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Welcome to LA Stories, a section where I interview people from all walks of life that have made LA their home.
Nail salons in Los Angeles are ubiquitous and although I only get my nails done very few times a year, I love nail art and I really appreciate the designs. It really is a form of art and creative expression.
In a city like Los Angeles, where nail salons abound, celebrity nail technicians are dime a dozen. According to the website Nailtechdesign.com, there are 14,123 nail salons in the state of California! It is the state with the highest concentration of nail salons. In LA, it’s hard to drive past five blocks on a main street without coming across at least one.
Although Los Angeles and the beauty industry go hand in hand, many would be surprised that the nail business is a huge contributor. If you ever open a magazine, or go to an online magazine website, celebrity manicures are all the rage. Every time a celebrity posts a photo, the manicures end up being written about in fashion magazines. I was personally surprised that in most video productions I’ve come across, there’s always a nail artist behind the scenes – no matter how simple the nails are.
Today, I want to introduce you to a technique that has started to gain notoriety in the States pretty recently thanks to Tik Tok: the Russian manicure. In some Eastern European countries, Russian manicures are the standard manicures.
As opposed to regular manicures, where the technicians soak your nails first and then lightly push back the cuticles, the Russian manicure is an extremely intricate process that takes about two hours. It’s a dry manicure where they use an electronic file with a headpiece to completely remove the cuticles and buff the dead skin. The electronic file is very reminiscent of the tools you see at a dentist office.
The result? A much cleaner look than a regular manicure. Basically, Barbie doll hands. Some people that try it get hooked on the neat look and never go back to regular manicures.
Because this technique can only be done by highly trained technicians, the cost is much steeper than your average salon, and the places that specialize in this technique are not as widely available like Vietnamese or American-owned salons. However, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding Russian manicures. It’s even banned in some US states! If not done properly, it can lead to bleeding and infections.
While I was doing my research on celebrity nail salons in LA, I came across a comment on a Youtube short that said Kendall gets her nails done by a nail artist named Lisa Kon. So, I went on her Instagram and was amazed not only by her beautiful designs, but also by her story.
Lisa (real name Olesia Kondratyeva) started doing Russian manicures as a hobby while she was studying accounting at Tver State University in Russia. When Lisa and her now husband Igor moved to LA in 2016, she continued doing Russian manicures out of their 1 bedroom apartment in North Hollywood. At first, Lisa uploaded her manicures from her personal Instagram. In January 2017, Lisa launched her business IG account, Lisa Kon, to promote her at-home nail studio. The thought of working for famous people didn’t even cross her mind back then. She was happy doing what she loved.
Seven years later, not only does Lisa work for renowned celebrities in the entertainment industry, but she’s also the owner of two nail salons in North Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and has built her own nail empire. Her eponymous brand offers a full line of gel polishes, nail care products and tools that ship worldwide.
Photo: Lisa Kon
A few of Lisa’s most notable clients are Zendaya, Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall & Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Rita Ora, Kate Moss, Miranda Kerr, Christine Quinn (Selling Sunset), Amelia Gray, Sofia Castro, the list goes on and on. She also works with famous Russian celebrities that are based in LA.
What surprised me the most about Lisa was how candid, personable and humble she was. If you ever see the Instagram account of a celebrity nail technician, you’ll see in their bio that they are represented by an agency. In order to get in touch with them for anything, it has to go through a third party. When I emailed the Lisa Kon address listed on the Instagram account, Lisa herself emailed me back with her Whatsapp number for faster reply.
I met Lisa a few days later at her North Hollywood salon, which was the first location to open in the summer of 2019. Located in a quintessential Valley strip mall, Lisa Kon Lab is not prominently displayed. After I parked in the underground garage, it took me a minute to find it! I was about to enter a store and ask where Lisa Kon Lab was located, until I finally found the door with the sign in one of the hallways that led to the elevators.
When you walk in, there’s a big gallery wall with photos of celebrities and magazine covers. A few of them had dedicated autographs from Zendaya and Kendall Jenner, as well as Rita Ora. The front-desk girl kindly welcomed me and asked if I wanted something to drink while I waited for Lisa. Behind the counter, there were a gazillion bottles of Lisa’s nail polish brand. After I sat down, she handed me my water, revealing her amazing Russian manicure. I noticed that the staff, as well as the clients that walked in and left, were Russian speakers.
After Lisa was done with her client, she directed me to her private office, where we chatted. Lisa’s story is about perseverance and passion for your craft, because you never know where it might take you. I hope this interview inspires you to dream big, regardless of your background or where you’re reading this from.
At the end of the interview, I included the price list of the salons.
NOTE: Because of Lisa’s extensive work, it was hard for me to pick only a few photos. Expect to see lots of beautiful nail art showcasing Lisa’s amazing creations!
Why did you decide to move to LA in the first place?
I moved to LA seven years ago (2016). A lot of people that we met said that California was the best state of the US: beautiful weather, nature… and that if you wanted to do business, LA was the place to be because of its affiliation with the beauty and wellness industry.
How did you start your business before first opening the salon?
I first started working from our 1 bedroom apartment in North Hollywood. I worked in the living room with a room separator. After a year, we made more money and we moved into a 2 bedroom apartment. There, I had a room designated to do nails with a private bathroom. But because I had so many clients, a few of them big clients, we decided to open this location in Studio City/ North Hollywood. This was our first location. From there, I started hiring a few people at a time. We opened the Beverly Hills location last year.
There are thousands of nail salons in LA. What sets your technique apart from the rest?
It’s very different. When you go to a nail salon here, it’s usually Vietnamese or American. There isn’t that much of a difference, but it’s a quick service. The quality isn’t as good because in 20-30 minutes you won’t be able to do a deep cuticle work and color application. Our work takes a lot longer, from 1 to 2 hours. We do a very intensive cuticle work and apply color under the cuticle, so in a week or 10 days, your nail will actually grow with the color. Everything is about perfection.
Russian women are very, very picky, and over there, if you don’t do a good job, you won’t have clients. The standards for good service are very high in my country.
I didn’t know anything about Russian manicure and when I watched a few videos before meeting you, it looked very intimidating. It looks like surgery.
(Laughs)Yes, it does!
But people that have tried it say “OMG I’m never going back to regular manicures. This is life changing. My nails have never looked this good.” What would you say to someone who wants to try it, but maybe they’re apprehensive about it?
It’s totally fine if the person doesn’t think it’s safe if they’ve never tried it or maybe they’ve had a bad experience before because some technicians here (not Russian) use a drill machine for the cuticles and they make holes in the nails, they cut the skin badly. After someone has a bad experience like that, of course they won’t trust another technician after.
When you choose a technician for this technique, you have to make sure that he or she has experience and they know how to do it right. It’s like surgery (laughs), not quite like it. But you go very deep inside the cuticle to cut the dead skin.
It looks photoshopped.
It does look like photoshop, but if you don’t do it right, it can be very dangerous.
When you do this technique, it’s extremely important to take care of the tools in-between sessions. If you do a light cleaning like most places do, it’ll be a total disaster. When we clean our tools, we follow the same cleaning guidelines as a dentist office or a hospital. It’s very important to disinfect everything after you’re done with a client.
How did the opportunity to work for people like the Kardashians or Zendaya come to you?
I never expected this, you know? When I moved to LA, I had no idea that this could ever happen. I never thought about working for very famous people. I didn’t even think about owning a nail salon! If I were working at home like I was before, I’d be totally fine with it.
With famous people, it came organically. One of my clients worked with the Kardashians and they contacted me. Kendall’s agent contacted me first. Regarding Zendaya… I’m not sure how Darnell (Zendaya’s PA) found us. I should ask him (laughs) maybe on social media? Some people find me on Instagram. Agents usually know other agents and they ask, so maybe that’s how, but I don’t work with agencies. Almost every celebrity nail technician is represented by an agency, but not us.
Zendaya’s nails are very simple, but very sophisticated. When you do her nails, does she have a specific design in mind or does she leave it up to you?
She likes very plain nail colors as you said. Usually she doesn’t do designs. We did a design on her only once I think. Most of the time she does nude, red, black or French manicures. Not too long ago, we did blue. I’ll post it soon, but blue isn’t her typical go-to color. She usually likes more classic nail styles. Sometimes she wears her natural nails, other times she does gel extensions.
Note: In Elle magazine’s recent interview, Zendaya mentioned the three beauty products she couldn’t live without. One of them was gel nail polish. This is what she said: “Sometimes I do them myself, sometimes I get them done. When you see them (nails) and they look like they don’t have anything on them, it’s a matte clear gel, ok?” she said as she laughed.
In a 2017 interview, she mentioned her biggest peeve. “Don’t have chipped nail polish. Either your polish is all the way on or all the way off. There’s no in between for me.” She also said in another interview that she’s a perfectionist Virgo, which is no wonder why she loves the precise cuticle work of Russian manicures!
As you can see in the pictures below, nails are a very important part of Zendaya’s beauty routine! Lisa said that she also owns a few of her gel nail polishes.
Did you grow up liking nails?
I never thought about nails growing up. In school, I learned economics. Then I went to university to study accounting and I graduated. I started doing nails in the second year. It was by accident. One day, I just bought everything to try for myself. My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, said “Since you spent so much money on this, why don’t you try it on other people?” I said “Ok, let’s try it!” So at first I did it for my friends, my mother and sister. Then for their friends. At the time, I was also a waitress, and after a few months, I quit my job to do this.
But why did you suddenly feel the urge to buy everything?
I did nails once on myself a long time ago before that. I just used regular nail polish and drew the French manicure. So probably yes, I’ve always liked it. When I was in school, I also liked to draw on different things and throughout my childhood, I always liked to use my hands to do stuff. Maybe that’s why.
For someone who doesn’t like getting their nails done, what are your essential nail care tips to keep your nails healthy, strong and pretty on your own?
First of all, good food. What we eat and what we drink will determine how they look. If you eat badly and you don’t have enough vitamins in your body, your nails won’t be strong. Good care is by putting oils, lotions, and cleaning them underneath. If you don’t do anything on your cuticles it is fine because some people don’t need it if they’ve never touched them. Cuticles don’t grow that much. They just trim the nails and they look good.
If you do manicures at home, get a pusher to push the cuticles, nippers and scissors to cut the dead and extra skin, if you do color application then a top and base for a clean look… But like I said, some girls just trim them and that’s it. It’s different for everyone.
What do you love the most about doing people’s nails?
Some people come in with a bad mood, but after the manicure service is done, when they leave, they smile and they’re happy. It’s the best part. It makes me happy to be a part of that feeling. My favorite part about doing people’s nails is drawing. I like to do French and nail designs.
What is your personal favorite nail design?
My favorite style is nude or French. Sometimes I do designs on these two guys (Lisa points to her ring and pinky finger). A few times in my life I’ve had a very dark brown and dark blue, but that’s it. Most of the time it is nude.
For someone who’s reading this and wants to go to your salon, what can they expect?
First of all, good customer service. Our technicians are very professional. My hands have been tested on every technician that works here. We don’t have a bad technician here (laughs). For the atmosphere, we provide tea, champagne, wine, coffee, everything for free of course. Starting September, we’ll start providing black caviar, also for free, with champagne. In this location, as you can see, there are separate rooms, so the clients can enjoy a quiet atmosphere and they can pick what they want to watch (Lisa points to the TV behind her): Hulu, Netflix, Youtube. So, during the 2-hour manicure, she can relax, drink wine and eat caviar while watching her favorite movie. We also have a deal for couples, where they can do manicures and pedicures in different rooms. It’s more than just a basic manicure or pedicure, it’s about the experience.
I noticed that all the staff are Russian speakers.
Yes. Some are Russian, but half of the girls are from Ukraine, and some others are from Kazakhstan and Belarus.
What is the hiring process? Do you teach them your method?
I teach some classes, but I don’t teach my exact same method to my technicians because after a year or so, they end up leaving anyway. So it doesn’t make sense.
I try to find a good mid-level technician and I teach them the basics. When the war happened, a lot of people from Russia and Ukraine moved to Los Angeles, so it was much easier to find good experienced technicians. Some of them text me because they read my story and they want to work with us. All of them do Russian manicure, but every technician has a different technique with nail designs and working with on cuticles.
Note: Below are a few pictures of the incredible designs at Lisa Kon! Some of them are by Lisa, some others are by her incredibly talented team!
Before opening the salon in 2019, you also created your own nail polish line.
Yes, before opening this location we started our nail production. At first, it was only tools for manicures and gel polishes. Now we have a full line with tools, gels, dust collectors…everything.
How different is your nail polish from the rest?
It’s a very different consistency and pigmentation. That’s very important to me. Here, sometimes when you go to a regular nail place and you want a nude color, they apply three coats of the same color. In our collection, we have one nude color. That’s it. When we first moved here, I tried to find a good gel polish because it was very expensive and complicated to send it all the way from Russia. I first tried OPI, but it’s so different… The formula is very liquidy. I tried other brands I can’t remember, but I wasn’t happy with any of them. That’s why my team and I decided to create our own formula.
What do you like about living in LA?
The good weather, although right now it’s too hot (laughs). I love the mountains, the ocean… I love that during the winter time you can drive for one hour and snowboard. It’s beautiful.
But in the last few years, it doesn’t feel as good as before because there’s a lot of homeless, and our government is only making it worse. So, I’m not happy about that. There’s a lot of crazy people. Also, the school shootings and crime. I don’t know if our kid will go to school here or maybe we’ll move somewhere else in a few years when he starts. I’m afraid because when you’re a mom, you think about your kid’s safety first. And I don’t feel safe. The schools here aren’t that good, and in private schools, people have more money and can get easy access to drugs. You never know… We’ll see.
Note: Lisa is the mom of a 2-year old boy.
What is the most rewarding part about being a business owner?
The fact that after a few years, you can rest more. Right now, we’re able to travel once a month, so it’s good. When you work for someone else, you only have a few weeks off in the year, and most of the time, you work to live. But, the goal of any person, I think, is to live and enjoy life. That’s the good part about being a business owner. After a few years, or if you can’t work anymore, you’re able to delegate things to other people and enjoy life more.
What about the challenges?
The hardest part is to work with other people. You never know what another person has in their head. It’s very complicated. You can’t be good for everyone, but you want a good atmosphere. It’s very hard in the beginning when you don’t have experience, but after a few years, I know how to handle things. Three years ago, if some of my technicians left, I’d be very hard on myself and become very sad. “Why did this happen?” “What did I do wrong?” “They left me”… Now I understand that every person wants to grow, and after a few years, if she wants to open her own place, I’m totally fine with it. If some of my longtime nail technicians left, I’d be sad of course, but I’m very happy for their growth. Over the years, you become smarter and smarter and you start to understand things that you didn’t understand a few years ago.
What are your favorite places and restaurants in LA?
Places, I don’t really know (thinks)….and to be honest, we don’t really go out to restaurants because of work and the baby, and when we go, we need to put cartoons for him. We usually go to restaurants when we travel. That’s why I’m not really familiar with a lot of places here… But we really like sushi, Italian and French food. Also Vietnamese. The soups (pho) are really delicious. Some places are very inexpensive, but really good. And of course, if you want a nice vibe, then high-end restaurants. We like Avra and Wally’s in Beverly Hills.
In DTLA we like Watergrill, it’s a seafood restaurant. We live in the North Hollywood/ Studio City area, and we really like Lala’s Grill. It’s not fancy, but it’s veery delicious. For coffee, I like Blue Bottle and Bluestone Lane.
What about Russian food?
We do like Russian food, but we’ve actually never been to a Russian restaurant here in LA (laughs). Never! (laughs) We like going to this Russian grocery store called Odessa in Valley Village. They have pre-made Russian style food and really good, inexpensive Caviar.
Is there anything you miss about your hometown, Tver?
Honestly, just my family. I can’t say my hometown is something really special. It’s a small Russian town, nothing fancy. The change of seasons is beautiful though, but I think everyone knows that there are better opportunities here. So yes, just family.
Lastly, what would you say to the Lisa that just moved to LA?
Don’t give up! (laughs). I wouldn’t change anything in my life. Every mistake has taught me how to do it better the next time. If I hadn’t made any mistakes, I’d have made them in the future anyway.
If you want to do something, you need to trust yourself!
Lisa says that the prices at the Beverly Hills location are $20 more than the original location in North Hollywood.
The prices for a Russian gel manicure start at $100 and they vary depending on the technician.
If you want a straightforward Russian manicure with no gel polish, it’s $60, and if a new technician has just joined the team, there’s a special price of $80. Although Lisa mostly goes to people’s homes now, she also works two days out of the North Hollywood salon and one day in Beverly Hills. A manicure with Lisa starts at $300.
You can call either location, or you can book your appointment through this link.
The Beverly Hills location has an open concept, whereas in the North Hollywood location, there are rooms, so the experience is more private and intimate. Besides manicures, the nail salons also offer brow lamination and lash extension services.
As opposed to most nail salons, a reservation at Lisa Kon is necessary, especially given the fact that the process takes about 2 hours.
North Hollywood: 2 floor, 206, 4444 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91602
Beverly Hills : 9863 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
The video below shows a quick sum up of the services at the Beverly Hills location.
