Adele’s Two-Toned Manicure Is an Optical Illusion

When in Las Vegas, evening plans are bound to be something special. You could see a magic show. Or maybe (if you’re lucky enough to score tickets) check out Adele’s weekend residency. In a true stroke of Vegas luck, the Caesars Palace’s Colosseum audience was able to simultaneously have both experiences this weekend. When Adele took the stage, she premiered a mind-bending manicure as she sang her heart out for the 31st weekend in a row.

Her black-and-nude manicure appeared to be two lengths, one half considerably shorter than the other. It took me about 12 tries to figure out what was going on with the trippy (and seemingly impractical) manicure. But, after careful inspection, it appears her black dress backdrop is to blame for the optical illusion.

Created by LA-based nail artist Zola Ganzorigt, the manicure is nude at its base. Simple enough, right? But here’s where it gets tricky. Ganzorigt expertly painted one quarter (the upper left, to be precise) of each of the "I Drink Wine" singer’s lengthy, almond-shaped nails black, offsetting the disappearing-nail illusion with only a tiny golden pearl in the center. 

In a series of photos from her October 13 and October 14 shows, Adele showed off the manicure. Wearing a black, cold-shoulder gown with gold detailing, her nail shape appeared consistently hard to grasp from one photo to the next. In one, she placed her hand on her hip—a pose that made it actually impossible to differentiate nail from fabric. In another, she held on to a copy of her rumored fiancé/husband Rich Paul’s new book Lucky Me, flashing an enormous ring that almost distracted from the mani.

Because she’s Adele, the Grammy winner rounded out her look with dramatic eye makeup and the very cattiest of cat eyes. Her blonde hair was done up in a perfect, side-parted blowout that seemed to fly behind her as she sang, even without a wind machine. 

In a classic case of manicurist-client mind reading, both Adele and Ganzorigt’s Instagram posts had the caption “weekend 31.” This batch of residency shows goes 34 weeks and, with Halloween weekend shows on the horizon, there’s no telling what magical manis are to come.

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