Now that the year is over, I can officially make this declaration: No one brought their beauty A-game more than Cardi B in 2023. And after ringing in 2024, I'm happy to announce nothing has changed. While it might be a new year, we can plan on getting the same Cardi.
For her final appearance of 2023 (and first of 2024!), the 31-year-old pulled out all, and I mean all, the stops, combining a number of our favorite glam components from the year into the perfect last/first look. There were skinny brows, colored contacts, and the deepest of side parts. And we have to talk about that stiletto manicure.
On Monday, January 1, the "Bongos" rapper posted a series of Instagram photos from New Year's Eve, when she performed at Fontainebleau in Miami and took to the town with her estranged husband, Offset.
"What’s love got to do wit it?" she captioned the post alongside a winking emoji—a subtle nod to who she spent the night with.
In the first photo, the New Yorker shows off her appearance from head-to-toe, complete with a skintight dress by Sergio Castaño Peña. In the image, she stands against a wall and glances over her shoulder—the ideal pose to show off her hairstyle. Styled with a deep (and sharp) side part, her back-to-brunette locks were pressed into voluminous, romantic curls by her hairstylist Tokyo Stylez, a.k.a. Mia Thompson.
Cardi rocked skinny eyebrows (a favorite look as of late, which she first wore while making her runway debut for Balenciaga in early December), major lashes, bright blue contact lenses (again reminiscent of the gray eyes she wore last week), and a full face of Pat McGrath Labs makeup expertly applied by celebrity makeup artist Erika La' Pearl.
Travel down the look even further, and you come face to face with a fresh stiletto manicure, bedazzled the way only a Cardi B manicure can be.
The mother of two first showed off the manicure a couple of days before New Year's Eve, posting a photo to her Instagram Story from a jet. Painted a soft pink, the mile-long stiletto nails by manicurist Jenny Bui feature a French manicure-shaped smattering of gems and jewels. And yes, they look sharp enough to pierce an olive.
"Bringing in the New Year with a successful bling set for Cardi B," wrote Bui via Instagram. "Want to hear about the behind the scenes? We didn’t have that much time cause Cardi is busy busy busy, but I always make sure I come through for my girl! Started her nails from the house to the car to the airport. I think I did an amazing job on the go, how about you? Every stone was placed with love."
Cardi, thank you for kicking off 2024 for us in the very best way. If this is how we're starting, I can only imagine what else the year will have in store.
