing … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Bright Tweed

This was an interesting design, chosen from one of my nail art magazines! Nothing much was changed except for the colours – the customer opted to have it done in orange… a very unique colour choice! I used Gelish Desert Sands and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #18 (orange), #47 (white), #141 (dark brown), #21 … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Matryoshka x Ethnic Polka

Loving this design so much! It’s such a clean yet fun look, with the Russian dolls on the thumbs and simple ethnic polka prints to match! Done with Gelish Desert Sands and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white), #25 (blue), #18 (orange), #39 (pale pink), #141 (dark brown), #9 (yellow) and #34 (red).

Gel Mani: Fluffy Sweater

My dear friend Rachel picked this design from one of my nail art magazines and I love the texture of the embossed art! They are actually really hard even though they look fluffy… and the print reminds me of sweaters! Done with Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #24 (pink), #14 (grey), #39 (pale pink) and … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Maneki Neko

Lyna asked for black fortune kitties on her thumbs and matched them with ribbon half moons! Done with Gelish Desert Sands, Orly Gel FX in Luxe, and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white), #29 (black), #34 (red) and #9 (yellow).

Miyake’s Mani: Pastel Glamour

Miyake chose a sweet and glamourous pastel drip design and I followed the picture she provided: Done with Gelish Desert Sands, Orly Gel FX in Luxe, and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #73 (purple) in #39 (pink).

Lovebirds

This design is a replica of something shown to me by my customer – such a cute idea! I used OPI Alpine Snow as the base and did all the art with grey and red acrylic paint

Gel Pedi: Pastel Partitions

Miyake chose a sweet design to match her pastel mani and I followed the picture she showed me! Done with Artistic Colour Gloss Tease, Orly Gel FX in Luxe and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #73 (purple), #72 (pink), #9 (yellow) and #13 (coral). Added some embellishments for a touch of glamour!

Gel Mani: Subtle Lace

Sham opted for this set of subtle and classy nails for her birthday! The nude colours are soft and flattering, and with the lace and embellishments, the design oozes understated glamour: Done with Gelish Desert Sands, Orly Gel FX in Luxe, Artistic Colour Gloss Posh, and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #4 (nude) and #47 … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Cats in Love

Joei picked out this super cute design from one of my nail art magazines and I love the fishbone heart design and the two cats together the most! Done with Orly Gel FX in Shine and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #21 (pink), #34 (red), #47 (white) and #29 (black).

Gel Mani & Pedi: Subtlety

Bee Fang chose subtlety for both her mani and pedi designs, and I like how soft and feminine the whole look is! For the mani, I used Gelish Desert Sands and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #1 (milky nude) as the base colours, then Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white) and Orly Gel FX … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Random Paisley

Cheng Min picked a paisley design from one of my nail art magazines and I modified it to fit onto her nails. Also added some gold embellishments! There were a lot of colours used, so do forgive me if I leave out anything accidentally! The base colour is Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #1 (milky … Continue reading »

Aztec Bling

Aztec prints can be a little tedious to do because you have to focus on precision, but they are easy to freestyle because you can just mix the basic designs and make your own! That’s what I did with this set: Done with OPI Black Onyx and China Glaze I’m Not Lion as base colours, … Continue reading »

Pedi: Sweet Leopard Lace

Rachel asked for this very popular leopard prints with lace design (originally from one of the Japanese nail art magazines) to be done on her big toes, with a half moon design on the rest of the toes! This was done with OPI Passion as the base, then OPI Pink Friday, OPI Samoan Sand and … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Earthy Tribal

Brena picked this tribal design from one of my nail art magazines and opted to pair it with plain nails to keep it simple. I modified the design very slightly: Done with Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white), #9 (yellow), #34 (red), #141 (dark brown) and #1 (milky nude).