Cynthia Erivo’s Wicked-Inspired Nails at the 2025 Oscars Hold a “Proper Nod to Oz”
Forever holding space for this set.
While most of the 2025 Oscars still need to be announced (don’t worry, Marie Claire will be providing updates all night), there is one award that I feel incredibly confident handing out already. Cynthia Erivo, who is wearing a gorgeous custom Louis Vuitton emerald gown, easily takes home an MC Beauty Award for Lead Actress to Aways Wear an Outstanding Nail Look. The Wicked star arrived on the red carpet with perhaps her most elaborate (and symbolic) set of acrylic nails to date.
The nods to her biggest project of the year are impossible to ignore (the clock! the emerald! the yellow brick road!). The set is a “proper nod to Oz,” Erivo shared on the red carpet, explaining that each design was handcrafted by her longtime nail artist Mycah Dior. The “big and special” designs are perhaps the most elaborate we’ve seen during awards season, but don’t be fooled: Erivo consistently delivers on the manicure front.
Cynthia Erivo wears a delicate set of acrylics to the Oscars.
Just a few months ago, during the Golden Globes, the singer hit the carpet in a notably lengthy set (I’m guessing six inches) that featured a wide range of gemstone hues, ranging from a Wicked-inspired emerald green to rose quartz, amethyst, and sapphire hues.
Bringing intricate nail designs to life on the red carpet has become Erivo’s signature, and while they’re certainly enjoyable to look at, every manicure coincides with a deeper meaning. "I knew I wanted her to have a full set," Erivo previously told Marie Claire, adding that the choices are “a nod to my culture and a nod to the character. The original Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, there's that infamous shadow picture of her, and she’s got these nails,” she says.
Don’t expect the extravagant nail looks to stop with the end of awards season. Erivo also teased that Elphaba’s nails only improve in part two of the cinematic universe. “In the second movie, they're much longer, much more expressive. We're playing with the marbling of it, we're playing with ombré,” Erivo shared.
In the meantime, I’ll be anxiously awaiting both the movie’s and the manicure’s debut.
