Why Hollywood Nail Artist Betina Goldstein Is in a League of Her Own

A 3D ketchup packet. An insect cast in amber. A heart stitched up with real thread. These are just a few of the viral manicures that nail artist Betina Goldstein has crafted in painstaking detail and shared to the collective delight of the Internet. Over the last decade, the L.A.-based pro has garnered more than 400,000 followers, who can’t wait to see what mesmerizing and totally original work of nail art she will drop next.

Both IRL and on social media, Goldstein’s nail art has an almost cocktail ring–like effect, inspiring conversation from “How do you come up with your ideas?” to “Is that a real bug?” (Yes, yes, it is). In addition to the kind of vision and unbridled creativity that can’t be replicated, part of her secret sauce is her imaginative, this-could-be-nail-art attitude; anything from a smashed cigarette to a caviar chip is fair game. “What I love so much about creating nail art is the more detail you’re able to paint, the more realistic it will look,” Goldstein tells InStyle.

She’s also attuned to her emotions, using her craft to process and telegraph hard moments in her life, like grief and loss. “As I’ve become more immersed in the world of nail art over the years, I’ve found it extremely therapeutic,” she explains. “I can express all my emotions on this tiny little canvas.”

Trust that no matter what her inspiration is, Goldstein is elevating the aesthetic appeal of her nail designs with her chic eye and next-level techniques, hence why she is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand manicurists. Her A-list clients—Margot Robbie, Camila Morrone, Julia Garner, and Gracie Abrams, to name a few—look to her for everything from classic red manicures to bold and thematic moments, including for the Met Gala and the Barbie press tour. “If the nails make too much of a statement, it can throw off the entire look, but if they’re just right, it can make it.”

Imbuing minimalism into maximalist motifs may sound counterintuitive, but Goldstein does just that with her singular eye and meticulous skill. Here, InStyle chats with Goldstein about her nail art journey, what inspires her, the catharsis of her process, and more.

On how she got her start as a nail artist:

“In 2011, I began working as a manicurist, primarily for fashion editorials and campaigns. Most of the shoots requested super simple nails. Then, a few years later, I was on a job that requested nail art. Although I was able to do it, I wasn’t comfortable or ecstatic about the results. I am a perfectionist. I didn’t want to feel that way again, so I decided to teach myself how to do nail art on myself at home. As I started on that journey, I also realized I didn’t love a lot of the nail art I was seeing out there [and didn’t] see anything that felt unique to my style, which is more minimalist.” 

On her aesthetic leanings:

“It’s minimalist but still unique and almost funky. I love to paint very unexpected things on my nails. Even from the beginning, I was doing flamingos, sardines, and shrimp—but super minimal. I want it to be wearable. A sheer nude is often my base or I’ll only add a design to a couple of nails versus the entire hand. The way that I dress is also extremely minimal. I’m not somebody who wears funky things all the time. So, I think it balances that out. It’s unexpected, but it ties it all together. I also love creating delicate objects that look like jewelry on top of your nails just for you to look down and be like, Oh, my gosh. I feel great; I feel expensive.”

On how she developed her technical skills:

“As I was learning, I kept pushing myself to create designs with more detail while keeping my personal aesthetic in mind: wearable but not too costumey. As I’m self-taught, I love experimenting and using different random tools to create texture and depth. Especially when I started getting more into 3-D and using sculpting gel. For example, I’ve used a screw from my desk to create a potato chip. It’s really just trial and error and developing my own techniques. It’s hard to describe; my hands just know what to do. I haven’t been trained as an artist. It just comes to me. It doesn’t always work the first time, but I keep going, and it works out.” 

On the influence of classical painting:

“Technically speaking, I also look for inspiration in the works of some of my favorite artists, like Rembrandt or Peter Paul Rubens. It’s less what they are painting, and more how they are painting it. Rembrandt has this one painting called ‘The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.’ It’s waves, and you can feel the forces of the waves with all its texture and depth. It’s amazing to me. And then, with Rubens, the fabric of his paintings, it’s like you reached out and touched the painting, feeling like velvet or satin. That’s what truly, truly inspires me about other artists—their techniques, playing with shadows and texture.”

On the catharsis of nail art:

“Nail art has really helped me cope with so many things in my life, like grief, stress, anger, and self-doubt. For hours, I can just put my head down, listen to music, and solely focus on this tiny little design I’m creating and whatever inspires it. It’s an out-of-body experience, especially today when we spend all this time on our phones scrolling. I just black out, and it’s the one thing I’m doing. A lot of my work has deeper meaning behind it, too. I want to capture emotions, whether it’s losing my father, who passed away a few years ago or even miscarriages; I have stitched my nails with a thread to symbolize the pain I was going through.”

On her favorite designs: 

“The cigarette! I feel like it was really just me. I saw cigarettes squashed in an ashtray and thought about how I could recreate those wrinkles and make them feel really real. And then, with the cigarette itself, I was inspired by those long, skinny cigarettes from the ‘80s. I just thought, That’d be great if it was in the nail.

I recently worked with Kate Spade, who did a Heinz collaboration, and I loved the idea of a plate of French fries with a ketchup packet. For the caviar, I really wanted to see how I could create the caviar eggs and make them look as real as possible. I created a small egg inside, made it the color that I needed it to, wrapped it with a clear sculpting gel on top of it, rolled each one, and then painted a sheer color on top. So, it would give the effect of this translucent caviar. These designs have so much depth, texture, and colors that go into everything.”

On creating for the red carpet:

“It’s a time to play, but it also comes with refinement. It is a cohesive, collaborative job where you can’t just think about the nails. Everybody on the team has to work together on the same page because anything could throw off the end result and vision for the celebrity client or their stylist. I love collaborating with the team to determine what really works and what the vibe is. I love the Met [Gala] because I feel like that’s when everybody lets loose. Last year, Whitney Peak went to the Met and wore this gorgeous Chanel dress with a bunch of pearls on it. She wanted to push the boundaries and play a little bit, so I came up with the idea of doing these real freshwater pearls underneath each one of her nails. From the front, it looked super minimal, but then if she raised her hand or moved them up to her face, you would see these peekaboo pearls underneath each one of the nails, but it didn’t overwhelm the entire look. Another cool moment was working with Margot [Robbie] and her stylist, Andrew Mukumal, for the Barbie press tour. Andrew showed me a picture of the Pucci dress she wore for the Totally Barbie–inspired look in Mexico City. I only had a few hours, so I went to Chanel, and luckily, they had polishes in all of these colors. I created this water marble effect that really tied in the entire look, feel, and mood for that press day.

On her advice for burgeoning nail artists:

On Instagram, one thing becomes popular, and then everyone starts doing the same thing because it’s a recipe that works; you need to find your own identity and style and keep at it, even if it’s different. If you’re constantly chasing somebody else’s ideas, you’re always going to be behind. Your inspiration shouldn’t be coming from other nail artists, but more from life experiences and moments—something deeper. 

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