Growing up in California, this self-professed skater boy may seem like an unlikely nail guru but with his impressive clientele (which includes Victoria Beckham and Beyoncé), Tom Bachik is undoubtedly one of the top celebrity manicurists. We caught up with Bachik in Cannes to discuss his stance on nail
polish colours, his role as a global spokesperson for L’Oréal Paris and what trends we can look for on Hollywood’s A-list this season.

Q: How did you get started in the industry?

Tom Bachik: “I started off in a salon where I learned about nail competitions. I’ve always been competitive–I play sports, was into racing jet skies, that kind of thing—so I thought, “I can compete at doing nails? That’s crazy.” I started competing and within a year I won the world championship. After that, I started doing photo shoots and a makeup artist asked me who my agent was. I had no idea you could even have an agent for doing fingernails! From there it just exploded and I started working with people like Eva Longoria, Britney Spears, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and Jessica Simpson. It was just word of mouth really and it’s just been an amazing time.”

Q: What is your realtionship at L’Oréal Paris?

Tom Bachik: “L’Oréal has been doing so many amazing things with nails and nail art, from their three-dimensional nail art stickers to their new formulas and colours. I’ve worked with L’Oreal for many years and recently the company wanted to focus on nails and brought me on as a global spokesperson. It’s a dream come true and I never thought my career would have gone in this direction. Every year just gets better and better for me I’m just grateful for everything.”

To find out what Tom Bachik can tell about a woman just by looking at her hands, read on the next page…

Q: What do you love most about doing nails?

Tom Bachik: “I love watching how something as simple as a manicure can change a women’s demeanor. A lot of the times women come onto the set and see me and say “Oh you’re doing my nails, thank goodness!” and they get very shy and hide their nails and apologize for not having them done. But by the time we put the colour on they’re confident and talking with their hands and even showing off a new ring. They’re much more expressive and you can just tell it creates a while new sense of confidence and completeness, just by doing a manicure.”

Q: What can you tell about a person just by looking at their hands?

Tom Bachik: “I think that nails are becoming much more a statement of refinement. A person could be dressed very casually, but if her nails are done very nicely then she looks complete. Conversely, if you see a woman who’s dressed to the nines but then her nails aren’t done, then you think she’s just playing dress-up. It’s kind of like a guy who is wearing a really nice suit or tuxedo but then has very old shoes that are scuffed and torn—you know they are just playing dress-up for a night.”

Q: How do you think women feel about their nails today?

Tom Bachik: “I think now nails have almost become like jewelry–you can change up your nails as often as you change your mood. If you feel rebellious, go with a deep, rich glamorous colour. If you feel playful choose a bright, fun, expressive colour. There’s almost no wrong nowadays with nail colour, it has become such an extension of a person’s personality that whose to say its wrong if someone likes it.”

Q: Is there a colour that suits your personality best?

Tom Bachik: “Probably black or a very deep blue.”

Q: What do you think are the next big nail trends?

Tom Bachik: “I think we’ve seen a lot of
cream colours, very simple cream colours. I think we’re going to see a lot more dimension in colours. Where its colour with colour, glitter and shimmer inside it so that you see lowlights and highlights, very neon and very electric.”

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