Rihanna Put a Glam Twist on the Milky French Manicure Trend

The saying goes, better late than never—and Rihanna was worth the wait at Monday’s Met Gala. Rihanna arrived with A$AP Rocky at the Met over three hours after Vogue’s red carpet coverage began, and everyone was at the edge of their seats waiting to see her take on the 2023 “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” theme. The singer has countless iconic Met Gala moments under her belt—who could forget the embellished yellow gown she wore for 2015's "China: Through The Looking Glass" theme—and this year she added an all-white look and milky French manicure to her impressive repertoire.

Recently, Rihanna has favored monochromatic looks, and she continued her streak at the ball. She wore an all-white custom Valentino gown with a long train, and a camellia flower at the neckline in homage to Lagerfeld's work at Chanel. She also wore a camellia-covered cape that extended into a pair of fingerless gloves. Her longtime stylist Jaleel Weaver paired the look with white sunglasses with eyelashes attached to the lenses, a stack of pearl necklaces, and floral stud earrings.

Rihanna looked like a modern Chanel bride, and her milky French manicure was the perfect complement to her all-white look. Her nails sat at a medium length with a soft square edge and featured a muted French design with a pale pink base that blended into a sheer milky tip. Of course, she was decked out in camellia flowers from head to toe, so Rihanna continued her nod to Lagerfeld with three-dimensional white flowers glued onto each finger.

As for makeup, "we paired an iconic Rihanna-red lip with a glamorous yet edgy high-shimmer, pearlescent eye," says Priscilla Ono, Fenty Beauty Global Makeup Artist. "We felt like the combination, matched with a soft-matte, chiseled complexion, celebrated the same classic yet modern beauty of Karl Lagerfeld’s designs.”

Ono layered the  Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation ($40) with the Powder Foundation ($40) for an airbrushed finish and then used a combination of the  Fenty Beauty Match Stix Contour Skinstick in Mocha ($32) and the Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzer in Bajan Gyal ($35) to sculpt out Rihanna's cheekbones.

On the eyes, Ono combined shimmer shades from the  Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Lightning Dust/Fire Crystal ($40) with the shade Velvet Cuffs from the Snap Shadows Mix & Match Eyeshadow Palette in True Neutrals ($30) to create a metallic eye look. Ono recalls, "We created the illusion of a modern angle by saturating the inner corner of her eye area and her lower lash line. It was glamorous and edgy all at the same time.” Ono then used the Fenty Beauty Hella Thicc Volumizing Mascara ($19) with false lashes to open her eyes even further.

Prep was key when it came to Rihanna's velvety red lip. "Whenever we have a big lip moment, like tonight, I lather Fenty Skin Plush Puddin’ ($22) on her lips the second we start glam, even though the lip color application is the last thing we do." After completing the rest of her makeup, Ono applied the Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint in Uncensored ($28) for Rihanna's signature red lip.

Rihanna's hairstylist, Yusef, finished the look off with a simple half-up half-down hairstyle with a swoopy bang. It's a look that was worth the wait.