Interview
TALKING TO… Anouska Anastasia
The nail artist and content creator tells us how she built an internationally recognised career from miniature masterpieces, and how trusting her creativity led to viral success and her own studio
Anouska Anastasia never set out to become one of the most recognisable names in nail art. In fact, she didn’t even plan to work in nails at all. “I fell into nails by accident and I never knew that this was going to be my life,” she says. Yet today, the London based nail artist is known globally for her hyper realistic 3D designs, miniature brand recreations and hypnotic process videos, earning collaborations with brands across beauty, fashion, sport and lifestyle.
“I’m an artist at heart,” she explains. “My mum’s an artist, my dad’s very creative – he’s a carpenter – so I just want to create. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. The fact that I’m now a content creator and I get paid to make art is mind blowing. I have to be grateful every day.”
That creative instinct was there from the beginning. Anastasia studied art and textiles at school, followed by fashion and textiles at college. “It feels like a different lifetime now,” she laughs. “But I’ve always been super creative. I grew up in a little cottage that my mum essentially curated, so I feel like it was kind of destined from the get go.”
While many nail techs follow a traditional salon route, Anastasia’s work has always sat slightly outside the norm. Her intricate 3D roses, logos and miniature builds feel closer to sculpture than nail art. “What I make doesn’t really make sense in a traditional nail way,” she says. “I’m drilling, filing, sculpting, building things. There’s nowhere online that shows you how to do this. If I think of something, I just have to figure it out.”
From salon to social
Anastasia spent nearly a decade working with clients, but over time, something began to shift. “I’d been doing clients for eight or nine years and it just became really repetitive,” she says. “People were coming to me for what I was putting on social media, but as an artist, once I’ve done a design, I’ve done it. I don’t want to repeat the same thing every week.”
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF ANOUSKA ANASTASIA
Eventually, she realised she had hit a creative ceiling. “I felt like I wasn’t progressing. I started questioning if this was even what I wanted to do,” she explains. “So, I thought, let me just make stuff for myself. And that’s really where content creation came into play.”
It proved to be a turning point. Her experimental 3D pieces quickly gained traction online, with early viral moments including a cluster of sculpted roses and, later, a fully illuminated gingerbread house. “That one went crazy,” she says. “I think it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever made. I had to add lights – I was basically an electrician at that point.”
As her audience grew, so did her reputation beyond the nail industry. “It’s mad when people recognise my work,” she admits. “Sometimes it’s people you wouldn’t expect at all. I’m like, how do you even know who I am?”
The making of a miniature
Behind every polished video is an intense, often lengthy process. “If I’m making a miniature, the minimum is a week,” Anastasia explains. “Sometimes it’s two.” Every project begins with meticulous prep. “I always start with my infill because I shoot so close up. I can’t deal with crusty cuticles – they have to be perfect.”
From there, it’s about problem solving. “I figure out the base. Am I sculpting? Am I creating a mould? How am I getting the shape?” Trial and error is part of the job, along with stress. “It comes with tears. There are times I want to flip a table,” she admits. “But you get there in the end.”
Her perfectionism is both her signature and her biggest pressure. “I’ve set such a high bar for myself that I can’t rush anything or cut corners,” she says. “But that’s just who I am. I have to accept it.”
That attention to detail has earned her the nickname ‘the human 3D printer’. “It started with fonts and logos,” she explains. “As an artist, you have the eye for scale and proportion. You know how to make something look like it’s been copied and pasted.”
To achieve that level of precision, product choice is critical. “Everything has to be super pigmented,” she says. “Most of the time it’s one stroke and that’s it. If something’s watery, you’ll never get that refinement – and in this industry, time is money.”
Her non-negotiables include Sissi Clay for sculpting, highly pigmented white and black gel pots, and silicone for mould making. “The silicone takes 24 hours to dry, which adds another day to the project,” she explains. “It’s annoying, but it’s worth it.”
Working with brands
Anastasia’s first brand project didn’t even involve nails. While working at former salon Wah Nails, she was asked to customise Beats headphones for emerging musicians. “I remember thinking, this isn’t even what I do,” she says. “But it snowballed from there.”
Today, brand collaborations are a major part of her work, but she’s clear about maintaining creative control. “Sometimes brands want to open the video with the final result,” she explains. “But my process is the hook. People need to see the weird bit at the start and think, what is she doing?”
That instinct for storytelling is key to her success as a content creator. Anastasia films, edits, scripts and voices every video herself. “I do everything,” she says. “And I’m an artist, not an editor – that’s probably one of the hardest parts.”
Despite the workload, she values independence. “I don’t like relying on other people or delegating,” she admits. “I’m not very managerial.”
Building her own space
In late 2023, Anastasia took another major step: securing her own studio. “I got the keys in December 2023,” she says. “And then I slowly started building it.” With help from her carpenter dad, she created a space designed entirely around her process.
The journey wasn’t glamorous. “I was working full time from my tiny one bed flat for nearly a year,” she says. “It’s south facing, so the sun was curing gel all day. I was sat in the dark with blackout blinds and a studio light over my head.” The studio, she admits, came at a huge cost. “I rinsed a lot of budgets,” she says. “But working with brands allowed me to make it happen.”
While she no longer takes clients, the space opens the door to future education. “I definitely want to do 3D education and masterclasses,” she says. “That was always the idea behind the studio. It will happen – just not yet.”
Advice for nail professionals
For nail techs watching her career and wondering how to break out creatively, Anastasia’s advice is simple: do it for yourself first. “The best content always comes when you’re just creating for yourself,” she says. “That’s when it’s the most authentic.”
She’s also honest about the realities. “Filming can be tedious,” she admits. “There are days I hate it. But if you want control over your work, sometimes you have to do it all.”
As for the future, her notes app is full of ideas waiting for the right moment. “Designs come to me in the middle of the night,” she says. “I have to write down every detail before it disappears.” For now, Anastasia is exactly where she wants to be: creating, experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what nail art can be. “I never planned this career,” she says. “But I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Key dates
2012
Anouska Anastasia begins posting nail designs on Instagram at the age of 16; studies fashion and textiles at college.
2015
Launches a website and starts selling her nail set
2016
Starts working at Wah Nails.
2018
Co-founds Nuka Nails with fellow nail artist Kadimah Aaliyah.
2023
Steps back from Nuka Nails and gradually stops doing clients as she secures the keys to her own studio; goes viral with her gingerbread house nail set.
2024
Transitions to more content creation as she works with major brands including OPI, Erborian, JD Sports and Baileys, and builds out the studio while working from home.
2025
Opens her own studio, Anouska Anastasia Studios, and continues collaborating with brands including Google, Nyx, Captain Morgan and the English National Ballet.