(Celebrity)

The Year Just Started, But Dua Lipa's Manicure Is Already In Summer

Summertime and the living’s easy.

by Amanda Ross
@dualipa
Dua Lipa mirror selfie strawberry sweater

It’s clear from her songs, music videos, ad campaigns, outfits, and hairstyles — Dua Lipa’s just one of those people with creativity practically seeping from her pores. In fact, it’s probably part of why she’s so huge. Fans look to Lipa’s style and beauty moments almost as extensions of her work, combing through her eyeliner and shoe choices for clues on upcoming music or special projects. Sometimes, though, the explanation is simple — Lipa’s just a stylish young star expressing herself. And her newest manicure, a cacophonous blend of colors, shapes, and textures, is a prime example. Unique nail designs as a whole are as ubiquitous to Hollywood as NDAs these days, and Lipa’s responsible for keeping the trend going.

For this major manicure, Lipa turned to the name for glamorously over-the-top nail sets: Mei Kawajiri, better known by her @nailsbymei Instagram handle. Kawajiri’s maximalist style and keen eye for color, finish, and layering makes her a frequent Lipa collaborator. This new set, though, seems to borrow from several trends at once: the Y2K revival, colorful summer camp craft-like beads, dangling nail charms, and abstract shapes.

While 2022 is just barely underway, it seems like Lipa’s already got her mind on bright, sunny summer. The set makes great use of contrasting neons to make the 3D charms really pop. In addition to a large pink flower featuring a jewel at its center, Lipa’s nails are adorned in stars, bubbles, pearls, assorted 3D shapes, and what appears to be a glorious slime green rose affixed to her index finger.

Notably, this more-is-more manicure is one of the few times in recent memory that Lipa’s steered away from her typical go-to style: the French manicure with a slight variation. Considering she essentially helped kickstart last year’s French tip frenzy, it’s safe to say that these 3D nails might just be the next major trend. This isn’t even Lipa and Kawajiri’s first 3D manicure of 2022 — the pair experimented with dreamy watercolor swirls and bubbles within the first week of the year, just cementing the style’s one-to-watch status.

While getting Kawajiri’s signature styles might be difficult to perfectly recreate at home, the beauty of 3D nails and unique designs is that they don’t have to be so exact. The artist even teased a type of shaping gel that can be used to make raised bubbles with relative ease. But even if the 3D aspect is too tricky, it’s simple enough to cop Lipa’s overall manicure style with plenty of neons, glitters, and freewheeling patterns. Below, shop some polishes to get started — quick, before Lipa moves on to the next year-defining trend!

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