Career Path

How to make it as a... leading MALE

MANICURIST

With an impressive portfolio including work for Vogue, Marie Claire and several London Fashion Week shows, Robbie Tomkins reveals the skills and experience you need to make it big as a top nail tech

1. Nails need to be your passion “I only started painting nails six years ago and it all happened by accident. I was working in consumer press relations (PR) and I met the owner of nail brand Rock Beauty London, who asked if I would do their PR. I got to go to New York, Paris and London Fashion Weeks with the brand and quickly identified that there weren’t many men doing session work. I thought, ‘I could create a little niche for myself here’.

“I bought a gel-polish kit and started offering £5 manicures in my lunch hour to women at the office. I would also book days off work to assist top techs doing session work, like Ama Quashie, Jenny Longworth, Imarni and Lucy Tucker, and things just continued to take off – now I’m a brand ambassador for Navy Professional and Bio Sculpture.”

2. There’s no easy way to land work “It’s a bit of a minefield finding session work, which encompasses fashion, editorial and celebrity jobs. The best route to get your foot in the door is to assist at London Fashion Week, which runs every February and September. This is the time top techs are on the hunt for good assistants, so see who is posting about it on social media and contact them directly.

“If you live outside of London, get an Airbnb – some techs will post an hour or two before showtime asking for extra help, so you need to be able to get there quickly. Doing regular session work usually means you will be signed with an agency but it’s not a pre-requisite, it just makes it a bit easier. Being signed does come with fees.”

3. Your attitude is as important as your skill and technique “Having a positive attitude on set is the number-one thing that will get you rebooked, so get on with everyone and bring positive vibes. Big no-nos are being moody or turning up late. I’ve worked with magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Vanity Fair, and they remember what you bring to the set. Last year, I did my first ever Marie Claire cover, doing the nails for actress Gabriella Wilde, and it’s been a career highlight.

“This isn’t a typical nine-to-five job either. The hours are long, some of the fashion week shows require you to start at 6am while others don’t kick off until 9pm, and the conditions can be hard – you have to fight to have prominence backstage, as hair and make-up tends to take priority. It’s organised chaos but it’s an amazing, buzzy atmosphere.”

4. Make sure you have financial reserves “Have a plan B for money, whether it’s a part-time job or seeing private clients, as the pay in session work is really unpredictable. You’ll need this other source of income to support you when you’re starting out. I’ve worked on lots of editorial shoots and catwalk shows for free (even ones where I was the lead manicurist), and I have done others that have been paid.

“However, working these jobs taught me to work fast and helped raise my profile, and it really is a great accomplishment. Plus, if you can then land those big campaigns, then you will get paid way more money than you ever would working in a salon. Any money I get paid, I always pass on to my assistants too, though.”

5. Don’t be hard on yourself “I used to take it so personally when I would get optioned for a job and then be told the day before that I didn’t get it. It’s crushing, but I’ve learned over time that if somebody else has got it – sometimes a friend you’ve made in the industry – it’s not personal. For this job, you need a bit of a thick skin.” PB

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