NAIL TECH TALK: Camilla Vika Høgemark of Vegan Nails by Camilla
By Callie Iley | 26 June 2021 | Feature, Tech Talk
Scratch chats to Camilla Vika Høgemark of Vegan Nails by Camilla about her favourite nail trends and the importance of using vegan and cruelty free products…
Art is something I’ve always been into, ever since I was a little kid. I studied Fine Art in college, and later graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Design, before I eventually got into nails. What first hooked me in was the almost endless possibilities – first nail art, then shape and structure. Last year I even challenged myself by attending an Extreme Shapes course, which I absolutely loved!
Lately I’ve been keeping my own nails short, mostly because I don’t really have the time and energy to do extensions on myself nowadays, but I’m definitely loving short natural nails. Whenever I decide to do extensions, I tend to go back to the more extreme stilettos and long pointy almonds that I used to be obsessed with, or Russian almonds. As for colours and designs, I definitely have a soft spot for colourful jelly nails and iridescent flakes!
My signature style is a bit all over the place, and I’m honestly really struggling to pinpoint what my style is exactly. My nail friends probably have a clearer image of what my style is, but I personally still feel like I’m trying to find myself and my place in the industry. Currently I’m obsessing over Korean and Japanese nail trends that often involve lots of smooshing wet colours into each other, so I’d say my favourite product right now is probably the Kokoist x Nail Thoughts Smoosh brush, but also silicone moulds to create my own 3D decorations.
The average day for me at work usually starts in my neon green bean bag in my studio, with some good throwback music and an energy drink, while scrolling through nail inspo before my first client arrives. I take my time with each client, sometimes we sing a little, sometimes we cry together, but we mostly laugh. If I’m lucky, I even get to do a freestyle set where I decide on everything except the shape and length!
Since I am vegan and have been since 2014, it was only natural for me to choose vegan and cruelty-free products for my business and art. Most people think of veganism as just a diet, when it’s actually a philosophy and lifestyle that excludes the use of animals and animal products, as far as possible and practicable, in all aspects of life. I was struggling to find nail techs in my area who could do the nails I wanted, and who also used all vegan products – including brushes – so I figured I’d learn to do my own nails, and the rest is history!
“Veganism is actually a huge part of why I even started doing nails in the first place.”
What I love the most about working in the nail industry is not just creating art and getting recognition from celebrities, such as Machine Gun Kelly and Ronnie Radke (who has the below nails framed and in his LA home), but also making friends! I have made friends from different countries and we chat pretty much every day. I have met a couple of them already, but I hope to meet them all once the world goes back to normal.
It’s very difficult to plan ahead now because of Covid, so I try to live in the moment as much as I can. I just got my own studio in October last year, so that is still a bit of a work in progress. My goal is to turn it into a place of nostalgia and warm fuzzy feelings, and just do my thing for now. Who knows what my future holds? Maybe I’ll start teaching nail art classes eventually… All I know is I’d like to attend more in-person classes and maybe a nail convention abroad sometime!