KTLA 5 CW:
July 2, 2008Marta Waller, KTLA News
Perfectly groomed nails can be seen everywhere you look in Southern California.
Bright colored polish adorns the long, acrylic nails on legions of women who walk out of one of countless nail salons.
But for a truly natural manicure with a buffed beauty only an artist can deliver you have to know Georgyanna Giardini.
Starkly simple is the latest trend in manicures. Short, neat nails without polish. Just smooth and buffed. Buffed? Can you even find an old-fashioned nail buffer? Look around.
In store after store all you'll see are foam blocks with varying textures designed to leave your nails smooth and shiny.
But Georgyanna Giardini, a petite dynamo of a woman who has been buffing nails for more than 50 years says those are the types of things that can seriously damage nails.
In fact, as much as buffing seems harmless, when not done properly, Georgyanna tells us that's definitely not the case. "I get people coming through here, their nails are ruined from buffing and I've been buffing for 52 years.
You can ruin it only if you do it wrong. It's just like any other craft.
If you don't do it right, it's not going to come out right.
They don't teach buffing anymore.
For 30 years, they haven't taught buffing in the schools, in our state board schools.
They say it's too difficult, and too much trouble."
But when done properly at the end of a Georgyanna manicure, nails are smooth, shiny and pink.
Ask Georgyanna for a French manicure and she recoils. Out of the question.
French manicures, she'll tell you, are tacky. No nail art, either.
Shewill polish your nails, but her specialty is buffing. She developed "Georgyanna Ink" to give nails a finished look. A little bit under the tips and you're finished.
Her upscale clientele includes celebrities, but she guards their identities, allowing only a couple of names to slip. Uma Thurman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Geena Davis are among the stars who have had their nails done by Georgyanna.
But men love her, too. Johnny Mathis was her first buffing client.
Men can be seen ducking into her Los Angeles apartment with ragged cuticles and nasty-looking nails only to emerge an hour later with impeccably groomed hands.
This is a no-frills event. No hand massage. Georgyanna says that's not what she does. She promises beautiful nails and that's what her clients get for the money. Manicures are $30.00.
Here are Georgyanna's tips for maintaining a perfect manicure:
- File down nails with a soft emery board, making sure that the nails are clean and dry before beginning. Trim dead skin around the nail with properly sharpened nippers, but don't cut the cuticles. Only file dry nails. Never file nails when they're wet or after being in water.
- Spread a small amount of buffing cream over the nails. Be sure to not use too much as this can prevent the nail from shining they way it should.
- Buff each nail individually left to right and over the top with a chamois buffer. Only buff one nail at a time.
- Repeat application of cream and buff with a chamois buffer about three to four times to achieve the proper shine.
- To finish, brush a small amount of "Georgyanna Ink" underneath the nail tip to get the natural French manicure look.
Georgyanna Giardini (323) 655-5046 On the net: