‘Queen of bling’ Jenny Bui shows us how to get Cardi B nails

“I’m the queen of bling,” declares Jenny Bui, from the throne of her Bronx, N.Y., salon. The spacious office-slash-VIP room is lined with mirrored dressers that contain Champagne and boxes of Swarovski crystals.

The 49-year-old mother of five wears a black hoodie with her name bedazzled on the sleeves over a V-neck T-shirt printed with the name of her salon, Jenny’s Spa. Like the dressing room of a famous celebrity, her first name appears on the door to her office. In the center of the room is a single nail station, and on it is a magazine opened to the exact page that shows a recent interview she gave about Cardi B. It seems Bui is the Queen of Bling and the Queen of Branding.

Best known as Cardi’s go-to gal, Bui has been doing nails for 21 years. She owns two spas — one in Harlem and one in the Bronx, where both she and Cardi are from. She’s amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, thanks to many a shout-out from Cardi, and frequently posts pictures of her creations: bright, acrylic stiletto nails adorned with Swarovski crystals, among other things.

A Chanel addict, Bui has references to the luxury brand all over her salon. All of the chairs are covered in a black, quilted material and in the main area, which is about three times the size of your average Manhattan nail parlor, a Chanel logo light fixture hangs from the ceiling.

WWD visited Bui at her Bronx location, located at 305 East Fordham Road, earlier this month. The seasoned nail tech took us through the three-hour process of getting claws like Cardi, as shown in the video below.

Note: These nails aren’t for the faint of heart.