Male The Glaze
We love a polished man here at Tatler— and we mean that literally
A growing number of men are proudly rocking bold, colourful nails in another sign that male grooming is becoming increasingly androgynous and inclusive.
Last year, Chanel introduced two shades of nail varnish to its men’s cosmetic line, Boy De Chanel. “Chanel Beauty is not a matter of gender; it is a matter of style,” the brand said in a statement. At Loewe’s spring-summer 2020 presentation, rapper A$AP Rocky’s nails featuring bloodshot electric blue eyeballs stole the show.
Michelle Humphrey, a Londonbased celebrity nail artist who regularly does manicures for the likes of Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, says stars such as Marc Jacobs, Harry Styles, Anwar Hadid and Post Malone are leading the trend, and that she has “more male clients than ever right now”.
Men sporting painted nails isn’t exactly new, though. Some of the original stars to put the “man” in manicure include Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, who is regularly seen with black nail polish, Lou Reed, and David Bowie, who had an affinity for glitter polish (naturally). Even Snoop Dogg has been known to embrace a good old-fashioned French tip from time to time.
Some celebrities are taking things a step further and digging their claws into the business. Rapper Machine Gun Kelly introduced three limited edition nail polish shades to promote his 2020 album, Tickets to My Downfall. Also last year, Backstreet Boys’ resident rebel AJ McLean, who has been painting his nails since the Nineties, launched Ava Dean Beauty, a line of vegan, cruelty-free nail varnish named after his daughter. Earlier this year, rapper Lil Yachty launched Crete, a collection of gender-neutral “nail paints”, encouraging his fans via Instagram to celebrate their individual style “for you, not them”.
“Nails are for everyone. They’re a great way to personalise a look or express yourself,” says Humphrey, adding that her most popular requests from men include black nails, flames and multi-coloured designs that differ from finger to finger. “Most [men] request gel manicures with designs so they can keep them for a few weeks.”
It’s a look that has slowly but surely gained traction here in Asia, as seen on the hands of K-pop stars like G-Dragon and Taeyong. On Tatler Hong Kong’s March 2021’s cover, creative multi-hyphenate Tedman Lee, one of our four cover stars for the month, can be seen with his style signature: a manicure featuring different colours and designs on each nail. And in Singapore, rapper Yung Raja regularly shows off his elaborate nail art on social media, as well as in the music video for his new single, Spice Boy.
“I understand the stigmas attached to it and love the idea of breaking them in my own way,” says Yung Raja, who encourages men who are curious but hesitant about manicures to just go for it. “I don’t find it embarrassing. I think it’s cool and liberating to not [care] about what people think. I personally love it.”