Immaculately pretty soap nails and artsy marbled designs might be trending on social media, but at last night's BAFTAs, moody and mysterious winter manicures took on a starring role on the red carpet.
Whether it's inspired by the cool London air or temperamental British skies, elegant hues of jet black and oxblood red made a welcome return after expressive styles conquered the Grammys earlier this month.
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Kylie Jenner, who attended last night's ceremony with Timothée Chalamet offsets her romantic, blushing cheeks with midnight hour talons that perfectly matched her vintage Galliano halter neck dress; a departure from the clean, natural-looking nails she's been sporting in recent months. She even went the extra mile by treating her toenails with a similar colour.
In an Instagram post, Jenner also took the opportunity to tease a new fragrance that her fans will no doubt await with bated breath.
In the same vein, Best Supporting Actress winner Zoë Saldaña went with glossy, perfectly polished black noir nails by manicurist Rebecca Jade Wilson in a short and neat style to complement her Saint Laurent ensemble and Bulgari Jewellery.
Rich oxblood nails proved to be popular, too. A long-time favourite hue of UK beauty editors, Selena Gomez swapped her 'soap girl mani' for a super chic 'Sparkling Merlot' nails by Tom Bachik.
Bachik shared a breakdown on Instagram: after prepping the cuticles and shaping the nails with Tweezerman tools, he used the CND Shellac System starting with the Wear Extender Base Coat before applying two coats of Needles & Red followed by the Shellac Top Coat. To nourish the cuticles, he massaged in CND's Solar Oil (a firm favourite of this editor for tackling dryness).
Meanwhile for actor Felicity Jones, Wilson went with deep red with cocoa undertones for a look that's a little softer than jet-black nails but just as impactful.
Matching your nails to your dress seemed to be the go-to formula last night, as Letitia Wright also paired her Prada column dress with a manicure of a similar maroon hue complete with a cat-eye effect by nail artist Tinu Bello to mirror the silk texture of her ensemble.
Never one to miss out on a major nail moment, Cynthia Erivo nailed the moody nail memo by incorporating mulberry red accents to her bejewelled, maximalist tips by Mycah Dior.
Fashion and beauty insiders have always held on to dark fingertips no matter the season, and we're ever grateful for even more inspiration to the see us through the year ahead.
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Medina Azaldin is the beauty editor of ELLE and Harper's Bazaar UK, working across print and digital features. She has more than seven years journalism experience and has previously written for Red and Good Hoousekeeping. When she's not demystifying the latest skincare ingredient, sniffing out the next big perfume trend or uncovering the science behind wellness practices, you'll most likely find her in Hatchards Piccadilly or watching a crime series with her cats. Oh, and she's a competitive cheerleader, too.
