Just Another Manic Manicure – Britney Tokyo

Twenty-nine-year-old, celebrity nail technician, columnist and contemporary artist, Britney Tokyo, hits 233k as she continues to imprint her iconic stamp on celebrities like Rita Ora, Ariana Grande and the Kardashians, specialising in 3-D designs and hand painting. 

This original artist launched into the working world as a TV personality and actress in Japan but knew she had an overriding passion for innovative creativity. Tokyo was fascinated by nail design right from the get-go, before she even knew it existed. ‘In elementary school, I didn’t even know what nail art was, but I was drawing on my fingernails during class.’ 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Britney TOKYO 💅✨ (@britneytokyo)

The entrepreneur began her career path at eighteen, when attending nail school, whilst posting her work on SNS, a Japanese Social Media Site. ‘Even now, I receive most of my business inquiries through my Instagram!’ Vanessa Hudgens contacted Tokyo after finding her designs on social media and was soon kitted out with fresh nails for a festival. The actress admired Tokyo’s work, so shared and tagged the nail art on social media. ‘After that, other celebrities started reaching out to me asking if I could create nail designs for them.’

The L.A. based, nail technician subsequently built up her contacts and following, working on music videos, fashion shows and even partnered with American Express to freelance in the VIP area at Coachella. ‘Once celebrities started uploading images of nail art onto their own Instagram pages, it not only solidified manicurists’ and the industry’s reputation, but it forever changed the nail game in the U.S.’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Britney TOKYO 💅✨ (@britneytokyo)

Inspired by music, fashion and culture, Tokyo continues to leave clients speechless, resulting in loyal customers in the media and music industries. ‘Working with celebrities is extremely different to working in a salon because a nail technician has to create a design, not only to make the hands look good, but incorporate themes and fashions of the season.’

Tokyo also writes a column for Yahoo in Japan, which she mentioned is one of her greatest achievements, along with her array of artistic talents. The funky, nail artist aims to carry on creating quintessential accessory looks with a desire to design for Beyonce. ‘Her visual album Lemonade was so great! I would really love to do full nail art on her, instead of just a one-color manicure.’