There was a lot happening during the "Love Island" final: reminiscing on journeys in the villa, googling Laura Whitmore's outfit [1], and aggressively refreshing Twitter before Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu and Davide Sanclimenti were crowned 2022's winners [2]. Because of that, we'll forgive you for not noticing the teeny-tiny details on the Islanders' nails that expertly complemented their outfits. But you better be paying attention now, because these sets are bound to be the hottest end-of-summer inspiration for all of us nail-lovers.
Bristol-based manicurist Ella Bella Nails [3] was the brains behind this year's nail art, giving Cülcüloglui, Tasha Ghouri [4], Indiyah Polack [5], Gemma Owen, and Dami Hope (yes, Dami) the best sets of the summer to see out their last night in style.
We were thrilled to see Hope sporting a negative-space Comme des Garçons-inspired [6] (or should we say Croc Jibbitz-inspired) manicure, further proving that manicures and nail art have never been reserved for just women. [7] We like to think that Polack played her part in his look after playing beauty salon (nope, not that salon!) by painting nails. Hope also got his practice in by giving Polack a pedicure during their time in the villa — and doing a pretty good job at it, too.
Get a close look at all of the Islanders' last manicures in the villa, sporting trends like the "clean girl" aesthetic [8] and the double french manicure [9] and even using trendy treatments like builder in a bottle [10]. Summer nail-art inspiration coming your way . . .
Dami Hope
Now, when we first saw Hope's nails we assumed they were inspired by his Croc Jibbitz, but they're actually his manicurist Ella's. "The croc jibbitz is mine and I gave it to him in exchange for him letting me paint one of his nails," she told POPSUGAR. Hope sported a negative-space manicure [11] with an accent nail for the final — and we absolutely see a nail collab in the cards in the very near future. Ella used The Gel Bottle in shade Candy and Brillbird gels for the nail art, topped off with a matte top coat.
We think the exchange was well worth it for this nail inspo!
Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu
Cülcüloglu wore one of our favourite modern french-manicure trends: the double french [12]. The double french is exactly as the name suggests, consisting of two lines instead of just the one, often in two different shades. Cülcüloglu opted for a classic white french tip with an added second gold sparkly line to perfectly match her dress. Bella used Aprés nail extensions [13] with The Gel Bottle shades white [14] and Vegas [15] for the look. The best part of this manicure, though? It was chosen by Sanclimenti.
The French manicure is definitely here to stay, proving it to be a great option this summer (no matter the variation you choose). "I don't go a day in the salon without doing at least one set of french (and I work 6 days a week!)" Ella says.
Tasha Ghouri
The "clean girl" aesthetic [16] was Ghouri's manicure of choice for the final, and it was absolutely dreamy. This TikTok trend essentially means that your nails are pared back and minimal — and the "Love Island" finalist totally nailed it. If you look closely, you'll also see that this is a minimalist take on the baby-boomer nail trend [17], which carefully melts a white tip into a pink-hued base. Bella used The Gel Bottle in Marshmallow [18] and Magpie pigment in white. [19]
Indiyah Polack
Polack gave us a lesson in expertly matching our nails to our outfit with her stunning silver-accent french manicure. "Indiyah described her dress to me but knew she wanted a bit of something extra and told me to do what I thought would match, so I showed her the SISSI molten metal paint and she loved it!" Ella says. Swirls [20] (especially in a metallic hue) are such a beautiful way to add a bit of fun to a classic french. Bella used long square Aprés nail extensions [21] to give that enviable length with The Gel Bottle's Au Naturel [22] and white [23] shades, with Sissi silver gel [24] for the nail art.
"A lot of my daily clients match their nails to a specific outfit for an event / birthday outfit, some even match their nails to the branding of a festival they're attending," so if you're ever lacking in mani inspo, use your event as a guide.
Gemma Owen
If you weren't already onboard the "builder in a bottle" (BIAB) [25] train, you will be after seeing Owen's manicure. For this simple yet stunning manicure, Bella used The Gel Bottle's BIAB in shade Teddy [26] with one layer of Au Naturel [27] on Owen's natural nails.
Laura Whitmore
Of course, Whitmore (who brings her beauty A-game to every "Love Island" appearance) got in on the action. For the special occasion, the host wore pretty much every summer nail trend. She wore two-toned angled french nails in multi colours, created by manicurist Michelle Class [28].