Jennifer Lopezs Discreet Met Gala Manicure Featured Essie Nail Polish

My brain is swimming in a flurry of images from last night’s Met Gala — Jared Leto dressed as Choupette (aka Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat), Dua Lipa donned a ‘90s Chanel bridal gown, Nicole Kidman made waves in the dress from her iconic Chanel perfume ad, and so on and so forth. Jennifer Lopez’s look was also gobsmacking; a sculptural fascinator and abs-baring cut-out dress topped off with gloves shouldn’t work, but under J. Lo’s stewardship, of course it does. Later on when she switched out of her Met Gala outfit into her after-party outfit, we got a peek at the fabulous manicure she was hiding. 

Her nail artist Tom Bachik shared a close-up look of the matte beige and black manicure on his Instagram. The timeless and chic yet subtly glamorous look consisted of a beige base with and black side-tips, accentuated with black diamonds. The entire look, minus the diamonds, was courtesy of none other than everyone’s favorite affordable nail brand: Essie. 

Bachik started with two coats of Essie Gel Couture in Fairy Tailor across the entire nail. He then took Essie nail polish in Licorice and swiped across the tip in a diagonal fashion, sort of like an off-kilter French mani. To create the contrast of matte and glossy, J. Lo’s nails required two different top coats. The beige Fairy Couture color was finished with the Matte About You top coat, while Gel Setter was used to give a patent leather look to the black nail polish. I can’t tell you where the diamonds are from, but you can DIY the interlocking Chanel Cs with a sheet of $8 rhinestone stickers from Amazon. The last step was hydration and nourishment courtesy of Essie’s very highly rated On a Roll Apricot Nail and Cuticle Oil. 

Shop now: $11 (Originally $13); amazon.com

Shop now: $10; amazon.com

If you were to walk away with a few items from this manicure DIY, I’d definitely recommend the Essie Gel Couture Polish and Gel Setter Top Coat. Essie’s Gel Couture line is not only celebrity-used and celebrity nail artist-loved, but also highly rated by Amazon shoppers for its gel-like lasting powers. Customers claim it strengthens their nails and can last for up to two weeks without a single chip. As for the Gel Setter Top Coat, the 11,200-plus five-star ratings speak for themselves. Shoppers rave it “gives a brilliant shine and locks in color” and helps manicures last “for weeks.”

Shop now: $11; amazon.com

Head to Amazon to shop Jennifer Lopez’s affordable Met Gala manicure and recreate the look yourself.

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