Beauty

Hailey Bieber's Nail Artist Says *This* is The Next Of-The-Moment Manicure

Kaitlyn McLintock  Thu, 10 Aug 2023  Who What Wear

If there's one person that can accurately predict the biggest manicure trends to come, it's Zola Ganzorigt. With a client base that includes the likes of Hailey Bieber, Sydney Sweeney, Kylie Jenner, and Christina Aguilera, she's quite literally the go-to nail artist for It-Girls everywhere. She also happens to be the nail artist behind one of the most famous manicure trends in recent memory—glazed donut nails. So, yeah, her resume speaks for itself. 

Recently, Ganzorigt partnered with the online wedding registry, planner, and retailer, Zola. (Yes, there are two Zolas). We were able to catch up with Ganzorigt to talk about this new partnership, plus the best bridal nail polish shades, the trends we can expect to see this fall, and more. Keep scrolling for all of this and more (and get ready to see some serious nail inspo). 

The first order of business, and the topic that's currently top of mind for every beauty editor, is fall manicure trends. Can we expect to see the traditional moody nail colors that we see every fall? Are we working with long or short nails? And what about more glazed donut goodness? According to Ganzorigt, there are both old and new trends coming our way. 

"I’m thinking aura nails are coming back, which I’m actually obsessed withEvery single client of mine is asking for aura nails, even Christina Aguilera. She was like, 'You need to find more of the airbrushed nail designs for me because I’m loving it.' It’s not only Christina, so many of my clients are asking for airbrushed nails. I’m thinking that’s going to be big." 

Here's an example of aura nails Ganzorigt created for Madelaine Petsch. You don't need fancy equipment or an expert's touch to achieve a similar look at home. Ganzorigt says you can use blooming gel, which is a special base coat that causes the color that's put on top to disperse across the nail, creating a cool aura effect. You can also use a makeup sponge in the same way you would use it to create an ombre look (just dab and blend). Finally, you can use eyeshadow (rub a powdered eyeshadow on top of a base coat and apply a top coat to seal it in). 

Unsurprisingly, Ganzorigt says that moody, dark shades will also be big. "Every fall it’s a darker color, like rusty brown or rusty orange—that kind of color gets really popular," Ganzorigt says. Her favorite is brown, which mimics the leaves on the trees. 

"Brown to Earth is a really good brown color for fall."

"I forgot the name, but I remember the number. That's a really good brown color."  

"I also like Malaga Wine by OPI.  It’s not brown; it’s more of a deep red, but that’s a really good fall color. Every fall, that’s my most in-demand color."

Since Ganzorigt is partnered with a wedding website, and she's counting down the days until her own nuptials take place, we had to talk wedding manicures too. Ganzorigt says that, according to a Zola survey, this year's brides are focused primarily on neutral manicures in shades of wedding white. No surprise there, but Ganzorigt also says glazed donut nails are making their way into bridal circles. "They’re like the new French manicure. It’s the new signature wedding nails for brides," she says. Consider it the modern-day and Hailey Bieber-approved take on a traditional wedding manicure.

Ganzorigt says neutral and nude nail designs are her trademark, so she has specific nail shades to recommend. Here's the thing, though. She never uses just one shade. She mixes her three favorite shades to create a bespoke color that compliments the skin tone of each client. 

"I empty that polish so fast"

"OPI is really good for neutral colors."

"I like to mix and match."

"I really love Funny Bunny, which is a milky white color. It’s really subtle and pretty, and it’s the original Glazed Donut nails under-shade color. That’s my go-to soft white color that will be really pretty for brides.

Bridal manicures are especially relevant, seeing as Ganzorigt's own wedding is coming up. "When it comes to my nails, I always feel so much pressure. I was so excited when Zola asked me to create my own wedding nails! I’m going to do my own nails for my wedding because I’m so picky that I don’t trust anyone else."

She started with her trademark—glazed donut nails—but this time, she chose to do the look in a soft shade of vanilla. Then, she added a subtle design on her ring finger. "I added two connected little hearts on my ring finger, which is actually Zola’s logo, but the meaning behind it is that I’m from Mongolia originally, and Mongolia has its own wedding ring symbol; it’s two connected triangles. It means together and forever. I wanted to represent that."

Ganzorigt says the most important part of any at-home manicure, wedding or otherwise, is prep. Start by cutting and filing your nails into your preferred shape. For Ganzorigt, that's either short and square or medium-length almond-shaped nails. "The shape that people request the most is a medium almond shape," she says. "You see it everywhere. It’s personally my favorite nail shape. It’s the most natural-friendly nail shape because it doesn’t break as easily as other nail shapes. It also makes your fingers look longer. I’m also seeing a lot of my clients switch to short, square nails. I did that shape on Kylie [Jenner]."

The only nail shape she doesn't like is coffin, which is a long nail that's squared off at the tip. "That’s really outdated to me," she says. "When my clients ask me, I’m like, 'No you’re not doing this. You can make it short and square, but no coffin."

Once your nail shape is decided, it's time to start cleaning up your cuticles. "Cleaning up your cuticle is really important to making your manicure look nice and also last longer," she says. She recommends a nail pusher tool and a pre-polish treatment called Bond Aid that works like a primer to make your manicure last longer. 

Once the nails are painted, Ganzorigt says it's important to seal them in with a top coat. "Any top coat is the same to me, as long as it's shiny because I like that finish." To extend the life of your manicure, she recommends applying another layer of top coat the day after the initial manicure. This seals the color in even further and helps prevent chipping. And that's how you accomplish an easy, yet professional-looking at-home manicure. 

"This gives a really shiny finish."