Moss, seashells, dead bees found at a friend’s farm: these are just a few of the materials that the Korea-born, Los Angeles-based nail artist Sojin Oh incorporates into her otherworldly, three-dimensional manicures. Oh, a former creative producer at Yeezy, was on a mission to find her voice when she decided on a whim to enroll in a nearby beauty school a year-and-a-half-ago. It was there that she began to experiment with next-level claws, using 5-free Bio-Seaweed Gel—“nail art is not really considered eco-friendly, but I want to be an advocate for saving the earth,” she notes—to take her fingertips, quite literally, to new heights.
“A lot of [the other students] thought what I was doing was too crazy,” says Oh, who was trained by her father and grandfather in the art of calligraphy. Her Instagram followers had a different opinion, however, and she soon received an avalanche of requests for her sculptural press-on flourishes. (Kim Kardashian, Lil Miquela, and Kelsey Lu are among those that have donned her designs.)
At the same time, Oh was taking scuba diving lessons—and consequently receiving a crash course in the disastrous effects global warming has had on the world’s coral reefs. “It was so beautiful under the water,” she recalls. “I wanted to show people what I was seeing and simultaneously remind people of the importance of nature.” Now, when she’s not below sea level, she finds inspiration in David Attenborough’s BBC documentaries; “weird nature photos”, such as those of Aron Sanchez, who captures the flora and fauna of San Francisco Bay; the Tasmanian naturalist Sarah Lloyd; and @marin_mushrooms, an account chronicling Northern Californian mushrooms and slime mold. She also continues to be inspired by road trips up and down the California coast, where she experiences firsthand the great gifts of Mother Nature. “There are so many beautiful creatures that most people don’t even know about,” adds Oh.
Below, Oh takes us on a tour of California’s best outdoor destinations—from a rambling garden in Los Angeles to a bay filled with extraordinary nudibranchs—through her one-of-a-kind nature-inspired nail art.
Ojai
“When I think of Ojai, I see gold and beautiful succulents,” Oh says of the inspiration behind these otherworldly gilded tips, which she achieved with the help of the glass artist Drew Wardlaw.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
“When I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time, I put on Hans Zimmer and just walked around for hours until they closed. I think I cried at some point,” Oh recalls. While its doors may be temporarily shuttered, Oh explains that she can still experience the aquarium’s rich marine life thanks to its live cameras: “My favorite is the jellyfish.”
Morro Bay
Oh heads to Morro Bay, where “the craziest looking rocks and shells,” abound, she notes. Two of them—sent via snail mail by a close friend—dot her nails here.
The Huntington Botanical Gardens
“I go to Huntington Gardens whenever I feel down and it’s always a good idea,” Oh says of the verdant oasis, where Ma’O Hau Hele flowers, which inspired the above design, thrive. “You can spend all day reading on the grass, listening to birds chirping.”
Muir Woods
Muir Woods, found in northern California, is home to, in Oh’s book, “the most interesting creatures.” Think: Bleeding tooth fungus mushrooms, stinging sea anemones, and trichia decipiens, also known as slime mold, which, along with the work of fellow nail artist Tomoya Nakagawa, provided the starting point for these boundary-pushing press-ons.
Palm Springs
Oh often escapes to the Sonoran Desert city, where she seeks out the ice-cold natural springs. Here, she riffs off of the prismatic Mediterranean Geckos, which “are everywhere in Palm Springs,” she says.
Big Bear Lake
“Big Bear Lake is a place where you can experience snow and winter in California, it’s magical,” says Oh. The sight of icicles hanging off of her Airbnb window reminded her of her childhood in Korea, where she would pick and eat icicles—and set in motion the glassy work of art above. “I wanted to sculpt them,” she adds.