news spreads fast on the internet, and thanks to Twitter fan pages most people know what celebs are wearing to the Met Gala before they even hit the carpet. Cardi B knows this well—which is why she had two looks for the evening, one to wear on her way to the Met and one to switch into before she even arrived at the event. Seeing as she wore two drastically different looks, she had to pick a manicure that would compliment both—and her strawberry milk nails were just the ticket.
Cardi B’s manicurist, Jenny Bui created a long pale pink manicure using acrylics from Mia Secret and Aprés Nail polishes. Biu first applied acrylic tips to the rapper’s nails and filed them into a long round shape to elongate the fingers. After that, Biu applied the Aprés Nail Gel Couleur in Oh For Shore ($15) to the entire nail bed to create a miky pink nude manicure—the perfect strawberry milk shade—that complemented both of her looks for the evening.
Cardi’s nails were uncharacteristically minimal, given that the star has posted countless nail photos of super-long manicures that are often gem-encrusted or intricately decorated. Her manicure for the Met Gala is just more proof that as the trends sway away from intricate designs and towards soft and minimal manicures, even fans of the most complex nail looks are taking more subdued manis for a spin.
As for her outfits, Cardi’s first look was an extravagant pink gown by Miss Sohee that made her look like a Vegas showgirl as she left the Mark Hotel. With a lengthy train, pearl embellishments, a camellia flower at the waist, and a towering tulle collar, the look was an ode to a 2008 Chanel bridal couture gown.
Her second outfit was a clear tribute to Karl Lagerfeld. Cardi arrived wearing a sleeveless white button-up shirt with a crisp collar and a black velvet tie. Over the shirt, Cardi wore a black thick-strapped velvet gown created by Chenpeng Studio, and the dress featured stitching similar to Chanel’s classic Boy bag, as well as black velvet camellia flowers all throughout the skirt. Her stylist, Kollin Carter, paired the look with a grey wig and a black headband, as well as black opera gloves and pearl earrings.
To finish off her the look, makeup artist Erika La’Pearl first prepped Cardi’s skin with Murad’s Daily Defense Colloidal Oatmeal Cream ($54), Hydrating Toner ($42) and Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Serum ($89) before using a full face of Pat McGrath Labs for her ’90s-inspired glam.
“The inspiration for Cardi’s glam look was to showcase and give a nod to fashion,” said La’Pearl. “Cardi always embodies not only elegance but her own unconventional sense of style.” La’Pearl first created a Pamela Anderson smoky eye with a nude shadow on the lid and a cool brown shadow smoked in her crease. She then sculpted the eyes with winged liner on the upper lash line and a wash of black shadow on the lower lash line. Next, La’Pearl flushed Cardi’s complexion with a warm blush and then created a stark two-toned lip with brown lip liner and nude pink lipstick in the center.
