Following the release of her Pink Friday 2 fragrance, Nicki Minaj has dug her rhinestone-plated claws back into the world of beauty. This time, the queen of rap released Pink Friday Nails after teasing the launch late last year. Her first collection, released a couple of months ago, included 11 press-on designs featuring as many as 300 gems. To help her bring this new nail empire to life, she brought on her personal nail artist, Yvett Garcia as creative director.
“I started doing her nails about 5 years ago,” Garcia– also known for her work with Rosalia, Normani and Kelly Rowland– tells ESSENCE. “When she decided to start Pink Friday she knew she wanted me to be a part of it.” This makes sense, especially because Garcia is the artist behind the Barb’s most iconic nail moments; including the “Princess Diana” remix music video, VMAs, and on i-D’s cover.
And following the birth of her son, in 2020, Minaj birthed the inspiration for the luxurious instant nails, too. Post baby, “we slowly transitioned into custom press-ons for her. Everyone was constantly replicating our designs,” Garcia says. “She realized there was a space for press-on nails that was different from anything else out there.”
Now, Pink Friday Nails bridges the gap between hundred-dollar custom nails and affordable drugstore press-ons, delivering Minaj’s most iconic nail moments to your fingertips. For example, her viral VMA nails were one of the inspirations for the gorgeous press-ons.
“Her nail fell off at the VMAs and a fan sold it for $55,000 on eBay,” Garcia says. It was a defining moment that the duo jokingly coined “Queen’s Ransom,” selling for less than three figures for Pink Friday Nails. Meanwhile, the kawaii nails were inspired by her “Super Freaky Girl” music video, and the otherworldly chrome nails scream “Starships.” “It’s a way for people to get a little part of her,” Garcia says
To make it even better, the nails are extremely high quality and actually stay on. “Unlike other press ons that are flimsy, ours are a lot sturdier,” she says. “We needed to start with a good base that was going to hold all the big beautiful charms.” To do that, they actually had to custom make the press-on molds. “We couldn’t find anything that was up to our standards,” she says.
Additionally, the nails are neatly packaged in an ultra-cute pink box equipped with a nail file, cuticle pusher and nail glue. “Both Nicki and I are perfectionists so we knew we had to give everyone top quality,” Garcia adds. “We’re standing out and filling a space that was much needed.”