The Cat Eye Manicure Gets Hailey Bieber's Stamp of Approval
So shiny.
Hailey Bieber may have taken home the Style Trailblazer award at Women's Wear Daily's (WWD) 2026 Style Awards this past weekend, but her trendy manicure—a cat eye look, to be specific—reminded me that she's well overdue to receive an award for the amount of iconic nail looks she's stepped out with in years past.
For the event, the model and Rhode founder dazzled in a sleeveless Armani Privé gown that featured silver sequins and a mermaid flare just above her ankles. Her glam was relatively muted, with a subtle amount of blush and highlighter on her cheeks and a soft, pink lip, but she went all in on silver with the rest of her look by matching her manicure to her dress.
With the exception of the fishy vacation manicure she wore during Kendall Jenner's island birthday trip back in November and the "lemon drop" nails she wore while promoting a lemon-scented lip balm for Rhode, Bieber spent most of last year wearing some pretty neutral nail looks. She's the unofficial queen of the glazed donut manicure, which is essentially just a milky or nude nail color underneath a chrome overlay, but per photos shared by her go-to manicurist, Zola Ganzorigt, Bieber decided to switch things up at the Style Awards by wearing a frosty, silver cat eye manicure in an almond shape.
The cat eye nail trend isn't exactly new, but the reflective, shimmery look really took off last year and quickly became one of the biggest manicure trends of the winter. It's a look that's created by painting the nails with a magnetic nail polish (they come in all colors) that has a shimmery finish before an actual magnet is used to spread out the particles so that the finished look resembles that of a cat's eye. For the last few months, the cat eye look has been a favorite of celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens, who just showed off a French manicure with striped tips and a cat eye effect last week, and now Jennifer Lopez, who wore a "crushed velvet" look while performing during her residency in December.
The good news is that cat eye nails are actually really easy to achieve at home, so long as you have the right tools. Read ahead to get the look.
It's not clear if this is the exact shade Ganzorigt used on Bieber this weekend, but it looks pretty close.
Magnets are usually sold separately from cat eye nail polishes, so make sure you have one of these on hand to get the full effect.
An LED lamp will also come in handy if you want to speed up your drying time and ensure your color can last a few weeks.
Add some length with a set of gel nail extensions.
Finish the look off with an extra-glossy top coat.
