Photo courtesy of Crystal Leung.
I know I’m not the only one curious about celebs and influencers’ favorite beauty buys as well as who and what shape their view of beauty in the biz.
Mercury retrograde has been devastating for so many, but it has also served up a few amazing surprises. The astrological phenomenon is known to bring people back from our past, and it occurred a little earlier than expected when I was recently scrolling through my Instagram feed and stumbled on a set of decadent digits belonging to @KillaCrystal, aka Crystal Leung. The designer and former MindBodyGreen art director, who’s worked with brands like Anthropologie, Thinx, and Starbucks (just to name a few), and I went to college together but had lost touch since we graduated. She was not only open to reconnecting with me but even invited me over to her home office and mini salon, filled with everything from foils and glitters to crystals and photo-ready props, for a magnificent manicure of my own that I’m honestly having a hard time giving up right now.
“My nails are always done, and I wanted to see what I do to them throughout the year and to document my nail art game to hopefully improve,” she told me of the start of the budding Instagram account. She explained that she had played around with nail art in the past, even curating her work on herself and her circle of friends under the hashtag #killacrystalnails. But she saw 2018 as the perfect time to launch a separate Instagram account as well as its own hashtag, #killacrystalnailfiles, where she showcases her serious skills in the form of vibrant metallics and holographic hues covered in crystals and fresh foils on a weekly basis. And after becoming totally taken with her intricate tips, I had to find out how she used her eye for design for her magical manicures plus a few of her current nail art necessities.
One of KillaCrystal’s Ultimate manicures, courtesy of Crystal Leung.
On her approach to beauty: “[D]iscover and experiment. One of my cardinal rules for my personal style is to try everything out (twice even) because you never know how it will turn out on you. The moments when I try something I didn’t think would work on me and then it becomes my new fave item feels a bit magical. Everyone should try it, I dare you. My personal style, fashion-wise, has evolved like everyone else throughout their lives, but the thing that remains consistent is my fearlessness to try out all the weird things just to see what it looks like.”
On her beauty idols: “I don’t remember who my beauty idols [were] growing up because no one looked like me in the magazines that I read. But I do remember appreciating those who had a more daring eccentric style and personality that still holds true today.”
On her first beauty memory: “My cousin and my mom putting lipstick on me for pictures at a family wedding. It was a dark burnt maroon and it looked horrible on me. Even as a kid, I knew it was not a good color for my skin tone. I never really cared for lipstick anyway. It is always [the] last priority [in] my makeup routine.”
Maybelline ExpertWear Eyeshadow Duo, discontinued.
On her first beauty buy: “A Maybelline duo smoky eyeshadow palette from CVS to use with my forever-borrowed eyeliner from my mom.”
On the best beauty advice she’s received: “[Use] sunscreen and moisturize, and don’t pluck your eyebrows when you’re in your twenties.”
On her best beauty tip to share: “[Use] Jojoba oil for your face and/or whole body moisturizer.”
On Her favorite beauty buy of 2018, so far: “Boy brow by Glossier in clear and in black. Clear is for my baby hairs, black is for my brows.”
Photo courtesy of Crystal Leung.
- Color Club Halo Hues Nail Polish in Cherubic and Harp On It, $12
“I love the entire holographic color club collection because it is a great polish and can be opaque in one coat and is affordable…super win! My favorite color from them is Cherubic (nude) and Harp On It (silver).” - Orly Breathable Treatment + Color in TLC, $8.99
“I love the Orly breathable collection because it is an all-in-one basecoat, color, and topcoat AND is free of 13+ bad chemicals. My favorite color from them is TLC.” - Etude House Ice Cream Nail Polish,
3,99 €
“The ice cream polish is from Etude House and it is because that packaging is too kawaii not to include and was an irresistible buy.” - Zoya Magical Pixie Dust Textured Polish in Cosmo, $10
“My favorite silver holographic glitter…has holo glitters [in] various sizes and shapes that give it a good overall dimension when painted on. I love using it for glitter ombre manicures.” - Starrily Iridescent Polish in Unicorn, $15
“The iridescent unicorn skin glitter is from Starrily, which is a new fav indie brand and also has a bunch of great glitters and holo polishes in their collection.”