Since the 1970s, and maybe back to the 1960s, Cher has been a manicure style influencer.
The 1960s
Cher already had a perfect manicure back in the rock-n-roll days.
From 16 Magazine:
Dear Cher, How can I stop biting my nails? They are a mess. I want to hide my hands when I go out on a date. Please help me. Nails, Ft. Lee, N.J.
Cher’s Response:
Dear Nails, First try to get a “substitute” habit. In other words, every time you want to bite your nails grab a piece of gum or a Life Saver—or twist a piece of your hair. Next, run lanolin (it’s cheap at the drug store) in your hands and massage your finger-tips each night (this is to keep your cuticles soft). Every time you feel like “biting in,” stop and say, “That’s silly. I’ll find something better to do with my hands”—and do it.
- Cher even had fancy nails in the movie Chastity. And her character was allegedly homeless. Where was she getting her perfectly white-tipped nails done before eating tacos in “Mexico”?
The 1970s
The Sonny Era: Lenny Roberts, engineer on the 1970s Sonny & Cher records, once told me in an interview that studio recordings would have to stop in their tracks if Cher broke one of her fingernails. She couldn’t continue singing until the offending nail was fixed.
Cher Superstar (1975) notes that “Cher started the whole trend with nails–the squared-off look.” The magazine says Cher has been with manicurist Minnie Smith for 12 years and that Smith runs to CBS if one breaks. Porcelain is painted on the nail. There are sometimes issues caused by the real nail getting thick and turning yellow. Rumors were that Cher spent $400-500 a month on nails, or $45 a set.
Cher in Vogue and photographed walking through the airport with glamizon nails.
Polished and Shaped and Tested Talons (1976)
Elton John, Kiki Dee released “Snow Queen” on the b-side of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” in 1976 and it was allegedly about Cher (with its Cher lyrics in the fade-out, in case there is any doubt). One of the lyrics by Bernie Taupin (who Cher allegedly dated after her divorce from Sonny) references “Your talons are tested / They’re polished and they’re shaped /Your talents are wasted / On men of no taste.”
Smoking always showed off Cher’s nails quite glamourously:
The 1980s
In Shake Your Head, Darling (1982) Cher says she has a weekly manicure.
Megastars by Richard Bernstein (1984) says “Today, Cher’s famous claws for nails are clipped.”
And to be sure, Cher’s nails were much more sedate in the 1980s and maybe this was for acting jobs.
She had to come across much less Cher-like. Often, they weren’t even painted! That is serious.
The 2010s
When the movie Burlesque came out (2010), one of the promos was a set of nail polish from Opi.
The 2020s
The magazine Marie Claire (2023) Cher’s Take on the French Manicure Features a Glitzy Detail made much over Cher’s nails at a Christmas album promotion event: “Cher opted for a thick and creamy tip (perfectly in line with the milky nail trend)…the star added a glitzy spin to her set, adding a silver, sparling delineation between the milky pink polish and the stark white tip.”
These days, Cher sports fancy manicures still but they’re not overly long or scene-stealing manicures.
