Alas, the end of summer is nigh. In just a few short weeks, we’ll be swapping beach days for apple orchard afternoons and our summer nail polish for moody, darker shades. As I dread the season where moving wood for the fireplace essentially becomes my part-time job, I’m desperate for one last warm-weather nail art moment. That’s where pool nails come in.
Blue polish is currently trending and, yes, you could just get a punchy, turquoise manicure to get on board with the fad. But I say you should opt for a watery set that makes it crystal clear you’re not in any rush to get to spooky season.
There are tons of ways to interpret the pool nail: Some are so literal you can practically smell the chlorine, while others are merely a nod to those unnaturally blue depths. Here are eight iterations to help you dive in.
Magnetic Pool Nails
These are the nails of a mermaid’s dreams. To create the ombre base, @nailsbypaular layered two different cat eye polishes, using a nail magnet made of tiny beads to activate their magnetic effect. She added clear, 3D stripes on top to further enhance the pool-like look.
Pool Nails With Swimmers
Cat-eye polish is also the base for this artistic set by @bhambnails. She hand-painted the swimmers and pool floats, then added ultra-thin lines of white to emulate water movement. 3D drops of clear polish make for the perfect finishing touch.
Blooming Jelly Pool Nails
When I was a kid, nothing screamed “wealth” to me quite like an outdoor pool with a stone floor. These nails, which remind me of those fancy swimming holes, were created by dropping a jelly blue gel on top of uncured white gel polish. “It’s important that the blue gel is slightly translucent to get that pool-like, watery effect,” says @basecoatstories, who created this look using Le Mini Macaron Milkshake and a now-discontinued blue from GelCare. “Once the drops spread out, I cured everything and added a second layer for more dimension.”
Neon Pool Nails
If you really want to scream, “I’m not done with you yet, summer!!” add touches of neon to your pool nails á la @nailsbyashleighr look above. It blends four trends (ombre, pool nails, neon, and 3D elements) in one, so it’s safe to say it’s really got it all going on.
Whirlpool Nails
Of all the pool nails on the list, this one might be the easiest way to DIY it at home. To start, @daily.manicure applied and cured one coat of Olive & June Brunch gel polish (a sky blue). Then, she applied “a small blob” of Brunch in the center of the nail and O&J Can’t Lose (bright blue) around the perimeter. Before curing this second layer, she used a dotting tool to swirl the deeper blue into the lighter shade. Cure it, add a gel top coat, and cure again.
Olivia Van Iderstine, vice president of education and mani trend expert for Olive & June, says you can do this either with gel or regular polish, though if you’re using the latter you’ll need to move quickly before it starts to dry.
Watercolor Pool Nails
If you want to express your love of summer but are a little shy about going full-on pool, this abstract interpretation is a great compromise. There are many ways to achieve a watercolor nail effect, but for this particular set @thatglosssauce dotted little blobs of regular nail polish onto a silicone stamper, then stamped the whole thing onto each nail. “I love to use a mix of jellies and cream formulas to create more depth,” she says.
Pool Nails With a Tube
This might look intricate, but @v_rose_nails calls it “easy peasy.” She started with two coats of a blue jelly base, added a very thin coat of white polish, then dropped clear polish into the white so it starts to bloom. The tube detail is a nail sticker, sealed in place with a top coat.
Stamped Pool Nails
@jackie.shades utilized the What’s Up Nails B010 stamping plate to get this rocky pool nail effect. “I started off with a dark blue base, then made random oblong shapes in a light blue shade using the brush from the bottle,” she says. “I made the reflective water marks by using a stamping plate that featured a water design and a white stamping polish.” She then added a few more tiny dots of both blues on top as a bubbly finishing touch.
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Kara McGrath is a writer and editor with over 15 years of experience covering the beauty space and an at-home nail art enthusiast. Both jobs include browsing and saving countless manicure ideas for research, plus chatting with professional artists for insight into current nail trends.
Kara McGrath is a writer and editor with over 17 years of experience covering the beauty industry, women’s health, and a wide range of other lifestyle and wellness topics. After most recently serving as content director at Allure (2019-2025) and executive editor at Bustle (2014-2019), she is now fully freelance. In addition to Cosmo, her writing has appeared in Allure, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Business of Fashion, Playboy, NH Magazine, and more. Kara lives in New Hampshire with her dog, four cats, and a rotating cast of foster animals. You can find more of her work at karamcgrath.com.
