“Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo has one woman to thank for designing her signature long and dramatic manicures: 20-year-old nail artist Mycah Dior.
Dior, the Los Angeles-based mastermind who draws all eyes to celebrities’ hands, tells TODAY.com about the creative and technical process to creating Erivo’s premiere manicure.
“Cynthia’s nails are acrylic, classic acrylic extensions. They’re sculpted with nail tips,” Dior explains.
Using an acrylic tip, molded onto the nail bed, has been the longstanding method to add length to the nail.
However, the latest nail trend is Gel-X, a soft gel nail extension that conveniently soaks off and doesn’t damage the natural nail, according to Gel-X brand Aprés.
Though Dior herself was sporting Gel-X during the interview, she says Erivo has a reason for her decision to go old-school.
“She loves the classic,” she says of Erivo. “They don’t break. They’re three times longer than mine. So, she loves them.”
When it comes to creating the design on top of the nail itself, Dior says Erivo grants her permission to use her own expression and “go wild.”
“She lets me do whatever. There may be sometimes where she says, ‘Let’s do this thing, let’s do that,’ or ‘Use these colors.’ And I may freestyle within that those colors,’” Dior says.
Whether she’s doing Erivo’s nails for the “Wicked” premiere in November 2024 or designing her Met Gala manicure, Dior says she looks to the singer’s fashion sense for inspiration.
“I would always see (Erivo) on Instagram, social media, and I just knew her love for style, for fashion. So, I wanted to incorporate lots of lines, lots of big charms, lots of texture,” she says. “I think that’s what really creates magic you see today.”
For the Met Gala look, Erivo provided images of her outfit, shoes and jewelry, and said, “‘Go for it,’” Dior recalls.
Dior based Erivo’s Met Gala nail design on the event’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
“I wanted to pull some elements from a suit, pin stripes, your brooch, your buttons,” Dior explains, adding that she close observers might have noticed she also “scoped a little tie” on Erivo’s nail.
The 20-year-old, who goes by Instagram handle @clawzbydior_, has always loved using nail polish to create art, but the impressive hobby turned into a business in 2020.
She tells TODAY.com that, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when nail salons shut down, she started posting her nail designs on social media more often, garnering “more attraction, more attention, more followers.”
“I saw that people needed this,” she recalls, thinking, “Why not start and full-fledged go for it? See what happens.”
When asked how she was able to build an impressive celebrity client list, which also includes Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, Dior responds, “I don’t even know.”
“Me and my mom talk about this all the time,” she says, turning to laugh with her mom. “They just find it somehow. Maybe it’s word of mouth, maybe it’s the power of social media. I really don’t know.”
As for what’s next for the young entrepreneur, Dior says she has plans to own her own full-service beauty salon, Noire Luxe, in LA, with plans to open in June.
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