The New Jelly Nails Trend is Perfect for Summer

By Lauren Hazlewood

Date July 23, 2018

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At the beginning of the month, Kylie Jenner posted a snap of her manicure to Instagram. This wasn’t anything new for Jenner--she regularly shares pictures of her polish changes--but we can’t stop thinking about this photo in particular. The tops of her nails appeared to be transparent, with the light clearly shining through the hot pink polish. People were intrigued and soon after the hashtag, #jellynails began to pop up on Instagram, as people attempted to recreate the look.

But jelly nails aren’t exactly new. Well, the name might be. But the style has been referred to as glass nails in the past. In fact, we even saw a similar version on the runway earlier this year at the Jeremy Scott Fall 2018 show. But as with anything the Kardashians and Jenners endorse, the nail trend has really picked up speed in the last month. On Instagram there’s almost 5,000 #JellyNails posts and 61,000 under the hashtag #GlassNails.

Typically, the polishes used in these looks are on the neon side or resemble shades you might find in a pack of highlighters. These candy colours give off a kind of Jolly Rancher effect. Refinery29 spoke to WAH Nails’ senior nail tech Holly Anna about how to properly achieve this look, “Jelly nails are made by translucent coloured acrylic being sculpted onto your nail. You place a foil under the nail and we apply the acrylic on top to the shape and length you want.”

You can also recreate a similar effect at home by mixing a clear polish into any shade you own. Alternatively, you can also buy a set of press-ons that will give you a similar effect. They’re the perfect #JellyNails hack.

Whether we’re covering our nails in little fruit doodles or recreating neon signs, we can’t get enough of fun manicure trends for summer. The nice thing about nails is that, unlike a haircut, you can simply wipe off anything we’re not feeling. Here’s some Instagram inspiration to get you started.