Cynthia Erivo rocked a magical manicure at the 2025 Golden Globes. The actress—who has been blessing us with noteworthy nails throughout the Wicked press tour—donned gem-covered acrylics at the ceremony, which took place at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, January 5. Each nail featured a different color and design, complementing her crystal gown that was made custom by Louis Vuitton. (The plunging number featured intricate beading and an artful design at the waist.) Erivo’s nails were brought to life by her go-to nail tech, Los Angeles-based pro Mycah Dior—who was the brains behind some of the tantalizing talons the actress donned at the different Wicked premieres last year.
Erivo told E! on the red carpet the manicure took five hours, and Dior was kind enough to break down her process. To create the “quartz marble design” that appeared below the stones on the coffin-shaped nails, Dior applied two coats of OPI’s Reocurrin’ Gleam (a new 2025 shade) before going in with a matte topcoat, she explained in a press release. Next, Dior added a white ink pigment and dispersed it across the nail, creating diagonal and imperfect lines all over.
Afterward, the manicurist used acetone to disperse the ink with a thick nail brush (or 3D brush), creating gemstone veins. She repeated that step a few times before applying hints of OPI’s Princesses Rule and Miami Beet to “different parts of the nail.” Dior followed that step with OPI’s Alpine Snow using a thin liner brush to outline some of the veins for “deeper dimension and depth.” Other shades used in the process were OPI’s Kyoto Pearl, Rated Pea-G, and Fiyero’s My Mani.
Erivo has long been synonymous with her nails—but her manicures were especially noticeable while promoting Wicked. The nail art she donned both on the red carpet and in the film were both important and intentional. Like her character Elphaba—who has been othered in her community, Erivo wanted to celebrate her own feelings of otherness as a Black woman. (Did you notice how Elphaba’s manicures changed throughout the film?) Nail art—which has a long history in the Black community—was an easy way to realize that sentiment. Shea Osei, another one of Erivo’s manicurists, shared in a profile with Elle published in November 2024 that nails are the “essence of Cynthia” and both she and the actress “wanted to keep that as a nod to Black women to remind them that they can do anything and should still be accepted for who they are.”
At the 2025 Golden Globes, Wicked took home the Cinematic and Box-Office Achievement award. Erivo was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Film—but lost to Demi Moore’s role in The Substance. Ariana Grande, who portrays Glinda, was up for Best Supporting Actress in a Film, but lost to Zoe Saldana’s performance in Emilia Pérez.
