Halle Bailey Wore Under-The-Sea-Inspired Nail Art For ‘The Little Mermaid’ Premiere

As we gear up for the release of Disney's highly anticipated live-action feature The Little Mermaid, on May 26, the movie’s star Halle Bailey has already been serving us back-to-back mermaid-core inspiration. Last night, at the world premiere in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Halle joined the rest of the cast on the blue carpet in a liquid dress by Valdrin Sahiti, blue eyeshadow, and long mermaid locks.

While Halle’s entire look was serving IRL Disney princess, her nails were the unexpected star of the show. Created by manicurist Yoko Sakakura (@nails_by_yoko), Halle’s manicure featured a high-shine turquoise base with 3D accents, including pearls and aquatic-looking blue gems. The final result gave a similar feeling to searching for shells at the beach, with the treasure accents scattered organically across each nail.

Yoko posted the look on her Instagram, sharing a step-by-step breakdown of how to create the mermaid-core manicure using Aprés Nail products. The steps included cleaning the cuticle, applying a pH Bonder on nail bed, using a Non-Acidic Gel Primer, applying a thin layer of Extend Gel then curing with Led lamp for 30 seconds, and applying Gel-X Prep to pre-measured Gel-X Sculpted Round Medium Tips. From there, Yoko used Extend Gel for Gel-X Tip application to the natural nail, cured for 60 seconds. She then applied two coats base color, Secret Lagoon, curing it for 60 seconds after each layer. To complete the base layer, she then applied the green shimmery New Heavenly Top Gelcoat in Angelic to give the ultimate duotone chrome effect.

To finish off the manicure, Yoko used a “small amount of Diamond Gel to place and secure pearls and crystals” and applied Top Gelcoat X for a glossy shiny finish. With a total of 10 steps, the complete design is extensive but could totally be recreated by your go-to nail artist. For an easy at-home version, try instead simply using oceanic colors and shimmery finishes. The Little Mermaid is set to be a huge release, staring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Javier Barden as King Triton, and Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, so prepare to see many more mermaid manicures this summer.