Today we’d like to introduce you to Carissa Warren.
Hi Carissa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started doing nails back in 2022 as a press-on nail artist. Now, nails and art have always been a part of my life. but I took it more seriously in that years. starting this business came in a somewhat funny way. it wasn’t because I wanted to be a business owner. in fact I wanted to be a singer. But in 2022, my grandpa had passed, and it was a big loss to me and caused a lot of anxiety in my body. I started getting extremely bad panic attacks to the point of thinking if I got out of bed, I would die. Why did my brain do that? I don’t have a single idea, but it seeped into every part of my life. I was scared to leave my house for very mundane tasks. Nothing for the longest time, could calm me down. But then I found Rosie, Evie, and Emily. There were only two things that could calm me down when I got into these panic attacks, one being watching Rosie’s dessert spot (an extremely calming cake-making YouTube channel) and watching nail art videos (specifically Long Hair Pretty Nails and Emily Susanah, both incredibly talented nail artists on YouTube). Eventually as an artist myself, I wanted to make nails too. Eventually friends and family members wanted some and it slowly grew into what it is today.
Now press-on nails are a great way to create art and it has an amazing community. I LOVE THE NAIL COMMUNITY. And during 2020-2023 was a great time to be a press-on nail artist and start a business because, at that time and still a little bit now, people were afraid and not allowed to go out. Press-on nails allowed you to feel polished despite not being able to go outside. Now it is a tad harder to have a press-on nail business because a lot of big companies have taken over the business and **whispers** taken artists’ works at cheaper prices *side eyes big businesses*. And all of this brings me to 2025.
After doing press-ons for 3 years, me and my husband talked about how to build my business further. In August of 2025, I started nail school and graduated in march of 2026. am now a fully licensed nail technician and have my own suite. I have built amazing friendships through school and now have an in-person nail community. It is truly amazing and I love my clientele (both press-on and tech). If anyone if looking for a nail tech that loves to do insane art, I’m your Girl!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road but you learn and change along the way. I do want to say as someone with a lot of anxiety, I was frightened to start but had a great support system. I’m also a huge believer in starting even when you don’t have all your ducks in a row. I felt entirely unsure of myself when I first started, and without my husband, Luis, and my mom, Lynnea, I don’t think I would have ever jumped into this.
There were a couple time when I made a set for people and they didn’t like it and I definitely took that to heart. Just because, you know, it’s your artwork and as artist we do tend to get connected to our art a little too much. And in this situation, I learned to operate the business and my artwork apart from me. With these clients, I reached out them and we were able to come together and see what I could do better. It is soooo so important to be able to have these hard conversations and be open to all opinions because it allows you to grow. Some of the hardships I faced were because of miscommunication, and it taught me to not be afraid to say what was on my mind because it typically put the client in a much better position, having full understanding of something, rather than me keeping quiet because I was afraid to rock the boat.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The thing I am most passionate about and what sets me apart, is the ART. I love creating, I love teaching the art. I love talking with a client and coming up with new ideas and seeing how they’ll play out. And especially right now in the nail community, the art is the most experimental and most exquisite it has ever been. Nail art is what makes me, me. I love going above and beyond what people ask of me. Especially with all of the products we have now, there’s a world of possibilities that can be created on such a tiny canvas.
Teaching and creating some insane things is probably what I am most known for. Some of my favorite artwork was when I created an alien set, a 3D pray mantis (I’m a big bug lover, sorry not sorry) with a flying dragonfly, a 3D realistic sea shell, and a 3D chameleon. One of my favorite things to do, is to find some really cool art on Pinterest, instagram, etc and create it into a nail set. Because sometimes the nail community will get stuck on a trend for a while, so it is nice to get ideas from other artist and create nail art from these incredible works (just make sure to credit your artists!!)
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
As mentioned before, Long Hair Pretty Nails and Emily Susanah are huge inspirations to me. Sauvage_artistry is a nail artist on instagram that I also look up to, his ability to do beautiful nails on the spot is something aspire to be just as good at. Some things that help me be a better person outside of nails is the amazing book club I’m in called Librito, a great group of women and we have a vast array of books we read. The Bald and Beautiful is the only podcast I listen to, I love love love Katya and Trixie, my queens. When I need to relax and not think about the business, you’ll see me watching Smosh and/ or KatieB/Vanillamace.
Pricing:
- Tier one nail art (canvas) is $150+
- Tier two nail art (Sculpture) is $220+
- Tier three nail art (Masterpiece) is $300+
- Nail art 1 0n 1 teaching- 2 hours $150
- Nail art 1 on 1 teaching- 1 hour $80
Contact Info:
- Website: https://book.solasalonstudios.com/carissa-warren/pro
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gorgeous10.customnails
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Gorgeous-Ten-Custom-Nails/100087382488608/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Gorgeous10.customenails
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gorgeous10.customnails
