The awards ceremony manicure is quite a serious business these days. Forget designers queuing up to dress you, any celebrity manicurist worth their salt will have at least one, if not three, of the most-papped stars on their 'to paint' list.

True, at first we're bowled over by the gowns. Then we dissect the hair and make-up looks. But eventually, as the close ups start rolling in, it's their hands we want to see. Nail art has seen a huge upsurge in popularity in the last five years and much of that's been driven by the cult of the CNS - celebrity nail selfie.  Admittedly in the beginning it was mainly R&B stars we followed, but now any one of the Golden Globe attendees could start a polish-fueled riot at the merest hint of their pre-awards mani posted on instagram.

Our favourites from the night? Zoey Deschanel always makes a manicure effort and last night's 3D daisy design was no exception. In contrast, healthily buffed or nude nails felt modern and awards-appropriate, Cate Blanchett and Lupita Nyong'o get our nod for their minimalist manis.

Click through the gallery above to see our pick of the evening's best nail looks.