Toppa Top 10: Bad Gyal Manicures

Words by Emily Shapiro—

Women have a plethora of ways to make a statement with our appearance. We’ve got hair color, piercings, tattoos and, of course, shoes to tell the world who we are. Lately, our manicures have become another palate for self-expression, as nail art has skyrocketed in popularity. Some of the baddest women we know have been reppin’ their style, musical preferences and cultural ties on their fingers. In light of our recent visit to NYC nail art mecca Vanity Projects with singer Samantha J.—who got her nails tun up with the Jamaican flag, song lyrics and her record label’s logo, among other things—we thought we’d highlight some of our favorite bad gyal manicures. Start the countdown here.

New York-based artist Jessica Tong (@jesthemess) kicks things off with a glittery tribute to the Jamaican flag. You can find her at Hello Beautiful Salon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a spot that’s been promoting nail art from way back.

Sashanie Gray (@sashaniegraynails) works in Miami and did this set to rep Guyana for Miami Carnival this past year..

These custom Safari Sound nails belong to the wife of Safari’s own DJ Shirkhan who, along with her sister operates a pop-up salon in Stockholm called Nagelbaren (@nagel_baren), which means nail bar in Swedish.

LargeUp friend and NY-based DJ Jasmine Solano has been rocking intricate manicures from long time, and got this Jamaica-themed set from artist Naomi Yasuda (@NaomiNailsNYC).

NYC-based selectress and Mixpak Records artist Jubilee got these nails to celebrate the release of her EP Pop It! via @naominailsnyc.

London nail tech Emma Zentner did a bunch of fresh Carnival nails for Notting Hiil but we especially like the ones she gave herself. This gives new meaning to gun finger salute!

Nikki P of South London (@attitude_nails) created this insane set of Trinidad Carnival nails.

A while back we posted some amazing dancehall dance paintings by artist Robin Clare. Large Up’s own Emily Shapiro and nail artist Mei (@ciaomanhattan2012) were so inspired by the art, they created this sick bad manicure, which reads like an instructional guide to some old-school dances.

Before her trip to St. Lucia, the boss lady of the New York nail art scene and owner of Vanity Projects salon, Rita Pinto (@vanityprojectsnyc), got this set by LA-based nail tech Britney Tokyo. Not only did she get her nails did. but she turned up her pedicure game too with the Caribbean inspired colors.

Ashley Crowe (@astrowifey), a well-know nail artist based in Chicago hit us with this bad Major Lazer manicure, which we featured on our Instagram earlier this year. Ms.Crowe must be a fan of dancehall since we spied her at the Rice and Peas party and Miss Lily’s on her trip to New York last year.

So that’s just some of the ways you can pay tribute to your culture with a manicure. The work these artists are doing is getting more innovative by the minute, so we’re sure we’ll see some new stuff to inspire us soon. Make sure to give these women some love on Instagram. and support their art.  LargeUp yourselves ladies!