So Hip She’s Got It Nailed: Jenna Hipp, Hollywood’s Nail Stylist to the Stars Talks Manis, Pedis, Going Green for Hand and Foot Care and What Nail Styles are Passé or Should Never Have Happened
For many women in America, as well as around the world, manicures and pedicures serve not only as part of a personal grooming regimen but as a way of demonstrating personal style. For Jenna Hipp, a celebrity nail stylist based in Hollywood with a green philosophy and a client list ranging from Michelle Williams to Jessica Alba, nail care and aesthetics is an art that should be carried out utilizing materials unlikely to be hazardous to clients. As the head of Nailing Hollywood, an agency that looks for nail artists on the rise, Ms. Hipp has carved out her own unique place in the manicure/pedicure industry. And she’s got the magazine covers to prove it.
In this CYInterview, you will gain some interesting insights into nail care and aesthetics, in addition to hearing some tidbits about Jenna’s celebrity clients. You can read the highlights and listen to our conversation in its entirety below:
Listen to the entire Jenna Hipp CYInterview:
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When speaking first about the latest trends in nail styling, the beauty industry veteran says the following:
“It’s funny to hear you say nail styling because I created that term because there was no term for celebrity. Everyone, we were just called celebrity manicurists and I didn’t want to be called a celebrity manicurist because what I did was so much more than being a celebrity manicurist. So I made up the term nail stylist like five years ago. So now, it’s really fun to see other people are starting to use the term… Starting to see the trends change is just seeing how nails have evolved in just the last five years…I create the trends…As me and other nail artists that are in the industry we’re all good friends and a lot of us in New York too have really worked hard to get the technology that has been coming our way onto the celebrities which in turn makes them more popular.”
With Ms. Hipp’s belief in all things green and eco-friendly, she tells us she does not use any beauty products on her clients that contain hazardous chemicals. Jenna says this is a big issue in the beauty industry, where there things are that might be harmful to health.
“It’s basically impossible to find hand and foot care [products] that don’t have parabens and sulfates and tons of chemicals and fragrances in them. So I use more skin care products…but they’re not hand and foot products at all. They’re skin care for your face and for your body and I just use them for your nails and I find that my clients so appreciate the fact that I’m not using products that contain harsh chemicals on them… It’s my mission to educate people and make them excited not about, not make them scared about what they’ve been dealing with, but make them excited about new alternatives and new technology that’s coming our way or even just taking it back to the basics, cleaning with baking soda and lemon juice. You know, you don’t need Clorox.”
One of Jenna’s celebrity clients is past CYInterview guest Zoe Saldana [see here]. She talks about Zoe – the lead actress in Avatar – as well one of this year’s Oscar nominated actresses, Michelle Williams.
“Zoe, she’s just such a free spirit and she’s just so open and so, I mean she walks in the room and no makeup and no hair done, but she’s got the most fabulous outfit on and the most perfect shoes and the most perfect handbag. She’s so put together and so classy, but then she sits down and she’s just like, is like the girl from you know the Bronx. I mean it’s just the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but she’s so relatable in so many ways and to so many people. I just feel so privileged…
She’s [Michelle Williams] on a completely different spectrum. Zoe is just very laughy and outgoing and very, very bubbly all the time whereas Michelle is very calm and very Zen. You walk into the room and you feel like you know everything is just gonna be ok, nothing’s wrong and it’s never chaotic around her. She does have you know her very close friend Busy Phillips with her getting ready all the time. So it’s just so fun. I feel like it’s like you know little girls getting ready and to be able to watch them play and laugh. They’ve been friends forever so I feel like I’m involved in their secret little world.”
Speaking about French manicures, Jenna says it is time to move on from a style that is no longer cutting edge:
“I’m not a fan of the French manicures at all anyway. I think at the time it was revolutionary and it was great, but now what’s happened is that with the length and with the shape that has, the square shape and the long square shape of the French manicure is just the biggest no, no really because the porn industry is taking it over and it’s, you will not see it on celebrities, but you’ll see it all throughout the Midwest. They still have their big long gels and their big long acrylics and it’s time to take them off.”
Focusing on the French pedicure, the celebrity nail stylist believes that style should have never taken foot:
“I think French pedicures should never happen and should never have happened and should never happen again. And I love a natural looking toe, but definitely to make your toe look like it needs to be cut is not a look that I think is attractive at all.”
In these challenging economic times, the beauty stylist tells us what she believes is the best way for women to save money on their nails and make them longer lasting:
“Don’t have impulse buys. Go through your wardrobe and go through your makeup kit and figure out colors that you’re gonna be able to wear with all of your clothes and your makeup and find complimentary colors. Don’t see a color and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love that color.’ And not think about what it’s gonna look on my skin tone or what it’s gonna look like with different outfits because then you get home and realize you’re never gonna use it. You put it in a drawer somewhere and then you don’t wear it for three years and then you grab it and use it and it chips off and it goes bad…The nail polish only lasts like a year. So get a color with what your when and where you’re gonna wear it.”
Jenna Hipp’s official website is here.
You can find more information about Nailing Hollywood here.
You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.
You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.