What Cynthia Erivo’s Nail Stylist Thinks Of All The Conversation About Her Wicked Nails

We see Elphaba’s nails before we’re officially introduced to Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the hit Hollywood screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. The film’s catalyst moment when Elphaba Thropp first meets her nemesis-turned-bestie-turned-nemesis Glinda Upland (played by Ariana Grandé) is purposefully foreboding. We don’t see Elphaba’s face but the students of Shiz University are aghast as she approaches; they step aside as she ascends, her forest green ombre nails pulling her long micro-braids over her shoulder in cinematic slow motion. “I gasped,” shares London-based nail stylist Shea Osei to Unbothered over Zoom. “The nails are the first thing you see. I was like I did those! My artistry, my craft is out there.” Osei was part of the creative “green team” that transformed Erivo into the iconic green witch. As Erivo’s stylist of over 15 years, Osei was also fundamental in ensuring that the actor helped infuse parts of herself (her Blackness, her queerness, her creative essence) into her character in a way that was authentic and celebratory. Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba means Wicked’s central character has micro-braids and a full set of acrylics. 

Much has been said about Wicked’s costume design since the film premiered; from more than 350 wigs to the 35 sets of press-on nails Osea custom-made for the film. And there is so much beauty in the details. Elphaba is green and therefore, has been alienated, bullied and ostracised for much of her life in the wizarding world of Oz. She is also powerful or “talented” as her sorcery professor (Michelle Yeoh) would later tell her. Her greenness, a source of endless ridicule, can’t be escaped nor ignored so she has no choice but to embrace her skin. As Elphaba would later declare in the film, “I don’t cause a commotion, I am one.” By the end of the movie, Elphaba’s nails transform — longer, darker, sharper — as she becomes comfortable with who she is and what she stands for. It’s a detail that Erivo personally requested. 

Many things make Cynthia Erivo iconic. Her nails, in and out of costume, could seem like an inconsequential detail in comparison to the actor being one Oscar away from EGOT status. And yet, her nails — typically long, bejewelled pieces of artwork — have been the subject of fascination, scrutiny and annoying media point-scoring throughout Wicked’s press tour. When Dax Shephard asked Erivo about her nails when “wiping her butt” during an episode of his podcast Armchair Expert, she responded that she was “a bit annoyed” by the question and “I'm a functioning adult, and I've never walked around smelling like, you know…” There are also the TikTok skits with people impersonating Erivo’s long nails by sticking strips of paper to the end of their fingers and we can’t forget the viral moment when Ariana clasps onto Erivo’s bejewelled index finger during a junket interview. Elphaba green nail tutorials are circulating all over social media and OPI x Wicked nail polish collaborations are a hit in nail circles. Erivo’s nails have become a conversation of their own. 

It makes sense then that upon the opening week of Wicked, Erivo would pay tribute to her nail stylist Shea Osei who she has been a loyal client since she was 16 years old. “She was the first person I thought of when we decided to have Elphaba’s nails grow and change throughout the films, in tandem with her personal transformation. Even while heavily pregnant in the process, Shea came onto this journey with me determined. Whenever you see my hands, it’s her work that you’re seeing,” wrote Erivo in a post on Instagram.

Following Wicked’s opening weekend, Unbothered spoke to Shea Osei about the nails that caused all this conversation.

Shea Osei: My first time watching the film was on premiere night. And I cried about three or four times during my entire thing. [The part when] Glinda accepted Elphaba for who she is made me cry because she didn’t do it in private but in front of a whole crowd. As soon as Glinda took her into her arms, then everyone else was like, okay, we can [accept Elphaba] too. It was so special.

SO: I was ecstatic. I was happy. It was just great to see my craft, my artistry just out there, not just nationally but globally.

SO: When Cynthia got this role she went into full research mode and so she just looked into everything to do with Elphaba’s costume looks in the previous productions of Wicked and she said she saw a picture where Elphaba had a long stiletto nails. So she decided she's gonna get Shea on the phone and get this going. That was the first point of the call.

SO: When we started with the first [nail] look, we chose nice subtle green ombre nails that show who she is but a calm, chilled-out version of Elphaba. As she grew into herself, became more confident and found herself, she was more like, yes, this is me, I’m Elphaba, I am who I am and her nails became more daring. In the salon scene, when she had a transformation her nails were, one, longer and two, they were more daring. There are many close-ups of Elphaba’s hands in the film, where you see her nails and you see the difference in what they were [at the start of the film]  so I feel like that helps to tell the story.

SO: Yes, it was 100%. And I feel like, yes, the nails represented Black womanhood but also just being yourself. I just feel like the nails represented Cynthia as if to say, ‘I'm Black and I can be a Black witch’. This is who I am. And also, I can have braids and they can be done in any kind of way and can still be styled however is needed. I think we saw, if I'm correct, three or four different braid styles in the movie. Sim Camps, who styled the braids, did an amazing job — there would be mornings when she would be making sure the braids were intact and looked amazing on camera. So, yeah, definitely the braids were an ode to Black culture and the nails were 100% like, yes, we're doing it.

SO: It helps to build a character, doesn't it? That was the main thing that I took from [Elphaba’s design choices]: this is me, this is what I'm about. You are gonna accept me. When she goes out, everyone will always stop and stare at her regardless. Yes, I am green, everything about me is green including my nails. It helped to tell the story.

SO: I created around 35 sets of nails for part one of the movie. And for that I would spend an average of about an hour and a half per set of nails, just painting, shaping and making sure that they were all the same. 

We had to use nail glue to secure the press-on nails instead of the sticky tab you typically use to apply press-ons. Cynthia did all her own stunts in the film, so when she was in the middle of doing anything, like running or flying, they wouldn’t fall off or break or lift. If we needed to change the nails for another scene we’d just paint on top or file off what was on top and then paint over it. Or I would soak them off quickly and stick on a new set of press-on nails that were already made and available.

SO: Yes, I have! If you are going to the salon and you want to recreate Elphaba's nails and let's say, you're going for the nails after the salon scene, where she just gets a fresh set, I would say ask for a plain black base and then ask if they have green foils to stick it on top to give that green effect. Then apply a shiny top coat. And it looks insane! The green ombre is more complicated with colours mixed to give it a green earthy colour. 

SO: Let's call it more almond, like a slim almond…

SO: She had found me online after she had tried nail salons in and around London and they were just not giving her what she wanted. You know when you get your nails done and you leave the salon and you’re a bit underwhelmed? And then she found me and then ever since then we’ve been stuck together and she has followed me everywhere. I had a salon in Stratford in East London and I was there for five years and she would come and she would sing to me. And when she was performing in the West End, I would go to her when she was at work and I was still doing her nails in between breaks and in between her shows. So we created that friendship just from, you know, doing the nails. 

You know when your souls connect in the sense that you just get each other? And we just became friends because we understood each other and we'd have great deep conversations and it’s meaningful. And that's how we built our friendship and I feel like us doing Wicked has just solidified our friendship even more. 

[During filming] I’d be at her house late at night after doing the nails, but we still have to be up early in the morning or for a shoot. There'll be times I'd have to be on set like 4 a.m in the morning. It was worth it. We had a great time. Especially the green team. We were just always happy and we just enjoyed it. It was just fun. 

SO: I cried when I saw that! When you are on the come up you have to be so careful with who you bring with you and who you have around you and I feel like Cynthia knows that. She’s someone who's real and she’s gonna tell you like it is. She's gonna tell me she doesn't like that nail design, let's try this. She’s not a glitter girlie. She’ll do shimmer but not glitter! We've always had fun and we've always been transparent with each other when it comes to the nails.

When I tell people Cynthia is my favourite client I am being so honest with you. She gives me creative freedom and creative run, and she just trusts — when they say trust the process with your nail tech and the design, she trusts me — she falls asleep when I'm doing her nails. That's a different level of trust!

SO: Yes, I heard it and I'll be honest with you Cynthia answered in a very good manner. I would have answered in the same way. When I had long nails before I had kids, I heard the same exact question like, ‘How do you do anything with talons?’ Do they not get stuck in your hair? My general response was always, ‘If I couldn't do anything with them, I wouldn't have them!’ It's just as simple as that. If I couldn't, then I wouldn't, you know? 

SO: We love it and don't want anyone to change. Let's look at athletes such as Flo-Jo, remember her nails? Now we have Sha Carri Richardson and her nails are always long and she's always got nice designs [on them]. It’s also Black people, not only Black women — because if you look at athletes that are men that make sure they get their nails painted as well. ASAP Rocky gets his nails painted. It's just so good to see that our culture is so colourful and also so inviting. It’s not only Black people that can have these kinds of nails, anyone can have them. I’m glad we can be the inspiration to everybody and they can draw bits of our culture and add it to theirs. 

I like the fact that Cynthia is able to go out of there into the world and still be authentically herself.

She hasn't changed for anything or anyone. This is how I am. I like my nails like this, my nail techs love doing my nails like this.

I'm over the moon that Cynthia can go out and still have her nails how she wants to. [Cynthia’s nails] has been a topic this entire Wicked press tour. Everyone will ask Cynthia about her nails in every interview and I love that. I love it because that's who she is. And if you see her you'll see that she's always got her nails done and she’s always got some banging heels on. Even on her down days, she’s always dressed. That's just how she is.