J.Lo’s Met Gala Manicure Was Inspired By a Ready-to-Transform Butterfly

The 2024 Met Gala’s “The Garden in Time” dress code brought plenty of nature’s creations—both animal and mineral—to the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in one format or another. On Monday, May 6, we saw rose petals disguised as lips, morning dew as skin, and fairy wing eyeliner—to name but a few examples. We also just happened to catch co-host Jennifer Lopez’s manicure before it transformed into a butterfly and flew away for good.

Completely transparent except for a slight pearlescent sheen, the 54-year-old’s natural nails peeked through her most recent manicure, becoming the star of the show even in their plain old undone form. It’s a look you might remember from your elementary school monarch butterfly unit—something intriguing protecting something else, something growing, beneath it.

Ahead, we have all the information on the 54-year-old’s chrysalis-inspired nail art.

The Inspiration

“Like a butterfly transforming in a shimmery chrysalis, I encased Jen’s polished natural nail in a translucent pearl cocoon,” shared Tom Bachik, the nail artist behind J.Lo’s manicure, in an Instagram post late Monday night.

The look was created to compliment her shimmering Schiaperelli Haute Couture gown, which featured approximately 2,500,000 silver foil bugles and beads in a butterfly wing-like design.

How to Get the Look

First things first: healthy hands. “My not-so-secret weapon to hydrated hands & cuticles is Aquaphor Healing Ointment ($7),” Bachik shared. “It’s a must for pre- and post- manicures to help soothe dry skin so they are red carpet ready.” He also prepped her nails for tips and polish using his trusty Tweezerman x Tom Bachik Ultimate Nail Care Set ($59).

The artist partnered with nail brand CND for the evening, beginning by refining their Pre-Shaped Tips ($20) into a medium-length almond shape. As for color, he used the brand’s Shellac gel polish in the Original Top Coat ($16) to soften the nude Flowerbed Folly ($16) into a semi-sheer tonal shade that would “play off her skin tone” for the singer’s natural nail. He topped the fake tips off with CND Over the Top Effects in Pearl Obsession ($15) for a “high-sheened gloss effect to match her makeup.”

“We completed the look by using Solar Oil ($14) on the cuticles, then massaged it all in with Aquaphor giving us high glossed skin,” he adds.

Do you have butterflies? I do—but my stomach kind is nowhere near as pretty.