From the moment she floats down from the sky in a giant pink bubble, Ariana Grande's Glinda in Wicked is styled to convince anyone who meets her that she's good. The so-called "good witch" wears a frothy, strapless ballgown laced with streaks of silver; her blonde hair has a gentle, unoffensive curl. Hands that hold her starburst pink wand are set with the most meticulously even French manicure with a bubble bath pink base.
It's this last familiar, feminine detail that caught my beauty editor eye the first time I saw Wicked, last week. Grande's Glinda (or Ga-linda, as she goes by at the start of the film), wears short, squoval French tips in every single scene. They're clean and neat, and coordinate with the shades of pink washed over her wardrobe and share of her Shiz University dorm room. In a beauty universe where swirling designs and embellished sets are more common, her simple nails stand out.
I'm sure a citizen of Oz would call a French manicure by another name. But the effect there is the same as it is here on Earth, where royals, celebrities, and women in politics often opt for French tips. It's elegant but not obtrusive; it's "Popular" because it blends in. As Glinda seeks power and a positive perception from everyone around her at Shiz, her nails need to be merely pretty without being a distraction. What's less threatening than a French manicure?
Ariana Grande, method dressing for Wicked's press tour with help from stylist Mimi Cuttrell, has stayed committed to French tips even as she's changed from pale pink Thom Browne dresses to butter yellow Ralph Lauren. If anything, the choice underscores her character's demure French mani onscreen even more. She uses every tool in her arsenal to beckon people closer to her "good-ness," even her fingernails.
In contrast, Cynthia Erivo—noted lover of a full set and 3D embellishments—wears much more intricate nails as Glinda's foil, Elphaba, the eventual Wicked Witch of the West. She begins the film with a sharp, black manicure matching her dour, high-neck dresses and pointed-toe boots. Her makeover during the song "Popular" includes a slight update, turning her nails "sparkly black, metallic green," as Erivo described them in a past Marie Claire interview. There's the sheen of her Glinda/Galinda makeover in the hint of sparkle, but she's truer to herself than how people see her in the color.
Wicked Part Two two arrives in 2025 with an update to Erivo's nail set, symbolic of Elphaba's continued transformation and arrival at her full powers. "In the second movie, they're much longer, much more expressive. We're playing with the marbling of it, we're playing with ombré," Erivo told us.
Ariana Grande hasn't dropped hints about her character's beauty evolution, but something tells me I'll see another set of French tips in the sequel. Glinda, if the movie follows the musical, will keep trying to "make good" by teaming with the Wizard of Oz over Elphaba—and a French manicure says she's sweetly committed to the cause, all the way down to her fingertips.
