If you haven’t had your nails done by Destiny, do you even go to Lafayette? Known on Instagram as @DesNailedIt, the nail tech legend Destiny Ortiz Fernandez, a current senior at Lafayette, balances being a full-time student while working as a nail artist. “I love your nails!” “Thanks, Destiny did them,” is the most common phrase I hear when people talk about their nails on campus. So, I thought it was time we all got to know her a little bit better, other than the fact that she’s a god at doing acrylics that last over three weeks.
S: You’re a neuroscience major right? And you were telling me during my last appointment about cancer research you did over the summer. Would you mind describing that experience?
D: Yeah, so I’m a senior, I came into Lafayette as a bio major, but I switched my major to neuroscience and I’m doing an Anthropology and Sociology minor, and I’m also doing pre-nursing! Being pre-nursing, if there is any clinical work you want to do in the medical field, research is the best way to showcase your ability so I got the opportunity to do research with Dr. Khadijah Mitchell in the Biology department, and was a summer excel scholar for Lafayette.
S: What clubs and organizations are you a part of on campus?
D: I’m an RA on campus, and I’m also a Posse Scholar, a McKelvy Scholar, I was in NIA and HSL, and my freshman year I played on the rugby team.
S: Where did you get your nail training?
D: I’m self-taught. I first started doing nails my sophomore fall, and I only felt comfortable doing gel manicures. I was just giving manicures away for free so I could gain skill and grow as a nail tech. When I was first accepting clients I would always say I was a beginner–even now I still consider myself a beginner in some ways—just so people have reasonable expectations because I am by no means a professional, as much as I try to make everything professional from the way my clients book their appointments to the service I provide. Like, I buy disposable nail files so I never use the same one on two different clients.
S: What is your favorite nail style to do?
D: I really love the French designs right now, like if it’s an all acrylic set—the french acrylic sets are really messy but once you clean everything up and file it all down it looks so classy and timeless. Or anything hand-drawn, so I can test myself artistically speaking.
S: How do you balance work with school load and extracurriculars?
D: Honestly, I would say doing nails has helped me with prioritizing things in my schedule, because I know if I have three clients coming in back to back on Saturday, I know I have to get all my work done before they come in because I don’t want to inconvenience someone else because I don’t have my shit together. It’s not easy, there have definitely been times when I haven’t been able to accommodate someone because I’ve had a meeting or a deadline, and this is just what I do to keep myself financially stable but that doesn’t matter if I’m failing out of school, that definitely comes first.
S: Do you have any tips for people interested in nail art starting out?
D: Practice your craft before you think about taking another person’s money for it. If you go to Laf and you’re interested in learning please ask me questions or reach out, there’s room for all of us in this industry.
S: Do people gossip with you a lot during their appointments?
D: Oh my God yeah, if its their first appointment I try to make it as comfortable as possible because its someone who goes to your school that you may have never met before sitting there for an hour doing your nails, but I’ve had people come in and tell me very intimate details about their sex life or their personal life–I’m basically an unlicensed therapist. I also share details about my own life sometimes, you definitely build different relationships with your clients, some people don’t share anything at all. But people tell me that’s why they keep coming back, that person-to-person interaction and knowing the person doing your nails knows your name and things about your life. Like the person who waxes me is very personable and knows about my life… by the way, if anyone is looking for waxing services, there is one on campus called Smooth Secrets, which specializes in sugar waxing.
S: Do you think you’ll continue doing nails outside of Laf?
D: I don’t really have plans to continue doing nails but that’s mostly because I don’t know where I’m going to end up after graduation. I’m still going to do my own nails, and my friends’ and family’s nails, but I probably will not have a business where I’m constantly making appointments and keeping up with my inventory.
S: Okay, last question, and thank you so much again for doing this! What is your favorite part about doing nails?
D: Of course! I love having the opportunity to help people, whether it’s making them feel good about themselves, feeling more put together, getting ready for special events.
Basically, no one look at my hands after Destiny graduates. But until then… check out @DesNailedIt on Instagram for the best manicure you’ve ever had.