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Selena Gomez's Pierced Oxblood Manicure Returns as Fall's Defining Look

Tom Bachik resurfaced Selena Gomez's 2021 "femme fatale mani": matte oxblood almond nails with pierced gold hoops and crescent studs — and fans say it's pure 2016.

By Amara Osei2 min read358 words

Counter notes

  1. Tom Bachik resurfaced a Selena Gomez manicure from 2021, calling it the "femme fatale mani for fall."
  2. The look pairs matte oxblood polish on almond-shaped nails with pierced gold hoops at the tips and a gold crescent with a stud near the cuticle on two nails.
  3. Bachik captioned the post: "I'm loving rich, vampy colors for this season and some hardware to bring some edge."
  4. One follower commented "This is so 2016," noting matte finishes, vampy burgundy and dainty gold nail jewelry defined the mid-2010s grunge-glam aesthetic.
Selena Gomez’s Pierced Manicure Is Officially My Fall Fixation
PlateSelena Gomez’s Pierced Manicure Is Officially My Fall Fixation — AI-generated

Manicurist Tom Bachik has resurfaced a Selena Gomez nail look from 2021, and he has a name for it: the "femme fatale mani for fall."

The set, which Bachik originally created for Gomez four years ago, pairs two of the season's strongest trends in one manicure. Gomez's signature almond-shaped nails wear a matte oxblood polish — a shade Bachik's Instagram post frames as autumn distilled into lacquer form.

"I'm loving rich, vampy colors for this season and some hardware to bring some edge," Bachik wrote in the caption of his throwback post.

The hardware delivers the edge. Several nails carry tiny gold hoops pierced through the tips. Two accent nails wear a gold crescent with a small stud placed just above the cuticle. The combination reads polished but subversive — vampy color up front, body-jewelry energy at the edges.

Gomez has long been one of the most reliable mani muses in celebrity beauty, with Bachik, her longtime manicurist, behind looks that run from minimalist to maximalist. This set sits in between: restrained in color, assertive in embellishment.

Followers spotted the reference immediately. One fan commented: "This is so 2016." The observation is accurate. Matte finishes, vampy burgundy shades and dainty gold nail jewelry saturated salons and feeds roughly a decade ago, defining the grunge-meets-glam aesthetic of the mid-2010s.

The throwback timing is the point. Bachik's repost, five years after Gomez first wore the look, functions as evidence that the mid-2010s nail formula — matte vamp polish plus delicate gold hardware — still holds commercial and cultural staying power rather than reading as dated nostalgia.

For nail artists and salons heading into fall, the look translates into a concrete service menu: matte oxblood or burgundy as the base color, almond shaping as the default silhouette, and pierced-tip hoops or crescent-and-stud jewelry as the upsell. The components are inexpensive, the technique is established, and the celebrity endorsement is current.

Gomez wearing it once made it news in 2021. Bachik resurrecting it in 2025 makes it a trend cycle worth watching — and, for clients asking for "something fall," a ready answer.

via instagram.com (Original)

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Amara Osei

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Staff writer covering media and advertising at Eurasian Beauty Journal.

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