We all know Rita Ora is the queen of the mismatched manicure. The British superstar kicked off her obsession with the nail look at the 2023 Met Gala with a dangling chain manicure featuring different lengths and charms. Since then, the star has sported mismatched French manis, mismatched aura nails, and mismatched nail art more times than we can count. But her most recent might be her sparkliest take yet.
On November 12, Ora posted a photo dump from her time in Los Angeles showing off her many outfits, hairstyles, and excursions while on the West Coast. Of course, each photo came with a glimpse at her mani—a shimmering, mismatched chrome manicure that was blindingly beautiful.
@ritaora/instagram
Different from what your mind immediately goes to when you think of chrome, this look had more than just futuristic silver and opulent gold shades, quite literally covering every metallic color you can think of.
The first color we spotted was the vibrant rose gold on one of her pointer fingers. A bright, shiny pink, it starkly contrasted the classic yellow gold on her middle finger. Then, with the same short almond shape as the rest of the nails, her ring finger was a blue-tinted silver. Ora’s thumb was a light chrome emerald shade, and her pinky had a deeper tiger’s eye-like gold sparkle. Most of her fingers, on the other hand, matched in color, except the shade of the yellow-gold being brighter and the pink being another shade of rose gold.
She paired the look with a handful of outfits. Our favorite, though, included a pair of metallic-detailed jeans. The singer paired a basic white tank with light wash denim that featured hip-baring cut-outs lined and studded with silver chain accents. She accessorized with layers of gold bracelets, some silver rings, and a few gold necklaces—adding to the chromed-out vibe of the entire outfit.
@ritaora/instagram
Luckily for us, the entire look is easy to replicate—including the nails.
First, like any manicure, remove all lingering nail polish with nail polish remover. Afterward, cut and file your nails to the desired length before applying oil to soften and push back your cuticles. Once wiped clean of oil, buff the beds of your nails and add your favorite base coat.
Then, it’s time to have fun with color. There are many ways to achieve the chrome look without using a professional salon-only chrome powder. The simplest way is to get a handful of shiny chrome-like polishes—like Essie’s metallic polishes ($12), Londontown’s Gold Shimmer ($16), and ILNP’s chrome bundle ($38). Or, use a chrome eyeshadow on top of a white polish to achieve the same effect.
Regardless of which method you choose, the final step is sealing it all in with a top coat and adding a dollop of nail oil for nail health. Then, you will have the shiniest nails around.