Sorry, I'm Still Thinking About Emma Chamberlain's Stunning Watercolor Manicure From the 2026 Met Gala
A work of art all on its own.
Two days have gone by and I still haven't stopped thinking about Emma Chamberlain's 2026 Met Gala manicure—especially now that I've seen the details.
The influencer and red carpet host landed herself on just about every best-dressed list imaginable when she showed up at Monday night's Met Gala wearing a Mugler turtleneck gown that was designed (and hand painted) to mimic a Van Gogh painting. The top half of the dress featured heavy yellow paintbrush strokes that cascaded down and merge into a variety of colors, from blue to red, as it reached the dress's train. As the event's "Fashion Is Art" theme would suggest, Chamberlain looked like a classical painting come to life, but the details didn't just stop at her gown. Her watercolor manicure for the night was also absolute perfection.
Per celebrity manicurist Tom Bachik, Chamberlain's nails were painted to match some of the primary colors in her gown. She wore long, stiletto-shaped nails with a nude base (to match the sheer nude material that the gown was made with before being painted over). On top of the base color was a brush stroke design that Bachik created using a mixture of red, yellow, purple, green, and light and dark blue gel polish shades.
The Met Gala red carpet was bursting with tons of grungy hair and makeup looks, but the manicures each celebrity wore were also pretty remarkable on their own. Blackpink singer, Lisa, attended the event wearing press-on nails that were embellished with silver and blue rhinestones to look like icicles to complement her crystal-studded Robert Wun gown. Sabrina Carpenter also wore a manicure with a special detail. The "House Tour" singer showed up wearing a Dior dress made with film strips from Audrey Hepburn's 1954 film, Sabrina, and she wore a French manicure with black tips meant to look like film strips.
Obviously recreating Chamberlain's manicure on your own at home might require a little more time and patience, but if you're up for the challenge and want to give yourself an artsy summer manicure, read ahead to get the look.
Add some length to your nails with some gel extensions.
Apply your extensions with a strong nail glue that will keep them from breaking off.
Use a nude polish shade as your base coat.
This is the exact lemon yellow color that Bachik used to design Chamberlain's nails.
Add some contrast with a dark blue shade.
