To be a Swiftie is to accept that everything she does has a hidden meaning embedded into it. The white custom Schiaparelli dress worn at this year’s Grammy’s? A similar version appears in the new Fortnight music video. The little braid plaited through her locks at the same event? She referenced it in 'But Daddy I Love Him' (‘tendrils tucked into a woven braid…’). The pencil thin brows in Fortnight? A nod to Clara Bow, one of the many muses in The Tortured Poets Department and a cultural icon in her own right.
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To be a Swiftie whose day job is to write about beauty is to also accept that the star has a particular beauty wardrobe that she relies on. She isn’t here to shock us with a drastic colour change or debut bleached brows for the sake of it. The meticulously-done red lip and cat eyes are part of the Taylor Swift signature; all accessible, dependable classics that works for quite literally her entire fanbase – no matter your age or skin tone.
It’s a clever (and no doubt, calculated) move that she’s not an ambassador of any particular beauty brand, either (although its well-documented that Swift is a fan of Pat McGrath). Whether your lipstick is £2.50 from the drugstore or £45 from a high-end name, the red-lip-cat-eye combo is a democratic one.
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But the one area of beauty where the 34-year-old singer often experiments with? Her manicure. Just like how Swift’s fashion and beauty choices have a relatability thread woven through it (she may be a billionaire, but you can get her lilac mini skirt for £50), Swift’s manicure often has a DIY-feel to them, not least because the pop star seems to revel in doing her own nails.
Nails are a constant in the Taylor Swift narrative. In Netflix’s Miss Americana documentary, Swift says she began doing her own manis 'when I realised that I really like having cute nails, but I really can’t go in public' before a clip shows her painting dancer Todrick Hall’s nails backstage.
For 1989 (Taylor’s Version), she posted a TikTok of her painting her nails red. During the release of her Midnights album, Swift shared an Instagram story of her DIY manicure which featured an ebony base and starry topcoat.
Throughout most of her Eras tour, she sported multicoloured tips which, is most likely a reference her discography, but a fan in the depths of Reddit also pointed out that in the early days, Swift’s Myspace bio once said if she couldn’t decide on a colour, she’d just paint them all in different hues.
And while her make-up tends to stay immaculate through rain and humidity, Swift isn’t averse to proudly wearing a chipped nail or two (there's a high chance she foregoes the gels while touring in order to maintain short, guitar-friendly tips). To signal the release of The Tortured Poets Department, Swift swapped her rainbow manicure for a stark white set - likely to represent the blank slate of paper the poet is baring her soul on (the album's colour theme is also monochromatic).
But at the London leg of the Eras Tour, Swift went to the other side of the spectrum with a glitzy gold manicure - all at once joyous and celebratory. Considering how prominently London features in her tracks - from the summer bop that is London Boy to the deeply melancholic So Long, London - it seems that perhaps the effervescent manicure is a sign that Swift has made piece with the city that holds a myriad of memories for her, both good and bad.
And as much as the #haylor (that's Harry Styles + Taylor, for all you younger Swifties) in me hopes that this manicure is a nod to Styles' 'Golden' or a sign that he might make an Eras appearance, I myself have (somewhat, but not really) made peace with the fact that they'll probably never, ever getting back together. Like, ever.
After all, we did witness a similar manicure vibe when she was cheering at a Kansas City Chiefs game. Red is naturally her colour of choice, but since her blossoming romance with American footballer Travis Kelce (who also appeared on the Wembley stage on night three), we’ve also seen her exploring a more playful side of nail art with shimmery finishes, and romantic hues reminiscent of the Lover album.
She also appears to embrace a lighter side of life in a recent Youtube Shorts clip, which showed-off a lilac manicure topped with glitzy silver tips, which, reader, I presume is her way of reclaiming lavender after the low-key break-up hit, Lavender Haze.
Sparkle features greatly in her nail repertoire for music videos and red carpet appearances - where Swift has previously worked with nail artist Lisa Peña-Wong. They're a hat tip to her use of all things glistening as metaphor within her work – from Mirrorball (see the reflective silver manicure to match her Balmain gown at the Beyonce’s Renaissance premiere) to Bejewelled and the line in her latest hit Down Bad: ‘did you really beam me up on a cloud of sparkling dust’.
For those who are loyal to their capsule wardrobes and signature looks à la Swift, expressing yourself through nails is subtler than a dramatic haircut but is equally impactful.
'The dial that oscillates between serious and playful is as meaningful for nails as it is your favourite accessory,' agrees Surrey-based nail artist Alex Philamond. The next time you find yourself at the salon (or in your room, armed with an array of polishes), why not swap an understated pale pink tone for something a little more expressive and let your hands do the talking.
And as for my manicure prediction for her second round of Wembley in August? I'm manifesting something black, red, and possibly with hint of snake eyes because Reputation (Taylor's Version) is long overdue...
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Medina Azaldin is the beauty editor of ELLE and Harper's Bazaar UK, working across print and digital features. She has more than seven years journalism experience and has previously written for Red and Good Hoousekeeping. When she's not demystifying the latest skincare ingredient, sniffing out the next big perfume trend or uncovering the science behind wellness practices, you'll most likely find her in Hatchards Piccadilly or watching a crime series with her cats. Oh, and she's a competitive cheerleader, too.
![new york, new york may 06 cynthia erivo attends the 2024 costume institute benefit for sleeping beauties reawakening fashion at the metropolitan museum of art on may 06, 2024 in new york city photo by taylor hillgetty images](https://cdn.statically.io/img/hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-2151840892-663a333488003.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.167xw,0&resize=360:* "The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" - Arrivals")
