I don’t believe in beauty rules or blindly following trends. Skip the primer! Wear eyeshadow that doesn’t match your undertones! Put powders over creams! Zendaya shares my sentiment. Out shopping in west London on Sunday, July 21, she disregarded summer nail trends, skipping a jelly Orange Julius moment and farmers market nails in favor of a deep maroon manicure.
A rich jewel tone is typically a winter hue. It’s warm and cozy, while offering a sophisticated feel. But Zendaya—the trend-maker she is—brought her maroon manicure into the mid-July summer heat along with a cropped tank top and a fresh blonde dye job. She even matched a refreshing drink to her crimson fingertips. I might even be more into this color-coordinated moment than I am into her embrace of the mesh flats trend. (That’s saying something.)
Nails in Zendaya’s shade haven’t been seen en masse since a surge last winter. Marie Claire named the crimson hue an essential element in cherry cola nails, a trend that garnered 28.5 million TikTok posts at the time. “It’s a great way to embrace the darker tones for the winter months while still honoring an age-old classic—red,” nail artist Natalie Minerva previously told MC while discussing winter nail colors.
In the present, the Challengers star is using her move to London to experiment with her seasonal beauty regimen—even on a week-by-week basis. Her current nail polish is a bit moodier than the apple red finish she wore with back-to-back Wimbledon outfits last week. Both manis are likely the work of her longtime nail artist, Marina Dobic.
The Euphoria star is a constant source of nail inspiration. Whether you realize it or not, she always has her nails done. “If you see me and my nails aren’t done…it’s not me,” she shared via Twitter in 2014. Typically, Zendaya and Dobic opt for the bubble bath nail trend, the occasional blueberry milk hue, or embrace a classic apple red.
Regardless of which of the actress’s manicures inspires you the most, I’ve rounded up a handful of Zendaya-approved colors ahead. If the one that speaks to you isn’t part of a summer nail trend, wear it anyway. It’s what Zendaya herself would do.
