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 »

Gel Mani: Psychedelic Skulls

Sabrina asked for this awesome Sugar Skulls-inspired design from Nail Venus! I used Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white) as a base and acrylic paint for the art. For the abstract colour blend design, I used Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #25 (blue), #10 (green), #146 (ochre yellow) and #23 (hot pink), then added … Continue reading »

Customisation: Cyber Kitty!

This was a unique customisation request – the customer showed me pictures of a kind of cat… Super fierce-looking actually, but it was certainly interesting! It was wearing a helmet and had one odd eye… So she asked for it to be drawn on her thumbs and we went for simple striped French tips to … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Get Crafty!

Shirley picked out this really unique sewing-themed nails from one of my Japanese nail art magazines and I modified it slightly to fit onto her nails: Colours used: Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #21 (pink), #22 (reddish pink), #47 (white), #39 (pale pink), #141 (dark brown), and Orly Gel FX in Luxe.

Gel Mani: Gingerbread Wedding

Super cute gingerbread themed wedding nails designed by the bride! I had some reference pictures of clipart to work with and this was the result! I used Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #73 (purple), #24 (pink), #29 (black), #47 (white), #31 (brown), #32 (mustard), #9 (yellow), and Orly Gel FX in Shine.

Gel Mani: Geometric Shades

I love this super soft geometric design Wenhao chose! The original design from my Japanese nail magazines was in a different colour theme, but I think I prefer this one because it’s so soft and pretty! I used Gelish Desert Sands as the base, then Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white) for the tips, … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Paddlepop x Sakura

This request was based on a picture provided by my customer! She chose a combination of paddle pop French tips and Sakura flowers with embellishments: I used Gelish Desert Sands and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #4 (nude) for the base, then #47 (white ), #25 (blue), #21 (pink), #9 (yellow), and #141 (dark brown) … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Red Siren

Jessica mixed and matched three different designs from my Japanese nail magazines to make this set! Such a stunning, eye-catching look! I used two different reds for this one – Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #34 (bright red) and Gelish Good Gossip (red with red glitter), together with Gelish Desert Sands as a base and … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: White Roses

This set is perfect for brides who don’t like to have tons of embellishments or 3D art on their nails – the clean lines and roses make this a very minimalist yet striking look! Done with Gelish Desert Sands as a base and Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #47 (white) for the tips and the … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Bubbly

This is such a cheerful set, with sweet and soft pastel colours and some glitter and crystals for extra bling! I used Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #75 (baby blue), #39 (pale pink), #47 (white) and #9 (yellow) for the bubbles and Gelish Desert Sands for the base. I also added pretty glitter flakies with … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Monochrome Lace

I love this lace design! It’s relatively quick and easy compared to the usual lattice lace designs I do, yet it looks fresh and pretty! This is based on some designs I saw in my Japanese nail magazines, albeit with a modified colour scheme. Interestingly, part of it also involves the use of a flat … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Snow White

This is a toned down version of a crazy design Jiamin picked out from an issue of Nail Venus… I converted some of the embossed art into flat freehand art and also modified the colour scheme to make it LESS outrageous (the original had a few more loud colours in addition to these colours). I … Continue reading »

Gel Art Workshop

Last week, I attended a workshop with some of my friends! It was organised by Bling Gel (Taiwan) We got to learn four designs from Teacher Candy from Taiwan, but it wasn’t just about the design but the techniques involved, and I’m happy that I learnt some new tricks! At each stage of the learning … Continue reading »

Acrylic Extensions: Crazy About Hearts

Sometime ago I did a set of acrylic sculpture extensions for Kirsch and added art with gel polish. She asked for a variety of heart designs that she got from elsewhere (a nail salon in Hong Kong called Nail Me… I think) and this was the result. Colours used: Gelish Desert Sands, Angel Pro Gelly … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Black Stockings

I’ve loved the stocking effect ever since I saw it in the March issue of Nail Up! Magazine – basically it involves using a very sheer, translucent black and then layering art over it, such as adding polka dots or lace designs, so that it looks like patterned stockings. So gorgeous! I used Gelish Tassles … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Heart of Gold

Mei Jun showed me this design and we did it in red since it was CNY! Speaking of CNY, this was the very last set I did in the CNY period and yes, all the designs I’ve been posting were all done during CNY! I only take pictures of new designs to blog about (so … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Rose Heart Tips

I really love how delicate this set looks! Bee Fang showed me a picture from Girls Pic and the original colour (if I remember correctly) was white, but that was too bridal, so I suggested a pale blue instead. Well, it still looks pretty bridal, but it’s so soft and pretty! I used Gelish Desert … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Hello Kitty x Pastel Leopard

This Hello Kitty set is super OTT! I was shown pictures of various embossed Hello Kitty designs and ended up doing 4 different ones, paired with pastel leopard prints. Which is your favourite Kitty? Mine is the one holding a teddy bear! Colours used: Gelish Desert Sands, Gelish Water Field, Orly Gel FX in Shine, … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Kitty Wallpaper

This cat design is turning out to be really popular ever since Miyake asked for it to be done! This time, I paired it with French tips with stripes – really very wallpaper-ish! The base colour was Gelish Desert Sands and the tips were done with Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #72 (pink) with #47 … Continue reading »

Gel Mani: Bridal Lace Stickers

Simple but bling bridal pedi! This was done with Gelish Desert Sands as the base, then Gelish Water Field for the tips before adding tons of embellishments and lace stickers!

Gel Mani: Disco Ball

Miyake opted for a matching mani (her pedi was also done in red and nude with leopard prints) but went for a gorgeous darker red this time! The red is Angel Pro Gelly Polish in #1, and the leopard prints were done with #32 (mustard) and #141 (dark brown). For the glitter accent nail, I … Continue reading »