Last night, Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds had a glamorous night out in New York City to celebrate the world premiere of Reynolds' new film, Free Guy. For the occasion — which also happens to be the couple's first public red-carpet appearance in over a year — Lively went all out with sparkles.
The actress wore a light pink and silver, sequined-encrusted, cut-out gown, styled with chunky diamond jewellery and a dainty diamond chain woven through her ponytail. But the most stunning detail is also the most subtle: Lively's gel manicure, with teeny-tiny dried flowers pressed into each fingernail.
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The dainty nail art comes courtesy of Lively's go-to manicurist Elle, who says that the wildflower creation was designed to complement the statement gown. "Blake had sent me pictures of the dress, which was a sequined Prabal Gurung, and she wanted a nail look that was sweet, but edgy," Elle explained. "I love that it's innocent with a wild edge, breaking away from what she usually does."
For the design, Elle prepped Lively's nails with LeChat's Liquid Gel Builder, followed by the brand's nail polish in Smoke Show, a pale creamy grey, to create a soft ombré backdrop for the encapsulated floral arrangement.
"I took tiny pressed flowers, which you can find at a craft store, soaked them first in alcohol to soften them up, and then placed them on the nail," Elle explained of her delicate process. "Because the flowers are 3D, you need to case them into the gel; I finished with a topcoat, cured for 30 seconds, and then added LeChat Cuticle Oil for extra shine."
Equal parts dainty and romantic, pressed-flower nail art could be the next big nail-art trend to watch for in August — or just a fun DIY project to try while you're OOO.