There is a certain je ne sais quoi that makes everything Dua Lipa does look effortlessly cool. Whether she is dying her hair “pop star red” to hard launch a new musical era, walking the Golden Globes red carpet in cherry mocha nails and head-to-toe Schiaparelli, or trying out chrome eyeshadow at the Grammys, everything she does looks like it should’ve been there all along—just like her latest metallic manicure.
On March 1, the British pop superstar posted an Instagram carousel, saying in the caption, “been deep in BRITS rehearsals,” so she didn’t have any fresh content to post. What did she have instead? “some BTS shots from the shoot” of her latest unnamed album. Which, as you can guess, included an up-close look at what we are calling her mermaid glazed manicure.
Along with her “pop star” dark cherry red hair and a handful of outfits—including mixed metal silver and gold cuffs, lots of small hoop earrings, a chic black bodysuit, and a mesh red, white, and blue shirt—came the latest chrome nail look.
As has been the reigning trend of 2024 thus far, Dua Lipa opted for short square nails for her mermaid glaze mani. In a similar hue to the silver bangle she paired it with, each of the sharp nails matched with a glistening metallic gray hue. However, different from the chrome finishes that took our fingertips in 2023, this one had a wet, semi-sheer finish that gave it all the mermaid vibes.
Due to the thin metallic coats, we could still see hints of her nails underneath—though not fully. The slight blue-gray hue of the silver chrome powder blocked most of her natural nails from being visible. Almost giving us the vibes of the shimmery mermaid scales we saw in The Little Mermaid.
Though it might be hard to fully recreate her mermaid glaze at home, since chrome powder is a professional-only product, there is one way you can get close to her effortlessly cool nail look.
First, as with any nail look, remove any lingering nail polish with remover. Then, cut and file your nails to the short square shape—this would also be the time to apply any tips or press-ons if you want. After that, buff the surface for an even nail bed before applying your favorite base coat.
After your nails are prepped, you can either leave the base as a clear base coat or go in with a light, sheer, skin-matching hue. Either way, dust on some metallic flakes like Mia Secret’s ($12.50). Then, seal it all in with your favorite top coat, and you will be matching with the superstar.