Cathy Torres drew inspiration from Disney villains for her Nailpro cover.
Nails and Makeup: Cathy Torres; Hair: Coni Grande; Photographer: Ethan Torres; Model: Tennessee Torres. Images courtesy of Cathy Torres.
Cathy Torres submitted a Disney villains mood board for her winning Cover Contest design. “Every year since my kids were little, I would take the opportunity at Halloween to dress up as a Disney character! My favorite characters are Maleficent, Cruella, Tinkerbell and the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland,” said Torres. Torres ultimately decided to focus on Captain Hook from Peter Pan. She made her cover a family affair by featuring her daughter, Tennessee, as the model, and her son, Ethan, as the photographer. She credits three families who supported her in creating her cover: Bio Sculpture; Amicis Salon • Hair • Skin • Nails; and Tennessee, Ethan and her husband, Dave.
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Cathy Torres submitted a Disney villains mood board for her winning Cover Contest design. “Every year since my kids were little, I would take the opportunity at Halloween to dress up as a Disney character! My favorite characters are Maleficent, Cruella, Tinkerbell and the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland,” said Torres. Torres ultimately decided to focus on Captain Hook from Peter Pan. She made her cover a family affair by featuring her daughter, Tennessee, as the model, and her son, Ethan, as the photographer. She credits three families who supported her in creating her cover: Bio Sculpture; Amicis Salon • Hair • Skin • Nails; and Tennessee, Ethan and her husband, Dave.
Nailpro: How long have you been a licensed nail tech?
Cathy Torres (CT): When I graduated from Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, it was as an esthetician 30 years ago. It was about five years after graduating and moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, when I started concentrating more on being a nail tech while working at the Absolute Spa.
Nailpro: Why did you become a nail tech?
CT: My greatest satisfaction is seeing the before and after! When you have a client who comes to you because they are ashamed or embarrassed of their nails then you transform those to a beautiful extension of who they are from the inside out, it is truly gratifying.
Nailpro: When did you get into nail art?
CT: I have been dabbling in minimal nail art for many years using gems, glitter, stripe tapes and the handy dotting tool with all its uses. I feel like the nail art industry has exploded now with chromes, foils, building art gels, blooming gels, inks, high-pigment powders and gels—all that can and have been used for nail art masterpieces. I do prefer hand-painting detailed artwork with gels, which started for me during the pandemic in the summer of 2021 when I entered Bio Sculpture Canada’s “Take Us On a Trip Around The World!” 2nd Global series BioSkills Art Challenge. This competition is what unleashed and started my passion for nail art. Nailpro Cover Contest winner Cathy Torres.
Nailpro: For how long have you been creating?
CT: With my kids getting older and becoming young adults and the pandemic hitting, I was forced to have more time on my hands. It got me thinking: I was missing “painting,” which was my Zen. I wanted more from doing nails. I wanted to be on a social platform where I could be inspired and hopefully inspire fellow nail techs into nail art. At the beginning of 2021, my son and daughter helped me set up my Instagram account to try and teach this old dog new tricks in the way of Instagram. When they were kids, they were always on Minecraft blowing things up with TNT, which is how I came up with my username, @topnailtech, and this is when I started creating nail art.
Nailpro: What is your inspiration behind the cover?
CT: Disney has a very special place in my heart! I worked at Tokyo Disneyland in Japan as a can-can dancer. Thank goodness I know how to do nails because I sure cannot do jump splits now. Halloween was always an opportunity to dress up as a Disney character in my house. I love to spook the kids on Halloween, and dressing up as a Disney villain was perfect!
When I found out I was doing the cover with my Disney villain theme, I was on my 50th birthday vacation with my family. We were on a ferry heading back to Vancouver, and everyone was collaborating on ideas. When my sister, Peggy, said, “How about Captain Hook?”—a classic villain—the ideas for the nails came to me right away, and I could not wait to get started.
Nailpro: How do you conceptualize your nail art?
CT: When I am coming up with ideas for how to execute my nail art, I go to Google Images. For this, I put in Captain Hook, and when I saw the picture of him, I knew it was the one. Scrolling through, I also found inspirational photos of Tick-Tock the crocodile and the clock.
Once I had my visual of my accent nails (Captain Hook, the crocodile with mouth open and the clock), I go to pencil and paper to start sketching a plan on the nails and plan my color scheme. After my sketch, I start painting and hope that the vision in my head is what I see on the nails.
Nailpro: What is your most memorable or favorite creative nail?
CT: On Canada Day (July 1) in 2001, I was working at the Absolute Spa in Vancouver, British Columbia, when I was asked to go on set to do a manicure and pedicure for a celebrity who was in town for a promotional video and concert. She wanted black nails to go with her outfit for the video. Twenty-one years ago, black was not as popular, and I did not have a black product with me on set! So, I grabbed two of my darkest colors—an eggplant and a deep, deep blue—and layered them, which came out perfect! The makeup artist asked her to turn around and give us a look. When she held her hands up to her face and posed, it was a WOW moment and memory for me.
About the Artist:
Cathy Torres has been an esthetician/nail technician for 30 years. She is proud to be a Bio Sculpture (Canada) brand ambassador and has loyal clientele in Amicis Salon • Hair • Skin • Nails. She has two children who are now young adults and lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, with her husband.