Rihanna's Nude Chrome French Manicure Mashes Up the Glazed Donut Nail Trend and the Mob Wife Aesthetic

The star took her modern twist on the nostalgic nail trend shopping at CVS.

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Rihanna shops at CVS wearing a striped pajama suit and glazed french tips
(Image credit: Backgrid)

Only Rihanna could look this glamorous under the fluorescent lights of CVS. On Dec. 15, the "Love on the Brain" singer went shopping for wrapping paper in luxury pajamas and a Louis Vuitton bag with her son and longtime partner A$AP Rocky in tow.

In a move reminiscent of Ariana Grande's viral single-fingernail grip on Cynthia Erivo during the "holding space" leg of the Wicked press tour, the Grammy winner was captured delicately nudging her shopping cart around the store with only two manicured nails on the handlebar. Naturally, I felt compelled to find out exactly what the beauty mogul was wearing on her fingertips during her unexpected trip to the drugstore.

A photo of Rihanna shopping for wrapping paper at CVS in a striped matching set.

Rihanna shops for wrapping paper at CVS in a striped matching set.

(Image credit: Backgrid)

After scanning images closely, it seems the mother of two is sporting a tonal nude French manicure with a touch of ethereal shimmer à la the glazed donut nail trend. As you might recall, the most-requested summer nail trends were all some variation of a French manicure with a surprise twist, such as the addition of hand-painted floral designs, rainbow neon accents, or blingy charms.

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Here, Rih seems to be winterizing the trend with an off-white tip layered over a beige chrome base color. The skintone-matching shade paired nicely with her beige silk scarf and Puma x Fenty pony hair sneakers.

A photo of Rihanna clasping her Louis Vuitton bag with a nude French tip manicure.

Rihanna clasps her Louis Vuitton bag with a nude French tip manicure.

(Image credit: Backgrid)

Rihanna's love affair with French manicures can perhaps be credited to her longstanding relationship with New Jersey-based nail artist Maria Salandra. Prior to 2013—when Salandra booked her first gig with Rihanna—the salon owner was best known for having crafted all the principle characters' nails on The Sopranos, including Carmela Soprano's signature French manicures.

More recently, Los Angeles-based manicurist Kimmie Kyees was tapped to create the exaggerated French tips Rihanna sported on the cover of Perfect Magazine in August. But the nails seen on her CVS run are most likely the work of Los Angeles nail artist Kim Truong, who created a very similar muted chrome French manicure on the star for the launch of Fenty Beauty's Soft'lit Naturally Luminous Longwear Foundation in April.

Rihanna sporting a nude chrome manicure created by manicurist Kimmie Kyees.

Rihanna sports a nude chrome manicure created by manicurist Kimmie Kyees.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It remains unclear whether Rihanna hit the nail polish aisle during her quick jaunt to CVS. But if she did, I have no doubt the shades below would have filled her buggy.

Shop Shimmer Nude Nail Polishes Inspired by Rihanna

Hanna Lustig
Hanna Lustig
Staff Writer

Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.