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Dec 08, 2023

You May Have Missed Halle Bailey's Seashell Nails In 'The Little Mermaid'

We got a closer look.

@hallebailey/Instagram

Everyone loves a good behind-the-scenes moment, and The Little Mermaid has them a-plenty in terms of beauty. Halle Bailey's hairstylist recently shared the CGI secrets for getting her Ariel hair to "float" in underwater scenes, while her makeup artist unpacked every single product that she wore while shooting. Our latest discovery? We just found out how to create Bailey's seashell manicure she wore on set.

Celebrity nail artist and Bailey's on-set nail artist, Stephanie Staunton recently shared the seashell nails that she created for the actor while filming. Bailey's nails look immaculate and sit at a comfortable short length with a soft square edge. Her nails are a hodge-podge of multiple trends since they have a strawberry milk-like pale pink base that lets her nail growth peer through, thus creating a faux milky French effect. Staunton reveals that she used a custom blend of pink, cream, and glittery pink nail polish to create the manicure. "Note the delicate gold shimmer which bounces the light back giving a healthy glow," she says in the post.

The overall manicure amounts to a seashell manicure with a shimmering mother of pearl effect. In recent months, stars have been favoring manicures that lend themselves to the "my nails but better trend," which is all about wearing muted nail polish that makes your nails look like, well, your nails but better. Still, the manicure style can become redundant, especially as the weather warms up, which is why many celebs have been adding fun pops to their manicures with glitter, chrome, or aura designs. Bailey's nails further prove that adding a bit of pizazz to your mainstay neutral manis will be the thing to do this summer.

Disney

There are various ways you can recreate Bailey's seashell nails, the first being painting your nails with two coats of shimmery sheer pink nail polish like the Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer in Wink Wink ($22). Still, if this is too shimmery for you, you can dilute the polish with a sheer pale pink shade like the Static Nails Liquid Glass Lacquer in Soft Glow ($16) and cream nail polish like the Ella + Mila Nail Polish in Secret Garden ($11) before applying the mixture to your nails. Whichever technique you choose, make sure to finish off with a high-shine top coat for nails that look like they were plucked from under the sea.

Up Next: This $10 Polish Is the Secret to Sofia Richie's Naked Nails

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