bellabox crush: Trophy Wife Nail Art

You may have seen her handiwork (pardon the pun) all over your instagram feeds, in video clips, or even gracing your own nails if you've been so lucky... introducing the lovely Chelsea Bagan of Trophy Wife Nail Art! We sat down to chat about all things nails and just how Chelsea manages to paint masterpieces on one of the smallest canvasses possible! 

Stepping into Chelsea's lovely studio, it's hard to believe Trophy Wife Nail Art began a few short years ago with a couple of puff paint nail pens ordered from ebay and a the ambition to make wallet friendly nights in fun! But that's exactly how it all came to be...

A naturally creative type - as evidenced in her gorgeously styled studio as well as her amazing nail creations - Chelsea first brought her love for nail art to life on herself at home. For her, a visit for mid-week mani was a fun way to treat herself and she always went for the craziest colour combos possible; a very odd request just a few years ago before nail art hit the big time! Yes, there was a time when the classic French Mani, pink or red were the only offerings at most nail salons. So, she took things into her own hands...

Once she started experimenting on herself, her friends took notice. Then friends of friends, and friends of those friends, and, so the story goes, the rest was history! Finally the day came when Chelsea decided this was what she was going to do - and like many of us could appreciate, at first her mum didn't quite get it. But it didn't take long for her to come around, just in the same way it didn't take long for her bookings to start filling up! Oh, and the name? A cute, jokey reference, poking fun at the stereotype of Trophy Wives getting their nails did. 'It's a light hearted thing to get done, so I thought the name should reflect that'.

Now, she's moved into Trophy Wife Nail Art HQ on Bridge Road in Melbourne, above her best pals hair studio, Goldy & Locks - now that's our idea of a fun workplace...

When we arrived at Trophy Wife, we immediately got to choosing our fave polish picks - not as easy as you'd think! There are so many to choose from, and each new style is just as cute as the last. When we came across the pineapples in Chelsea's book 'The Hand Book - A Guide To Nail Art + Dotting Tool' (a must read for nail art enthusiasts) we were hooked - add that to a cute Jaws-like shark, a watermelon and a flamingo, and we had our design sorted. A kind of 'summer on steroids' mani! Cue insane amounts of excitement...

The best thing is, Chelsea does any request - yes, ANY. One of the most bizarre? A lamb on the spit for a Greek family event! And where she hasn't attempted your request before, it's simple: google, google, google. She finds the images and recreate them on your hands, just like the 10 different Pikachu's with different expressions to match as requested by a recent client. Or the Harry Potter medley. yep, there's something for everyone.

Then, Chelsea got to picking polishes. She asked what I liked and didn't like (I took the 'more colourful the better' approach) and she quizzed me on my silver vs. gold preferences for my glitter feature nail (I settled on gold)... ps. What we wouldn't do for a nail polish collection that big!

So, what are the tools of the trade? Essentials are a huge wardrobe of polish (obviously) and Chelsea doesn't stick to one brand, preferring to collect her stash based on colour and pigment, rather than who made it. She does draw a line at very cheap polishes, but for the most part, anything is a winner as long as the colour is quality. We saw OPI, Bloom and one of ours and Chelsea's faves, Kester Black, all in high rotation. (Chelsea even has a signature Trophy Wife Nail Art x Kester Black shade called Alimony, in the exact same minty colour as bb blue. Did someone say match made in mani heaven?)

The other must haves? A dotting tool, a polish remover pen (there's nothing you can't fix with one of these), a striping brush and polish to match in black and white to draw the reallllly fine lines. Oh, and a good quality top coat. This is what'll make those designs last and last for as long as possible.

Watching Chelsea paint is actually a super relaxing experience and really fun to see the designs come together. We quizzed her on practicing on herself ('I used to, but now I like the challenge of making it up on the spot') and how on earth she manages to have such steady hands! ('No coffee and no nights out before work!) And even despite the decaf coffees, Chelsea is incredibly lovely to visit and chat to whilst having your mani experience - we honestly can't say we'd be as calm and focused at work without our daily cup of Joe!

I also can't stress this enough: this is SO much better than any other mani I've ever had, and not just because of the insanely good designs. It's a real beauty experience, as opposed to a beauty job, like so many other appointments can tend to feel like.

So, it's about time to share the final result (alongside the cute nail map Chelsea drew up at the start for me)...

Ta daaaaaaa!

(obligatory 'claw' pose)

She totally nailed it, right? (wink wink) Which nail do you love the best? I'm obsessed with the shark attack - even though it is the only nail I don't want to see re-enacted this summer...

So, you're probably shaking your screens and asking how oh how can you book in yourself by now, yes? Easy. Click here to book an appointment and learn more.

Or, if you aren't walking, driving or cycling distance to her studio, you can follow Trophy Wife Nail Art on instagram just here. Or, on facebook and twitter too.

And if you're feeling sad your nails aren't sporting amazing art like this, fear not. We are pumped to announce that Chelsea will be coming into bbHQ to teach us how to nail our own nail art and we'll be sharing the How To tutorial with all of you to copy at home!

Are you excited? Which of her desings would you like to see in our How To? Let us know! - Lauren

(photo credits, Heather Lighton and Em Ventura)