App State Nails

College is the time to discover what you have a passion for and how you could possibly spend that "9-5" time for the rest of your life.

For Appalachian State University sophomore, Sarah McCoy, this passion can be found both in Molecular Biology and in the highly coveted art of painting nails.

Sarah McCoy

Nail painting was a skill McCoy picked up in middle school after noticing the skills of a friend and deciding to strive for the same. It was at this time that McCoy began to collect different polishes and tools necessary to adequately develop her skills.

McCoy transferred to ASU in the fall of 2016 and has taken the off-the-cuff advice of a faculty member at ASU to offer her nail painting abilities at a greatly discounted price than those of salons to other Mountaineers.

I had the opportunity to experience McCoy's nail painting first hand after coming across her flyer in the ASU Library. After emailing her, we set up an appointment to meet in the student union.

My finished nails!

I had given her an idea of what I wanted on my nails (bright red, with polka-dots just on the accent fingers) and McCoy had taken the time to paint a sample that displayed different types of polka-dots for me to choose from.

Throughout the process, McCoy walked me through everything she was doing and why, which I really appreciated. She began with coconut oil on my cuticles and light alcohol to clean my nails and remove any oils from my nails that could get in her way.

An example of Greek letters

Her painting line-up included a nail strengthening base coat, a few good red options for me to choose from, and a strong topcoat. In between her painting steps, McCoy was quick to clean up any imperfections with a little bit of acetone. Finally, she finished by spraying each nail with a quick drying coat (which is a must for the people like me who just can't seem to sit still long enough to let their nails dry).

During our conversations, McCoy included a few great tips for nail maintenance such as wearing gloves when doing anything with water or when you are in lab that requires chemical use. She also recommended moisturizing after painting your nails to keep the oils from messing up your polish.

"Always use a base coat before you put polish on," McCoy added as we talked about nail painting tips. "A top coat isn’t a base coat, and there are some products that say they work as a top and base coat… don’t use those either. They are more expensive than just a regular base coat and a top coat sold separately."

Overall, I was very impressed with McCoy's knowledge of what she was doing and her unbeatable price.

Prices are by the nail:

• Super greens coat only ($0.50)
• Detox nail treatment ($0.90)
• Solid color (McCoy will paint with your nail polish if you want) ($0.50)
• 2+ colors (simple designs, and some graphics) ($0.70)
• Gradients and glitter (some loose glitter, but mostly glitter polish)($0.90)
• Jewels ($1.00 extra per nail)

As McCoy grows her selection of design possibilities, she will update her information and listed prices. In the future, she hopes to offer stamps, temporary tattoos, and metallic tattoos for use in her designs.

You can contact McCoy at appstatenails@gmail.com and follow her on Instagram at @app.state.nails