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What’s in My Kit: How Nail Artist Keri Blair Creates Museum-Worthy Manicures Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
In our What's In My Kit series, we snoop inside the toolboxes of the beauty industry's biggest names.MAC Senior Artist Keri Blair, the brand’s go-to nail guru, doesn’t just paint nails— she creates runway and editorial manicures that are tiny works of art. And to help her transform tips into masterpieces, she’s amassed a serious collection of nail supply store finds and MacGyver-esque hacks that will blow your mind. Here, Blair lets us peek inside her epic stash of polishes, tools and decorative baubles, and offers up some can’t-miss manicure tips along the way. Warning: her creative spirit is so contagious, you may be inspired to attempt some nail art of your own.Photographed on location at MAC Pro in New York City.Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Meet Keri Blair Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“I work backstage for MAC doing nails, and I get to key some great shows. I’ve keyed Desigual, Ruffian, Rebecca Taylor, Ohne Titel, Sophie Theallet.”“I also key in Milan, which is a really amazing experience because in Milan the nail game is just getting started. I’ve worked with Cavalli, Blumarine, MSGM, so it’s been a really big win for us as a brand and for me as well in learning how to pave the way for that beyond just buffing the nails or applying a nude polish.”“What’s interesting about nails is that the trend moves lighting fast. It’s different than makeup, where it’s a slower change, because I think people get very comfortable with what lipstick they love, and how they wear their eyebrows, and if they wear eyeliner or don’t. With nails, I feel like people are much more experimental and they’re ready for the new thing every single week, almost.”Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Polish Colors Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Blair always travels with a variety of colors, particularly a wide selection of nudes and reds. Both the "perfect" nude and "classic" red are subjective and dependent on skin tone. She also likes to have both white and black polishes that she can mix with other shades to adjust the intensity. MAC's new Nail Transformations (bottom row) are designed to be layered and mixed to change the finish of any lacquer.
MAC Studio Nail Lacquer and Nail Transformations ($12 each) are available July 3 at MAC stores and online.
Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Tools of the Trade Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
From acetone to cuticle pushers, these items help Blair prep nails for polish.
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File Manager Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“I’m always in search of the right file,” she says. For natural nails, she recommends an emery board with 180 grit or higher (the higher the number, the less abrasive the file) or a glass file to avoid damaging the nail. A shine buffer with 220 or 240 grit is good for taking surface scuffs off the nail.Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Cotton Swabs Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
We’re picky when it comes to cotton swabs, so we instantly fell for these double-ended ones. “It’s really important to clean under the nail,” Blair says, and their skinny tips are just the right size.
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Drying Spray Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Need your polish to dry ASAP? Blair swears by The Ultimate Fix, a spray from UK company Beauty Narcotix that is meant to be applied between each coat and leaves lacquer dry and shiny.
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Hello Kitty Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
How cute is this Hello Kitty topper for cuticle nippers? The rubber covering helps protect the tool’s point.
Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Hand Cream Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
To moisturize mitts, Blair uses MAC Mineralize Charged Water Face and Body Lotion, which she says is “really hydrating.”
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Cuticle Oil Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“Cuticle oil is my number one essential,” Blair says. Dadi Oil is her all-time favorite because it’s organic, smells good and has a lightweight consistency. Plus, it comes in small bottles that she can give to clients. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving!”Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Detail-Oriented Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
To create tiny detailed designs, Blair carries a striper brush housed in a bottle of acetone to keep the bristles clean. She uses the MAC 263 Small Angle Brush to clean up stray polish marks around the cuticles. “Because it's synthetic, nail polish remover doesn't affect it,” she explains. The dappen dish, which looks like a tiny shot glass, can hold acetone for easy dipping.
She also has an easy hack for keeping polish off cuticles: Mix three parts Elmer’s Glue with one part water and apply to the skin around the nail using a sponge. When you’re done painting your nails, peel off glue to reveal clean skin. Easy!
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Polish Protector Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Genius alert: these cotton pads with a peel-off backing let Blair remove a client’s polish without messing up her own (awesome) nails. Her tip for easy removal? Saturate the pad with acetone and hold it over the nail. Move the pad to the right, move it to the left, and then pull it straight down the middle, off the edge of the nail. Never rub back and forth — you’ll end up staining your skin with polish pigment.
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In the Bag Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
How Blair keeps her kit organized: lots of bags with lots of compartments. This one is by Roo Beauty.
Photo by: Ana Schechter -
In the Bag Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
How cool are those pyramid-shaped compartments?
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Mix and Match Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“You can make custom polishes by using pigments,” says Blair, who keeps this large collection of MAC Pigment shades in her kit to mix with other polish shades or with clear topcoat. She also uses them in gel polish.Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Sequins and Things Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“From stars to grommets to spikes to Fimo, there are so many different things you can do” on a nail, Blair says. “Some of these things are just sequins that you can get at M&J Trimming, and some of them are very specific nail art things that I’ve gotten over the years from eBay or various nail distributors.”Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Crystal Castle Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“At my house, I have this magnetized board and I have sample pots that I put magnets on, and I put all of them on there so I can see what I have. I can’t take credit for the idea — I stole it from the girls at Hey, Nice Nails! in Long Beach.”
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Shiny Things Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“I’m inspired by all kinds of things — pop culture, music, food, Japanese pop culture — and so it was really easy for me to come up with concepts for nails, so I started a blog called Nail Art Junkie.”
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Silver and Gold Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
It’s easy to apply silver or gold leaf to nails, Blair says — it sticks to any wet polish or topcoat.
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More Sequins Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“There’s this really awesome site called DollarNailArt.com, and they sell all of this stuff for $1 apiece.”
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Nail Art Tools Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Blair uses the differently sized dotting tools to make polka dots and other shapes. Tweezers help her place embellishments on the nail. She uses pliers to bend certain charms in order to fit them to the nail shape. “One season for Ruffian we did these really cool cages on the nail, and I had to hand bend each one of the pieces in order for it to fit over top of the nail, because they were too flat,” she says.
The ball bearings are used to mix polish. “Polish thins as you shake it, so if you find that it’s getting clumpy or dry, and you don’t want to throw away your color, just give it a really hard shake and it will sheer out.” When creating custom colors, “I use the ball bearings to help mix it and make it really homogenous in the bottle,” she says.
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Nail Foils Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“Nail foils are some of my favorite things to work with,” Blair says. “You could do a solid nail with it. I like it better as a deconstructed thing — I like it burnished, sort of peeling off the nail.”“The trick with the nail foil is that you have to use a special glue, and it comes with it if you order from Dollar Nail Art.”Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Nail Vinyls Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“They allow you to do stripes and chevrons and zig zags. You put it on and you paint over top of it, and when you peel it away it leaves the negative space. The trick is you want to pull it off before the nail polish is completely dry. So you put it on, wait a couple seconds, and use your tweezer to remove it in the opposite direction of how you applied it. You can do the same trick with striping tape.”
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Lucky Charms Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“You can put anything you want on a nail, as long as it’s flat. There is a little bit of physics to it. Sometimes it could be too heavy, or it could scratch you. I’ve definitely had things put on my nails where I’ve had to wear rubber tips while I’m sleeping so I don’t cut myself!”Blair says you can attach charms like these, which she sourced from Nail Jerks, by encasing them in gel or using nail glue - just make sure you’re gluing it to lacquer, not your bare nail.Photo by: Ana Schechter -
The Archive Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Blair keeps all of the nails she creates for editorial shoots and runway shows.
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Runway Nails Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
To save space, she keeps past seasons’ designs in carefully labeled bags.
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Tack Hack Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
When Blair pre-paints nails for the runway, she uses this genius mounting hack, which she learned from an assistant. The plastic hooks are the ones you find in the office supply aisle. She attaches the nail to them with reusable adhesive putty (A.K.A. Fun Tack or Blu-Tak).
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Double Stick Tape Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Sometimes, it’s easier to paint a set of nails held down by double stick tape.
Photo by: Ana Schechter -
Press On Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“When I’m working with fake nails, I usually pre-paint them, and the way I apply them is with a double-stick toupee tape or fashion tape. It allows them to stick without having to use glue, and then you can just use a little bit of acetone or oil on the nail, or wash your hands, and the nails will come off. Once it sets, it stays pretty well.”
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Nail Designs Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“I love to use gouache paint and acrylic paint for nail art. It’s very pliable and easy, and once you put topcoat over top of it, it clears out any texture you would get from the paint. It’s also great too if you’re just learning. As long as your nail polish is dry — really dry, like overnight dry — you can go in and paint with acrylic paint or gouache paint, and if you make a mistake, use a little bit of alcohol on a cotton swab or paper towel, and you can wipe it away without starting over.”
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Artistic Training Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
“I feel that my experience as a makeup artist — understanding and mixing color, and looking at makeup as color and texture — has really taken that fear out of nails. What’s the worst it can do? Not work? You can just take it off. So that has really helped me have some great opportunities and to do some things in the very beginning part of my nail career that in the very beginning part of my makeup career I maybe wouldn’t have been able to handle.”
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Sky’s the Limit Wendy Rodewald-Sulz
Feeling inspired now? Go for it! Blair says, “The nail community is insanely supportive and gracious, and if you go on Tumblr or Instagram or YouTube, you’ll see that there is any kind of how-to you want to know, you can find it in spades.” There’s never been a better time to pick up a striper brush and get creative.
