I have followed the work of Nagi at DISCO nails for a few years and have always been in awe. She creates tiny works of art that are so detailed and perfect that I just stare at them in amazement.
I never ever thought I’d be lucky enough to get my nails done by her, firstly because she’s based in Japan and secondly because I assumed she’d be booked up for months in advance! At the beginning of February I achieved a dream and went to Japan for 2 weeks and while I was there I took a chance and got in touch with DISCO nails to see if they had an opening for a manicure. And lucky for me, she did – cue lots of screaming and clapping!
Let’s get right to it, here are the beautiful nails I had done:
My manicure at DISCO Nails, Tokyo
I KNOW! I know. They are the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen. I KNOW. She had a big book of designs to choose from, so I blended two together and then asked for the little Totoro on my right middle finger to be added. This was all done in gels, and the detail was (of course) done by hand with tiny, tiny paintbrushes. I was staring in amazement while she was working as she is just so talented. When I wasn’t staring at Nagi’s skills, the salon was ridiculously cool: pastel colours, films on a constant loop in the corner (I watched Ruby Sparks while I was there), Bjork albums playing, quirky kitsch decor… it was like I’d died and gone to heaven.
And if all that wasn’t enough, there was a tiny dog running around! Look! He curled up and went to sleep on my lap. So cute!
Nagi was super lovely and friendly, and her English was incredible – I was a bit worried that we’d have to sit in silence for hours as my Japanese doesn’t extend past ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and ‘2 more drinks please’! Plus she had the ends of her eyelashes tinted white. So bloody cool. Look at her fringed leather jacket! I can’t believe I got a chance to meet her and have my nails done. If it sounds like I’m fan girling… I totally am!
We’re already planning our next trip to Japan, so I’ll definitely be going back to DISCO nails. And I can’t wait!
You can look at her amazing work on Instagram.
Lex
