A salon that prides itself on pushing the envelope with a host of quirky manicure creations has landed itself in some seriously hot water with its latest attempt at viral fame that saw a woman modeling hollow nails filled with live insects.
Nail Sunny, a Moscow-based beauty salon, shared a video of the creepy crawly nail art with its 1.8 million Instagram followers last week – and it wasn’t long before it found itself coming under vicious attack from commenters, many of whom accused the salon of abuse, while others simply voiced their horror at the eerie nature of the nails.
‘This is sick! Horrible. You should be ashamed,’ one commenter wrote alongside the video, which was first posted on Friday, despite posters insisting that ‘no animals were harmed during the making’ of the clip.
‘Disgusting’: Russian beauty salon Nail Sunny has been slammed for creating a manicure that saw live ants trapped inside long clear nails
‘That’s why I hate humans so much,’ another person wrote, before adding: ‘Shame on you. This is animal abuse.
‘What the hell is wrong with you? This is clearly animal abuse. If someone would put you in this damn nail you wouldn’t be that happy!’
‘Even though the ants weren’t harmed, they were still mistreated,’ a commenter pointed out. ‘And, it sends out the idea that this is somehow OK. It is not!’
A few people pointed also out that – even if you were able to see past the ‘cruelty’ involved in wearing live ants in your nails – the fact of the matter is, the bugs would likely die as a result of being imprisoned in the talons, leaving the wearing with their lifeless bodies stuck in the hollow nails.
‘So y’all gonna have dead ants living in your nails for 2+ weeks? Cancelled!’ one beauty-focused Instagram user commented.
Another person noted: ‘No animals were harmed?! You mean insects? And either way it can drown [in] the chemicals. You are disgusting!’
Process: A video shared with the salon’s 1.8 million Instagram followers documented the creation of the bizarre manicure from start to finish, staring with the extension application
Sealed: A thin sheet of plastic was then applied to the bottom of the nails to create a tubular shape that the ants were then inserted into
Creepy: The ants were picked up off the floor with a pair of tweezers and then forced into the top of the nails (left), before the opening was then closed off (right)
The controversial clip, which was shared on Friday, documented the creation of the manicure from start to finish – including the process of picking up a batch of live ants from the ground using a pair of tweezers.
To start, the manicurist affixed some lengthy clear extensions onto the model’s natural nails, before filing them down, and then pinching them together to create an almost tubular shape.
Then, a piece of thin plastic was then melted onto the bottom of the nails using a UV lamp in order to create a complete tube with just a small opening at the top through which the ants were then inserted.
But first, the ants had to be caught – a process which is also captured on camera. A person, presumably the nail artist, is seen picking up the insets from the ground using a thin pair of metal tweezers, before they are pushed into the nails by hand.
The final step sees the tops of the nails being closed up to keep the ants trapped inside, with the model happily holding them up to the light to show the insects crawling around in the tiny spaces.
The finished effect: The model held her hand up to show off the ants crawling inside the long, clear nails
A follow-up clip then shows the ants being tipped out of the nails and back onto the ground, with the Nail Sunny caption insisting: ‘We left them to breathe!’
However, the fact that the ants were eventually allowed to return to their natural habitat did little to quell the fury of the commenters, with dozens venting their anger on the salon’s second video.
‘You are disgusting!! Cruelty!!’ one person wrote, prompting another to follow up by saying: ‘You think this makes it better? How would you like to be shoved inside a plastic box with no explanation, flashed and photographed then thrown on the ground?
‘I wonder how traumatized you’d be after being stuck in an airtight container. It doesn’t matter if they were only there for a second, even though we know that’s not the case because the video is longer.
‘Stop being a f***ing psycho, and stick to nail art, not this experimental “look what I can do” bulls***. If you were my daughter you wouldn’t see daylight for a week!’
Fancy: A more popular manicure created by the salon saw long talons turned into colored pencils that could actually be used for drawing
It is not the first time that the nail salon has earned viral fame for its bizarre manicures; in January, Nail Sunny hit headlines around the world after debuting a twerking Kim Kardashian model that was stuck onto one long talon.
The beauty salon then followed up that success with a manicure that featured a ‘pooping butt’ on one nail, as well as an option that was inspired by Kylie Jenner and paid tribute to her newborn baby Stormi.
At the time, the manicure was panned as ‘disturbing’ by followers who were left horrified by the tiny clay hand model wrapped around one nail that was suppose to represent Kylie’s own finger.
Another rather more popular video showed a model showing off nails that also doubled up as coloring pencils.
Proving rather more appealing than the ant-filled manicure, fans went wild for the acrylic look that used actual colored pencils in the design — making it possible to write and draw with your fingers.
Get a statement-making manicure without causing controversy
Forget live insects and creepy crawly controversy, there are plenty of options for getting a unique set of nails without having to put any living creatures in harm’s way.
There are plenty of funky nail polish options on the market that can create all kinds of special effects, from opalescent to glitter to matte. Here are just a few of FEMAIL’s favorites…
Effects: Sally Hansen’s Miracle Gel in Let’s Get Digital ($9.99, left) will give you a beautiful opalescent finish, while JINsoon’s Fab ($18, center) and Essie’s You, Me & The Sea ($9, right) are perfect for a bit of sparkle
Opposites attract: If glitter is your game, then look no further than Zoya PIxieDust in Godiva ($10, left). But if you want to mess with matte, OPI’s Matte Top Coat ($10.50, right) is your best bet
