If there’s one thing we can expect from the MTV Video Music Awards, it’s a buzzy red carpet stocked with jaw-dropping looks. Whether a headline-making naked dress or a literal wedding gown (Stella Lefty just wowed in a silver-dipped dress last night), the event is always a cause for fashion and beauty risks. However, English singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro didn’t just steal the show by taking home the award for Best New Artist—she also solidified the bridal-coded manicure trend that forward-thinking fiancées will be all over this fall. Add this to the pile of bridal nods made last night, along with Taylor Swift’s new wedding band.
Spiro took the VMAs stage last night to perform a soulful rendition of “Great Expectation” from her debut studio album, Visitor, in a chainmail-esque silver gown and her signature hairstyle—a beehive bouffant and swooping side bangs. But when we weren’t ogling at her mesmerizing metallic dress, our attention was on her subtly sparkly nails that fall brides will be scrambling to save before their nail appointments.
“Sienna already had a beautiful soft French manicure, so we wanted the nails to feel soft and elevated with an unexpected edge,” says celebrity manicurist Emi Kudo in a press release. The star, who has been known to rock variants of her signature French tips (recently in a cherry red-and-white combo fashioned by Dua Lipa’s manicurist, Michelle Humphrey), kept things traditional on the surface, with what celebrity manicurist Tom Bachik calls a “peekaboo” gem underneath. “We kept the classic French manicure as the foundation, adding a delicate shimmer and subtle crystal accents for a touch of sparkle that felt effortless but still special for the red carpet,” Kudo adds.
Bachik, longtime nail artist to Selena Gomez and Jennifer Lopez, has long called “nail jewelry” the next new thing in neutral nails, and this hidden style is the perfect solution for brides who want to keep things minimalistic with unexpected sparkle. Under the nail is the last place someone would typically look for nail art, but when you flutter your fingers as you wave to your guests, clink a glass of champagne, or twirl your arms in the air on the dance floor, these tiny gems will be the perfect, barely there flash of light to complement your new bling.
To achieve the look, Kudo recommends starting with a strengthening base coat (she used OPI’s GelColor Stay Strong Base Coat mixed with a drop of the light lavender shade Hue is the Artist?). She then painted a shimmery pink base with OPI’s GelColor Intelli-Gel in Throw Me A Kiss and finished things off with a glossy top coat. But the fun didn’t stop there: Kudo used builder gel (OPI’s GelEvate 4-in-1 Builder makes this super easy) to secure tiny crystals onto the undersides of Spiro’s elongated tips, creating a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sparkle that flashed anytime she smoothed her hair or grabbed the microphone.
Keep scrolling to shop the exact products Kudo used to achieve this bridal-coded manicure, plus the regular polish versions for your at-home nail sessions, and more.
Shop Products Inspired by Spiro’s Bridal-Coded VMAs Nails
