Add Jelly Nails To Your List Of Trendy Manicures To Try This Spring

Spring beauty trends are rolling in, especially in the nail department. For the season ahead, expect to trade in your moody blacks and neutral hues for something more vibrant. In addition to lively swatches of color, look for innovative textures and finishes like the jelly nails trend that’s been circulating on TikTok (the hashtag #jellynails has racked up around 140 million (and counting) views). The trend is all about diluting clear nail polish with your choice of colored nail polish. “It’s a really cool, different way to add a wow factor to your look since they're not as common," says celebrity nail artist Brittney Boyce. Even better, the whole trend is pretty simple, making the glass-like nail the ideal DIY spring beauty look.

In a video that has been viewed more than four million times, @denizsarlar28 takes a cherry red polish to make a transparent-hued French manicure come to life. First she adds a few drops of red to the clear liquid. Then, she uses one coat to create a light base color before using just the red to add a contrasting tip. In another equally captivating video @dicakoo user opts for a blue hue. Using the same french manicure technique, she first applies a tinted base and follows up with a darker blue rim.

Mixing your jelly tint really is as easy as combining a color with a topcoat, but there are a few things to consider when giving this trend a go yourself. "Just make sure you choose a very vibrant color; it looks best when it's highly pigmented, like neons or a bright red," says Boyce. All you need is a bottle of clear topcoat and your chosen shade. To start, the pro says to start slow. “Add a drop or two then swatch test before adding more color; I usually wind up doing about six drops total” she says. Another key to success: Be sure to mix it really well as you go. “If it's not mixed properly it's going to be streaky,” she warns.

"The best way to make them pop is to do them over a crystal clear set of gel extensions," advises Boyce. You can also do them on natural nails. "In that case you treat it like a regular polish — starting with a base coat, then your custom color, then a top coat," explains the pro. While French tips seem to be the most popular, Boyce says you can simply paint the full nail bed or even do an abstract nail design.

So start brainstorming colors you’d want to jelly-ify this spring — word on the street is greens and purples will be particularly trendy this year.