Hand-painted nail artist, Bethany Mann of Beth’s Beauty, Cambridge, shares her love for creating detailed designs & reveals where she finds inspo for her bright & bold artistry…
Having had a passion for nails from a young age, Bethany loved art and had studied the subject in school, inspiring her to create artistic nail looks. “I practised on myself, family and friends at any opportunity I got,” she remembers.
After finishing school in 2013, Beth continued on to college, studying beauty therapy. “I fell in love with learning new beauty skills, and I loved how beauty made people feel good. I stayed at college for two years, achieving two diplomas in Beauty Therapy Levels 2 and 3.”
During her final year of college, Bethany found a part-time job working at a nail and beauty salon. “It was completely different to carrying out treatments on clients at college. The salon was walk-in service only, so I quickly had to learn to work quicker as we only had a certain amount of time to carry out treatments.
“It was a very fast-paced environment, which I loved as I was always on the go,” she recalls. “Working here led me to fall even more in love with nail artistry – I was always the go-to therapist for nail art designs. I was also able to complete a range of courses during my time there, helping expand my knowledge in the beauty industry.”
After five years working in the salon, Bethany decided to set up her own beauty business. “It took me a few years to take the plunge and set up my own salon, so I worked part time at another salon while I built up my clientele,” she details.
“After six months, I built up a regular client base and made the move to full self-employment, which was the best decision I ever made. I love being my own boss and being able to have that one-to-one personal time with my clients, and I constantly keep my skills up to date with different courses and masterclasses to learn all the latest tips and tricks.”
“I love to create hand-painted nail art looks, adding contrasting textures to a design to make it stand out,” Bethany reveals. “I love bright colours and funky nail art, like flames, chequerboard and smiley faces, as well as anything floral. My clients usually request some form of nail art, whether its a bold or a subtle design.
“As for my own nails, I began my builder gel journey a couple of years ago after being a nail biter and picker. I’m definitely a bright nail sort of girl and love anything that you can see from a mile away. I love doing nail art on my own nails and you’ll hardly ever see me with a plain set on. I always like to make my nails a bit funky and different. My clients also love seeing what I’ve done with my nails so they can get some inspo for their next nail look.”
“There are so many nail techs who I admire in the industry, as everyone has their own styles and ways to create different designs on nails. Nail artists that are creative with their style of nail art, who have such a passion for creating amazing designs inspire me and push me to try out new techniques and improve on my skills as a nail artist.
“Emily Meraki is just one of the many nail artists who inspires me,” Bethany reveals. “I have followed her work for years and love every single design that she creates. Her work is so clean and detailed. Janine Orpen is another nail tech that I’m obsessed with. She creates so many different funky sets that go so well together. I love how her sets of nails are always colour coordinated.”
“I find a lot of inspiration from seeing the work of other nail artists and putting my own spin on a design.”
“As for my next career steps, I’d love to expand my knowledge and skills in the nail industry by attending more training courses and masterclasses. The nail industry is always evolving and I want to be able to perfect my skills even more.
“In the future I hope to see that the nail industry is valued more for our skills and the happiness we bring to our clients. We need to value the work and services we provide by charging enough for the work we create. I’m so excited to see what the next steps are for my career and to see what happens in the future.”
“There are so many different things that I love about working in the nail industry. I love the overall sense of community,” she smiles. “There are so many different ways to connect with other nail techs in the industry. Everyone is so supportive of one another and it’s nice to see us all come together as individual nail techs.
“Working in the nail industry allows me the freedom of being able to create pieces of art on peoples nails. I love seeing how happy this makes my clients. You’re able to create such a bond or even a friendship with clients by giving them a set of nails that instantly boosts their mood. I love that it’s such a rewarding job and how allows me to both be creative and also to make people feel beautiful at the same time.”
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