The business-school student turned manicurist has quickly become Hollywood’s favorite nail artist

T his summer, girls at the nail salon have been requesting the same manicure: the “glazed donut” look. The style—sheer, shimmery, long nails—was made popular by the model Hailey Bieber, who debuted it in May at the Met Gala. Her pearly manicure matched her white silk Yves Saint Laurent gown and dewy skin.

“We were going to go with red nails, and then Hailey changed her mind,” says Zola Ganzorigt, Bieber’s go-to nail artist. Ganzorigt suggested they do a milky-white polish with a chrome finish. “We tried it, and we fell in love with it.” Now Bieber’s TikTok tutorial for how to achieve the look has more than eight million views, and #haileybiebernails and #glazedonutnails have been tagged more than 200 million times on the app.

While her manicures go viral, the 31-year-old isn’t concerned with starting trends. Six years into her nail career, she’s focused on building relationships with her clients, who include Kendall Jenner, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, and Maude Apatow, among many others.

When Ganzorigt moved from Mongolia, where she grew up and later worked as a risk manager at a bank, to Los Angeles, in 2016, it wasn’t to become Hollywood’s favorite manicurist. It was to attend business school at Sierra States University.

One year into her M.B.A., Ganzorigt wanted to find a side job, mostly as a way to sharpen her English skills. Though she had no professional experience painting nails, she had always been interested in nail art and often did manicures on herself. Plus, working at a nail salon meant she could chat with clients.

As she completed her business degree, she landed a job at Modern Pamper Salon, in North Hollywood, which specializes in gel extensions. The manicure, which has long been popular in Los Angeles, and now, thanks to Gen Z, is also popular in New York City and across Europe, is a relatively new invention. Manicurists artificially elongate nails using a gel substance that is layered onto nail beds, cured with UV or L.E.D. lights, and then shaped with a nail drill and file.

At the salon, she met her first Hollywood client, Sabrina Carpenter, a former Disney star turned pop singer. “This industry is so competitive,” Ganzorigt says. “You have to be good and get your own clientele.”

Through Carpenter, Ganzorigt signed with the Wall Group, a beauty-talent agency, which paired her with other stars, such as Bieber. She first met the model in October of 2021, on a photo shoot for Perfect magazine. She gave her a long, clear manicure bedazzled with oversize purple, opalescent jewels. The next day, Bieber’s team contacted Ganzorigt, and the two started working together regularly.

“One time I was at Hailey’s doing her nails, and Kendall [Jenner] was there, and the next day Kendall’s team contacted [me],” says Ganzorigt. Now Jenner and her sister Kylie are devoted customers, and Ganzorigt’s network has continued to expand.

When asked if she’s ever been nervous hanging out in singers’ and models’ living rooms, she says yes, but only once. On her birthday this past year, Beyoncé had booked her for a manicure. As it turned out, it was also Beyoncé’s daughter’s birthday, and Blue Ivy wanted “smiley-face birthday nails.” Once the singer found out it was Ganzorigt’s birthday, too, she wished her a happy birthday and had Jay-Z do the same. “I was like, This is the best birthday ever.”

While Ganzorigt doesn’t chase fads, manicure trends, like fashion trends, change every season. Recently, naturally long nails have become more popular than extensions. Ganzorigt says the trick to growing them is biotin, which stimulates keratin production. After having given her clients biotin-gummy supplements for years, Ganzorigt has started making her own, called Zoluxe.

She’s already anticipating the popular manicure for fall: long dark nails with chrome finishes. Call it the season of the chocolate donut.

Clara Molot is an Associate Editor for AIR MAIL

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