I cover beauty trends for a living, and I’m calling it now: pearl nails are about to be one of the biggest manicure trends of the summer. Pearl nails are an elevated take on the beloved glazed chrome effect, adding a beachy finish similar to the luminous glow of a freshwater pearl.
A few summers ago, the beauty world was fully consumed by mermaidcore, complete with beach-inspired hair accessories, seashell nails, and oceanic eye shimmers. Pearl nails feel like mermaidcore’s older, cooler sister. Instead of leaning overly sparkly or costume-y, the look is chic and glossy, offering a more elevated take on the beloved milky chrome manicure. You can keep the look minimal with a translucent pearly sheen, or go full beach treasure with textured details, chrome finishes, and beaded accents.
Ahead, all the pearl nail inspo you need for your next summer manicure.
How to achieve a pearl manicure
To create pearl nails, start with an iridescent or pearly polish layered over your base colour of choice. While the polish is still slightly wet, use a small dotting tool, a toothpick, or a fine nail art brush to gently swirl through the shimmer, creating a pearlescent effect. The movement helps diffuse the sparkle, so the finish looks more like the natural glow of a freshwater pearl rather than a flat glitter polish.
For a more dimensional effect, you can also add textured gel before applying chrome on top (as shown below by @glossytipped). Layers of builder gel or raised 3D accents create a shell-like texture underneath the pearly finish, making the nails look sculptural and straight from the seaside.
Pearl nails inspo:
Jasmine Hyman is the Assistant Beauty Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she writes about the latest beauty trends and must-have products. Her most prized beauty possessions are a meticulous skincare routine and salon blowouts. You’ll also likely find her in bed reading a good book or endlessly scrolling TikTok (spoiler: it’s usually the latter) while listening to Harry Styles’ entire discography on repeat. Follow her on Insta to be inundated with pictures of her meals.
