By Gency Tan, Saturday, 02 October 2010 at 15:36
I fell into NAILS. Well, not literally. What I mean is, Nail crept up on me and took me by surprise. I started my working life as a Graphic Designer, graduated from Nanyang Academy Of Fine Art (NAFA Singapore), and it was in this guise that I found myself fell in love with art, most of all have a great passion in it. There I was quietly at work as a Assistant Art Director in a Graphic Design Firm back in 1993, little knowing that destiny, but just follow the passion within me.On the other side, due to financial crisis, I was asked to pick up beauty course by my mum. She felt that I should learn and manage another skill for my future use. Before I had a chance to talk myself out of it, I have already pickup makeup’s products, facial’s products and nail’s products, with shaky hands, going through the training in a industry I hardly know and interested in.
After a three months training, I realized that beauty is not just possessing a perfect symmetrical face, but comes from the expression and character in our face, not just symmetry. It doesn’t matter if you are short or tall, fat or thin, or if your features aren’t those famous artists, your beauty comes from self-awareness, self-confidence, and yr own magnetic personality.
Makeup and nails are meant to be beautiful, and beautiful makeup and nails are all about the colors you choose and where you place them, never about how much you put on.Especially nail arts, maybe is because of my passion in arts, it just erupted in a blaze of flashlights, the next thing I knew, my nail career had officially began.
Fast forward 16 years and now I find myself running a Academy of Beauty. Of course, within all this years, there are ups and down, thin and thick. I started off as a beautician in the beginning, some other part time and full time jobs before I setup a shop doing nail services, facial services and selling nails and beauty products.
I believe education is very important, I personally feel that there are no rules when comes to designing in arts, makeup or nail arts. I can only say that they’re more about common sense. Experts seems to be popping up everywhere with strict “philosophies”, that frighten people into thinking there is only one way to wear or do. In a world of constant chance, I feel the GOAL should be to expand our definition of what we consider “beautiful”.
The future will belong to those with open minds and open hearts, who can appreciate beauty in all forms. As for myself, over the years, my mum, best friends, artificial hands and nail tips, became my guinea pig for nail designs, nail creations, nail extension, makeup, image and etc….
I experimented with every look and design imaginable, through it all, I learned not to be afraid of taking chances and in the process, I learned how to do better. I had no real teachers in nail arts, only photographs from magazines, and standing one side, try to learn as much as I can from those professionals during exhibitions…Learning to do nail design through trial and error taught me that my mistakes were often exciting revelations.
I came to realize that rules and words like ‘never’ and ‘always’ are sure death for creativity. And while I believe that education is important, I am grateful for my lack of formal training in nail art designing. The journey itself may have taken longer but along the way I discovered things I could not have been taught. For me, new and exciting ideas are most often created when chances are taken and rules are broken.
The most important point of being an instructor now and was discovered by the Singapore Nail Association, appointed to be their Chief Educator, representing Singapore (SNA), to be International Asia Nail Competition ‘Judge’ for the past three years and running a Academy of my own passion (name: Phenomena Nails and Makeup Academy), are all because it was with a sense of passion, excitement and adventure that I wanted to produce and it is my hope that everyone out there, will find themselves, or rather, yourselves from within.
All of us are real, I feel that whether you are movie stars, singers, housewives, business woman, designers or models, they all have INSPIRATION. I really hope that everyone of us will see a wide variety of individuals and beauty in its many forms. And above all else, is about ideas and possibilities.
My practice of teaching assistants and my students are not only in designing and skills, but also helping them in building their self-confidence, to help them bring out that talent and beauty from within.
My goal now is writing a book to help others bring out that talent and beauty from within by increasing our self-confidence for skills, outward appearance and most important element of true beauty and open minded creation. Is all about who you are, who you want to be, and who you can be.
I truly feel that every things are beautiful, its just a matter of recognizing its beauty and making it focus. I want to demystify the art of Nails, Makeup, Grooming, Designing, transformations and help you to understand how to use it as a tool to better appreciate who you really are.
Some people think this is far too difficult to master, but it’s simple when you break it down. It’s merely a matter of using the right attitude and right concept. First and most importantly, let me say that everyone of us needs to remember we are beautiful. And we can make ourselves look and feel more beautiful…not only on the makeup or nails we do, I feel that all these are just to enhance the features of God give us, not to change them.
I also think that it is important to remember that we are not flat, not one-dimensional, therefore don’t just follow blindly of what people are doing. Whether is Nails or Makeup or your life, it should be artfully sculpt and accentuate your best – that is the truth and the purpose of wearing it or living with it!
Lastly, If you asked me what I see in the near future of design and fashion, I would say that art is very individual, as I have said before new and exciting ideas are most often created when chances are taken and rules are broken, words like ‘never’ and ‘always’ are sure death for creativity. Just being confidence, bring out your talent and beauty within you, your design might become the most fabulous creation or fashion! So be a PHENOMENON!!!
