Jennifer Coolidge's Glitter-Dipped French Manicure Deserves an Award

Jennifer Coolidge may be the rare celebrity that everybody likes. The proof is in the pudding: she recently made the cover for Time’s 100 most influential people issue and had the honor of hosting the 2023 Time100 Gala on April 26. Naturally, her speeches throughout the evening struck the perfect balance between heartfelt and hilarious—but her glitter-dipped manicure was the thing that stopped us in our tracks.

While her wardrobe on The White Lotus was full of pastel colors and paisley prints, the actress is known to wear all-black ensembles to awards shows, and the gala was no different. Coolidge wore a trailing black long-sleeve gown with crystal embellishment on its hem, cuffs, and shoulders; and paired the look with sheer black gloves, diamond drop earrings, a black clutch with an embellished strap, and a few silver rings. Hairstylist Renato Campora styled her hair into a faux-bob with long romantic curtain bangs, and makeup artist Christopher Ardoff gave her a classic sultry glam.

Her nails add a subtle glitzy touch to her look, and she wore medium-length round nails with a glossy nude base. Nail artist and visionary behind Coolidge’s “stained glass” nails, Vanessa Sanchez McCullough, designed the press-on nails expertly applied by manicurist Aki Hirayama. Sanchez spiced up the otherwise natural look with glitter-dipped tips. She created a dazzling faux-French look by applying a shower of holographic champagne glitter on the tip of each nail. There were no harsh lines, and it truly looked like Coolidge just casually dipped her nails in some shimmer.

Since her foray back into the public eye, Coolidge has taken both fashion and beauty’s hottest trends and made them her own. After years of favoring bold manicures with bright colors and intricate designs, the trend pendulum now sways towards a “my nails but better” manicure, which makes the nails look natural yet highly polished and well-groomed. Coolidge’s nails align with this trend, yes, but it offers a fun take on the simple manicure—which is exactly what we would expect from the star.

If you’re in the market for this manicure, first apply two coats of nude nail polish to your entire nailbed. After that has dried, you can use glitter nail polish to quickly paint on a glitzy tip, or go down the more intricate route and hand apply rhinestones to your tips (Megan Fox’s floating gem manicure at the 2023 Oscars is perfect inspo). Whichever manicure you choose to do, make sure to seal everything in with a high-shine top coat.