Met Gala 2021: The Best and Most Creative Manicures

Gemma Chan's Black Dagger Crystal Nails

Gemma Chan often likes to dabble in nail art on the red carpet, and the 2021 Met Gala was no different. For the occasion, she chose to wear this crystal-embellished design, which wasn't just beautiful but was full of meaning. The idea behind the look was: "Black dagger crystals to resemble Anna May Wongs pointy nails + peridot green crystal reverse French to match her skirt," said manicurist Betina Goldstein.

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Amanda Gorman's Silver Chrome Manicure

Manicurist Yoko Sakakura kept things simple but beautiful for Amanda Gorman's manicure. The pair opted for a silver chrome colour with blue undertone using all Essie products to match her incredible gown, hair, and makeup. Swipe to see an up-close shot of Gorman's nails.

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Gabrielle Union's Swirl Nails

Gabrielle Union's swirly black and white nail art matched the contour and pattern of her gown perfectly, but it wasn't a design that came quickly. "I definitely took inspiration from Gabrielle's dress when deciding on what I wanted her nails to look like for the MET Gala. After months of sketching different ideas on paper, off paper, on my iPad and in my phone, I truly gave it a rest a week before the MET," said manicurist Thuy Nguyen. "I like to give myself time to let my ideas marinade and really sink in to inspire me to create a look that I would be completely obsessed with." We're pretty obsessed with it, too. Nguyen used CND Shellac in shades Negligee, Lady Lily, Black Pool, and Silver Chrome.

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Lil Nas X's Gold Versace Nails

Lil Nas X always brings us an epic manicure moment, and the Met Gala was no different. To match his three outfits, nail artist Sojin Oh created this all-gold chrome "Versace" manicure.

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Hailee Steinfeld's Stiletto Nails

Hailee Steinfeld's nails were simple in design but impressive in length. Manicurist Tom Bachik created this sheer peachy pink in a fierce stiletto shape.

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Ciara's Silver Chrome Manicure

Image Source: Getty / ANGELA WEISS

Ciara and nail artist Eri Ishizu chose to match her nails to her dress with a full silver chrome manicure using CND shellac in Silver Chrome.

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Hunter Schafer's 3D Futuristic Manicure

Image Source: Getty / ANGELA WEISS

Hunter Schafer truly didn't disappoint on the red carpet with her beauty look, and her nails were a huge part of that. Sojin Oh was also the brains behind these breathtaking nails, which were created using custom glass Bio Seaweed Gel clear building gel. Impressive doesn't even begin to cover it.

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Megan Thee Stallion's Pink Optical Illusion Manicure

Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz

Manicurist Coca Michelle created these epic pink optical illusion nails for Megan Thee Stallion, and honestly, we've never saved a nail look quicker to use as future inspiration.

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Megan Rapinoe's Jewel-Embellished Fingers

Image Source: Getty / ANGELA WEISS

Technically, Megan Rapinoe's star-studded look is finger art rather than nail art, but nevertheless, it's amazing. Let this be a lesson to all of us to never let the art stop at the fingernails.

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Cynthia Erivo's Crystal-Embellished Nails

Image Source: Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris

Cynthia Erivo's Met Gala nails were truly epic. Each nail was encrusted with individual jewels, and if you look really closely, you'll see red and blue crystals added to the stiletto tips, making sure Erivo really nailed this year's theme.

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Ben Platt's Blue Swirl Manicure

Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz

Ben Platt really served us a wonderful beauty look at this year's Met Gala. First with his jewel-embellished eye makeup and next with his blue-toned swirl manicure courtesy of Michina Koide — both of which matched his all-denim ensemble perfectly.

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Rita Ora's 3D Jewelled Nails

Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz

With Rita Ora's nails, at first, we weren't sure where her Prada skirt stopped and the nails started, because they're practically camouflage. Manicurist Naomi Yasuda created a this 3D jewel-encrusted manicure as an extension of her incredible look.

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Maisie Williams's Gothic Green Manicure

Image Source: Getty / Theo Wargo

There is a lot going on with Maisie Williams's manicure, which is just how we like our nails. Cute and chaotic, amirite? This set contains a different design on each nail with shades of black, green, and purple (and of course some rhinestones) and matches the theme of her outfit perfectly.

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