Last Thursday, Cardi B’s nail artist Jenny Bui received a nightmare text message.
A neighbor next door to her new Throgs Neck salon, Cianna Creations Nails & Spa, said that it was on fire.
“I thought it was a joke,” said 54-year-old Bui, who is based in the Bronx and has been doing Cardi’s iconic, long, blingy talons for a decade. “I drove so fast I almost got into a car accident. Everything was gone – I was about to pass out.”
Cianna Creations was to be Bui’s most sparkling nail salon yet —she’s had previous outposts in Harlem and in the South Bronx, as well as seeing clients privately. Named for her 17-year-old her daughter, the new space was set to open later this month, a glam oasis with nail stations with white marble counters, elaborate chandeliers and $12,000 massage chairs with custom crystal sinks. Bui had already stocked the new space with $10,000 in OPI and Valentino nail polish products and $3,000 in Swarovski crystals. The two-alarm blaze destroyed nearly everything.
“I lost it all,” said Bui, estimating that the blaze caused $100,000 in damage.
She started working with Cardi in 2013, before the former reality star was a household name. The flamboyant musician’s manicures are a red carpet signature. Bui memorably did her nails for the 2018 Grammys, giving her a dramatic look that featured long pointy claws, bright white polish, and 3-D rhinestone baubles, chrome pearls, and Swarovski crystals. The looks went viral, spawning a dedicated story on Vogue.com and mentions in outlets from Billboard to Women’s Wear Daily.
The trend, now known as “Stiletto nails,” was soon emulated by A-Listers such as Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion, according to Bui.
Last month, Cardi summoned Bui to do sculpted square-shaped nails painted with silver chrome gel for the MTV Video Music Awards. At the time, Bui recalled gushing to the longtime client about her new place.
“I was telling her how hard I worked on opening the salon,” said Bui, who was born in Cambodia and, as a child, fled with her family to escape the Communist party.
Cardi has sung Bui’s praises at various points over the years, giving her shoutouts on Instagram to her 168 million followers. The promotion has helped Bui expand her business and draw in other notables, including actress La La Anthony, musician Thalia, TV personality Chanel West Coast and actress and singer Yandi Smith. In 2020, Bui won Nail Artist of the Year at The American Influencer Awards. Sadly, the trophy was destroyed in the fire, as were magazines mentioning her work that Cardi had autographed.
When the fire broke out at 5:40 a.m. on Thursday, Bui had just landed at the airport after flying back from Canada, where she was caring for her sick brother. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
Bui said that she hadn’t yet transferred her insurance from an old location because she hadn’t opened the new shop. So, she is on the hook for all that’s been destroyed and has been trying to raise money on GoFundMe.
“I wasn’t open for business yet so sadly all my hard work and investment on all my beauty products got all burned down,” she wrote on her page on the crowdfunding site, where so far she’s raised nearly $8,000 of her $150,000 goal. Many of her donations have been anonymous, so no stars that she knows of have contributed.
The married mom-of-five is filled with appreciation for her loyal customers and friends who have donated.
“I am so heart broken and sad that everything I worked hard for [was] all taken away,” she said. “[But] I’m so grateful for all of the support.”
