Nail Tech Spotlight with Magic Gel, Darcy Olin

Good morning everyone and welcome back to another happy day! Today we have a very special guest in for Nail Tech Spotlight, its Magic Gel, Darcy Olin! She has been so gracious to devote some time from her busy schedule to sit down and have a chat with me. And we here at Southernly Sweet Nails are always so thankful for that. So let’s pour our coffee, and get to know my mentor, and nail bestie a little better.

Good Morning! How are you today?

I am doing fantastic!  How are you?

I’m doing great thank you for asking! So what made you get into the nail industry? Did someone do you wrong? 

While I took a bit of a winding path that finally brought me to the beauty industry, at least a small part of it is similar to stories that I have heard from others.

Not many know that I was a truck driver and did team driving, cross country and across Canada with Bill, before we started our family.  Yes we drove an 18 wheeler.  hahaha
  

I was very interested in the beauty industry when I was in high school, and there was an option for participating in a vocational program where I went to high school.  However, when I brought this up during my planning session with my guidance counselor, I was strongly discouraged against the cosmetology program and told “you’re too smart for that and you are on a college track, that is what you need to continue to work toward.”  My parents felt that college would be the better choice for my future as well, so I stayed on that track.  

Fast forward to several years later, I was a stay at home mom and as much as I loved being home with the boys, I really needed something for myself at least some of the time.  When I told my husband that I wanted to do nails, he had no idea what that would consist of, but his response was, “What do we need to do to make that happen?”  He has always been supportive of anything I want to try my hand at.

It was not easy, with two young boys and a husband who worked 12-14 hours a day, but with the help of my mother-in-law, we were able to come up with a plan to make it all happen and the rest, as they say, is history.

 I do have to admit that I am glad that I did attend college because as it turns out, the education has played an important role in many of the things that I do as a part of my business today.  Public speaking, coding, data analysis and the list goes on…  I don’t really believe in regrets, we do the best with the tools & information we have available to us at any given moment, but I will confess that my only regret is that I am a college drop out. 

Did someone do me wrong?  Well, that is a loaded question! Lol. Haven’t we all been “done wrong” by someone, at some point in our lives?  I feel pretty strongly that, life is a series of lessons and the things we go through in life, teach us a lot about ourselves, as well as others and they do happen for a reason.  It may not present itself immediately, and it is not always easy to wait, but one day that moment can come, and with that can be a measure of closure in your own heart and mind.
I do believe that all of the experiences, good & not so good, have made me into the person that I am today and I would not change that.  

Wow, that was a lot huh?  …And were only on question #2! 

No, we’re actually still on question #1. Oh I’m only kidding. But that is wonderful! A truck driver? Who would thought that, you’re so clean and pristine, I would have never clocked the iconic Darcy to drive trucks. But what a supportive husband, Bill, you have. To help you with whatever your desires take you, and then to see you’ve come so far! Its remarkable. After doing nails for a while, you started your salon and then got into educating, have you always wanted to be an educator? 

Right after completing my nail program,  I went straight to booth renting in a hair salon.  I was the only nail tech and I would not recommend that to anyone because I had no one to learn more from.  The nail program provided the tools to pass my state boards and earn my license, but did not provide me with all of the skills that I needed for the salon environment and the challenges that client’s nails could bring.  I am not bashing my school, they did their job, but I had no idea just how much more there was to learn about my chosen career.

Now I am revealing a bit about my age, but this was back in the days of the internet just becoming a thing at home and we had dial up, and oh my gosh, I can still hear that sound!  It took me about 3 years to find some good resources for continuing education and networking, (mostly because you would click on a link and then go prepare dinner while waiting for it to load) so when I found it, I felt like I struck gold!

I came across Beauty Tech, which was an online forum started by Deb Doerrlamm, with all kinds of nail techs asking & answering questions.  I just knew that I had found my people!  Until finding Beauty Tech, I did not know that being an educator for a brand of product, was even an option.

Through networking with so many friends in these chats, my nail world expanded exponentially, and I attended networking events and classes and everything I could get to.  Through that process I also found product education videos that were so helpful.   That is when I knew that educating others is what I wanted to do!  I wanted to help prevent nail techs from facing the struggles that I did.  I wanted to share all that I could to help them avoid the pitfalls and frustrations that I had experienced and now had learned to avoid, to navigate through and to solve.

I knew I still had a lot to learn myself first, and it was still several more years before I was truly ready to take things to that next level and begin the training process to become an educator.

Wow! Dial up! Was it AOL, we had AOL, and my goodness. But you know, even though your school taught you something I’m glad you still the drive to go out and seek more, because you wanted to better yourself. What were your highlights of being an educator?

Oh my, there have been so many amazing experiences and I am sure there are still so many more ahead.  
 One of my absolute favorite things is, seeing those ah-ha moments happen.  While teaching something, seeing a nail tech’s face light up when something clicks.  A tip or technique that I shared solved a problem that they have been struggling with, and they just know that this is going to make their work even better.  That is the best!  I just love helping others continue to learn, grow and succeed in their career.

I love A-Ha! Have you ever heard of Take On Me? It’s so good, but yes! Those moments are everything, and make you feel so whole and complete. I’m very happy for you! With you learning so much over the years, do you have any advice for future educators?

Know that there is always more to learn.  I love to take advantage of opportunities to continue my education, as much as possible.  Network and surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, so you can always continue to learn!

One of the things that attracted me to the beauty industry and nails specifically, is that things are always changing.  Color trends, nail art, products, techniques, technology, all of it is changing all the time and we always need to continue our education to stay up-to-date on all of the important changes.  We also need to work together, educate our family, friends & clients on safe products, practices and what it means to operate professionally and responsibly to protect ourselves, our clients and the nail industry.  

I love that great advice, very wonderful and helpful. Thank you, Well I see you have since moved on from past work experiences. What inspired you to start your own company and distribution? 

I had closed and sold off my salon inventory and equipment, to move on to something that I had worked so hard to achieve. It was my dream job, and I thought that I would be in that position for the remainder of my career.  When that changed, my focus had to shift to a new dream.  Initially, that was to open a new salon, so that was what I was originally working toward.

There were many obstacles.  New regulations in NY made it a bit more challenging to get a brand-new salon set up, so it was taking longer than anticipated to find contractors and schedule the work needed.  While we kept working to get things moving along, I was attending as many nail events as I could, buying many products,  and trying all the new things.  

I really was searching for a product line for the new salon, testing many products out on myself and a couple of friends, to see what was out there in the nail world these days, but I was having a blast doing the research!  It was so much fun seeing so many of my nail friends and getting to catch up with everyone during this process too.  

I ran into my dear friend Liliya at one of the trade shows and it dawned on me that I had never tried her products.  So we spent a little time catching up and then before I left, I bought the Ultimate Starter Kit and of course, Liliya threw in some samples of other products too.    

First I talked to some of my friends in Canada, who were already using Magic Gel, I located all of the videos that I could find, learned as much as I could about the products and application methods and then I dove in.  I started playing around with Magic Gels and, as with every new product, there are differences in viscosities, application techniques and ideal brushes, that take a little playing around to get a feel for, but I truly fell in love with the products almost immediately!  

I did not plan to distribute products initially, but after using Magic for a period of time, I was so amazed at how easy it is to work with, the incredible adhesion and the durability.  I just knew that I was going to need to share it with my nail friends!  That is when I began the research for a new business plan, had several meetings and developed the plan for a new education & distribution business.  

Wow! What a journey! I loved that you tried it for yourself first and really took your time, before distributing it. And how surprising as well, that you loved it so much that you thought to share it with your friends and nail bestie me, how considerate. Should we expect a product of your very own in the future?

This one will be short and sweet. No.  lol 

I will not be developing a line of gel for Nail Innovations.  While I love trying new things, testing products and sharing feedback on it, there is so much involved with creating a line of products.  Sure, there is research, development and testing, but then there is packaging, labeling, marketing to grow a brand and that is just the beginning.   All of that takes a lot of time, and much of that is not where my passion lies, or where my specialties would be best utilized.  

I have found an amazing, professional only product, that has already been through years of research & development, that works so beautifully to make our jobs as nail techs easier and even more fulfilling than they already have been.   I do believe it is my calling and even my responsibility to share Magic with the nail world.  😉

 I will add that am always interested in and looking into options for items that would enhance nail techs and/or the clients experience, make our work easier and also products for creating fun & trendy nail designs.  We could possibly bring on some additional items from Nail Innovations in the future.   As I mentioned, this industry is ever evolving and so are the options for different things to use in our work.

Well isn’t that just magical! Dang it though, I just knew I would be getting my hands on a Nail Innovations lasagna scented cuticle oil. Well, a guy can only dream. Speaking of dreams, would you say you have found your dream job? 

Absolutely Yes!  It definitely comes with many challenges, things that we had no clue could or would come up.   We do have to laugh a lot, about all the chaos that building this business brings, but Bill and I remind each other all the time, even with the challenges, we really are living our chosen dream.  

Plus, Liliya and Vitali at Magic HQ, are incredible to work with, sharing ideas and suggestions and information, and if anytime I have questions, and I always have a lot of questions.   I am still new to the distribution side of the nail industry, and I have learned a great deal from them.  They have been so generous in supporting us in so many ways and I feel very blessed to have had all of this come together so perfectly.  

I love that for you! So spotlight moment, everyone knows who the famed Darcy Olin is, how does it feel to be so popular amongst so many techs? 

Oh now, that is not true.  I still have tons of nail friends to meet yet and I look forward to it.  I have always loved meeting and networking with other nail techs, it is one of my favorite things!

I do feel there is a huge responsibility when people trust me with their continuing education needs or come to me with any questions or concerns.  I take this very seriously and want to make sure that information that I share is honest, helpful and also encouraging.  I always operate with the purpose of making sure we are all doing our best, to operate in the safest way possible, for ourselves, our clients and our industry.

How humble, you’re a treasure. And many treasure you for wonderful education and safety for sure. Now that you have such a solid foundation with many years of experience, what is one thing you can share to encourage to the future generation? 

The beauty industry is such an amazing world to be a part of!  It is ever evolving, so there is no time to get bored here.  There are so many opportunities to create the career of your dreams, and we can all live our own dream!  

So we should always go after our dreams! Absolutely! Where would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. be without his dream. Darcy, thank you so much for being apart for this interview, where can you be reached?

My website is nail-innovations.com  I can be contacted through the site, as well as via email directly at Darcy@nail-innovations.com.   You can find me on FB, IG and Tiktok under my name, nail.innovations and MagicGelUSA.  We also have a MagicGelUSA Facebook group, for those interested in learning more about Magic Gel.  I do always try to be very easy to reach via any method and even share my cell number with all of my nail friends.

Now, are you ready for the contest?

To enter the contest to get your very own 1 on 1 hour long session with THEE Darcy Olin, you must follow these rules, and as simple as that you’ll be entered. The drawing will commence on March 25, and the winner will be announced in the Magic Gel USA group on Facebook, and Southernly Sweet Nail group on Facebook on March 28.

Here’s how to enter:

• Become a newsletter subscriber to Nail-Innovations, click here.
• Become a newsletter subscriber to Southernly Sweet Nails Blog, click here.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the pages to see the form
• Leave a comment on the blog post.

Thats it! You are now entered into the drawing! Congrats and fingers crossed!

Thank you all for joining me this wonderful day, I hope you all enjoyed this lovely interview, and have gained better insight on many new ideas and dreams. If you would like to read more about educators in our industry click here. Until then, I will see you later sweets!