NYMAG's The Cut just published a really funny article about what it is like being a Paintbox handmodel. I know from personal experience :P but found the article to be hilarious. My favorite quote from the article is "...the life of a Paintbox hand model is a life of exquisite, almost unimaginable ennui and luxury." Being full of ennui, I felt inspired to repost the article! Read the full story by Dayna Evans here! "The most essential skill one can have as a Paintbox hand model is knowing how to hold a costly prop — whether a bar of chocolate, a flute of rosé Champagne, or a Brazilian passport — as if it were just about to slip out of one’s hands and come tumbling to the ground. One cannot grip anything too tightly or too gently."
I promise it isn't always as easy as it looks!
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I was recently asked where I like to go get manicures here in New York and thought that I'd share a few of my favorite spas/salons in the city. If I'm in a rush or just need a quick and convenient polish before a shoot, I'll pop in pretty much anywhere but I just ask that they don't cut my cuticles. Cuticle oil and pushing back the cuticles will do the trick 99% of the time. I really only ever get my cuticles cut when I'm with a manicurist I completely trust and there is actually something to cut off - I find that people love to cut into cuticles that really don't need to be cut. Anyways, as for my actual recommendations, here are a few of my favorite (and hand model approved!) nail salons: For a basic manicure and an amazing spa pedicure - Polaris (20 E. 22nd St.) Polaris is great for standard manicures; they are really careful and make sure your nails look perfect. They take their time and the end result is always consistently good. They have a solid assortment of colors to choose from and their polishes don't chip off right away. If you want to treat yourself to a great pedicure, I highly recommend their spa pedicure! For a luxurious hand and foot treatment - Jin Soon (56 E. 4th St. and additional locations) I have had the pleasure of working with Jin Soon on various hand shoots, not to mention for her own line of nail polishes, so it was fun for me to check out her salon. I have long been a fan of her polishes - from the packaging to the formula, it truly is great polish! Her salon is equally nice. I love the milk and honey hand and foot treatment. Complimented with your choice of essential oil, the milk and honey treatment is ultra hydrating and relaxing. There is wide selection of designer polishes and Jin Soon's namesake polishes to choose from. As I said, I am a huge fan of Jin Soon's polish, I love the colors and that it last so long! Pro tip: make sure you get the citrus tea, its so delicious! For nail art - Paintbox (17 Crosby St.)
Paintbox is a curated nail art salon in SoHo that does exclusively manicures. I have also had the pleasure of working with the Paintbox team as a hand model so I have personally tried a variety of their nail art looks - I'm partial to anything with negative space but they offer seasonal looks so there is always something new to try! I really appreciate the quality products that they use like the Deborah Lippmann cuticle cream. The paintbox salon itself is just a lovely place to be in, they offer great coffee or prosecco to make your experience even better and the staff are some of the nicest people in New York! It's a great experience and the paintbox mani cam is the perfect way to take a "nailfie" after your manicure! I was recently given the opportunity to share some of my hand care routine and tricks with online beauty magazine Byrdie! Check out the article on Byrdie.com here! 1 of 5: Ditch the Cuticle CuttersMy number one most important hand-care tip is to ditch the cuticle cutters and use a cuticle cream or oil. Cutting your cuticles can make them grow tougher and more jagged if not done properly. The cuticle is like the root of your nail—if you want healthy and long nails you need to start taking care of your cuticles. All you need to do is use cuticle oil or cream and gently push back your cuticles. I personally love to use Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme and Deborah Lippmann’s Cuticle Oil. 2 of 5: DIY Overnight (Hand) MaskMy next tip is a hand-model favorite for getting your hands extra moisturized: The night before a shoot I generously slather my hands in lotions, as well as the all-important cuticle oil, and then slip my gooey hands into cotton overnight gloves. This retains moisture all night and you wake up with incredibly soft hands. I like to mix it up with a Burt’s Bees Hand Salve or the Burt’s Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream—they are both super-rich and pretty sticky so they work best with the glove technique. 3 of 5: Try Paraffin WaxIf your hands ever crack or get especially dry in the winter you might want to look into a paraffin wax treatment. My mom introduced me to this and I actually really like doing it: You dip your hands (or your feet) several times in melted warm paraffin wax, let the wax harden around your hands, and then slip on these towel-like mittens to keep in the warmth. After about 10-15 minutes, or when the wax has completely hardened and cooled, you just crack off the wax and your skin feels crazy soft and rehydrated. 4 of 5: Remove Glitter PolishThis is a trick I picked up from manicurists on set when they were removing a bright polish, a complicated nail art design, or even a glitter polish. If you soak cotton balls in nail polish remover and let them rest on your painted nails for a little while it will loosen the polish. Then when you squeeze the cotton balls down and pull them off the nail, the majority of the polish should come off. Sometimes rubbing off dark polishes can stain your skin or even push pigment under your cuticles so this is great solution. 5 of 5: Buff Away StainsNow this tip might seem a bit obvious but I cannot stress this enough: ALWAYS use a base coat when painting your nails anything colorful. Unfortunately, this is something I learned the hard way. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting for weirdly stained and nasty looking nails to grow out. I like to use Sally Hansen’s Double Duty Base Coat and Top Coat because it is two-in-one and doesn’t chip. I also use this as a clear coat because it feels like it makes my nails a little stronger. If you do accidentally stain your nails, there are a few things you can do to minimize the damage. First, lightly buff the surface of your nails with a fine grit nail buff to help remove the stains—typically stains are only in the superficial layers of your nails so buffing them can make a big difference (just remember buffing can also make your nails thinner and weaker if do it too aggressively, so go easy!). After gently buffing, scrub your nails with a soft toothbrush using a mixture of peroxide, baking soda, and lemon juice, to help clean out any residual stains. A great way to “cheat” whiter edges on your nails is to use a whitening pencil—this is not permanent but it is a helpful quick fix.
I recently had the chance to chat with my friends at Paintbox about my favorite nail polishes/nail art as well as my jewelry designing at Bobby Pin Jewelry. Check it out on their blog: http://www.paint-box.com/blog-posts/nails-of-new-york-susan-schell Look closely—do you recognize these beautiful hands? Jewelry designer Susan Schell has been hand-modeling for Paintbox for several seasons, but it's what she does when she's not modeling that we're spotlighting here. Susan and business partner Maria de Diego run a custom bridal jewelry line together called BOBBY PIN. Maria founded the line in 2011 and brought Susan on board to help design and produce beautiful, one-of-a-kind heirloom pieces for brides to wear at their weddings. As part of our focus on all things bridal this month (to coincide with the launch of our BRIDAL COLLECTION), we asked Susan if we could visit the Bobby Pin studio and talk to her more about the work she and Maria do creating custom jewelry. Susan wears Moonstruck in Essie Penny Talk. Why do you paint your nails? I like to paint my nails for aesthetic reasons and because I feel like they are less likely to break with polish on. I always have at the very least a clear coat of polish on my nails. As a jewelry designer, I sometimes work with rough materials and tools so having strong nails is really important to me. Having nicely painted nails just makes me feel better when I look down at my hands; it makes me feel more put together. Susan designing a custom piece for the Bobby Pin collection. Do you have a favorite polish or go-to look? I personally love having solid white nails. It just looks really clean and is simple enough to go with anything. Floss Gloss has a great white called "Mrs. Tony Montana." It is perfectly opaque. I really love a good metallic nail, maybe because I work with precious metals. Essie makes a great silver called "No Place Like Chrome" that I like to wear when my nails are longer. Where do you find your inspiration? When I'm designing jewelry I am often inspired by geometric patterns and nature—especially flowers and leaves. These seem to be themes that I reference a lot and turn to for ideas. The thing I love about making custom jewelry and accessories is that I get to be inspired by something completely new with each client. My business partner, Maria de Diego (founder of BOBBY PIN Jewelry), and I work really well together, we seem to come up with even better designs when we bounce ideas off of each other. We both have major obsessions with the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements so we find tons of inspiration and ideas from those styles. Pieces from the Bobby Pin collection.
What do you love most about working on custom pieces for brides? At Bobby Pin, Maria and I work with brides to make completely custom jewelry for their wedding day. Everything about your wedding is personalized to you, so we work with our customers to make jewelry, hair pieces, and accessories that are like new heirloom pieces—pieces that our clients can wear time and time again and eventually pass on to their children. I really feel like the details are what make a wedding especially memorable, whether that is a piece of unique custom jewelry or a very special manicure. |
AuthorSusan Schell is a working hand model in Paris and NYC. Archives
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