Known for the glamorous nail looks she’s created for A-listers, like Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, Blake Lively and Hilary Swank, celebrity manicurist Elle got an early start in the nail biz. At 14, she asked her father, a chemist who manufactures nail supplies, if she could experiment with his products. Soon after, she began working with her first clients, family and friends, at her mother’s kitchen table, eventually going to nail school and opening her own business at age 17. Elle’s work has since been featured in such notable publications as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Allure and Vanity Fair, and she’s worked with renowned photographers, including Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Raymond Meier and David LaChapelle. Here, learn where she finds her inspiration:
Saint Laurent: “Saint Laurent highlights the best things about fashion: simplicity, clean lines and timelessness, plus it’s chic, playful and somewhat androgynous. Saint Laurent makes women feel beautiful and gets it right every time.”
Red Rock State Park:“Being a city girl, getting back to nature is the best way to find inspiration and break up the monotony at work. I love Arizona’s Red Rock State Park because its naturally blended colors, with a sense of history in every layer, remind me of the ombré look that’s been getting so much play.”
Related: Nail Artist Britney Tokyo Shares Her Daily Inspiration
Orly Bodyguard: “This product is seriously insane and gives me inspiration for getting crazy practicality from nails. It creates a thin, strong, seamless nail that hardly needs filing.”
Pucci Scarves: “My daughter and I both collect them, as well as have a couple framed museum-style in our homes as decor. I love how complicated they are and how they take colors you’d never expect and put them together to truly create a work of art. The lines and colors keep me inspired when I’m putting together new shapes and looks.”
Related: OPI’s Leading Man Tom Bachik Shares His Daily Inspiration
Blake Lively: “In a world of insane over-the-top nails where you can’t go a day without asking ‘How do you _____ in those?’ Blake has continuously changed the game in a way that celebrates her versatility and love of fashion without sacrificing the ability to play with the girls. She’s a super hands-on mom, so her nails have to work with her.”
-Lotus Abrams
[Images: Courtesy of Elle and Instagram]
This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of NAILPRO
