5 New Ways To Wear Jelly Nails This Summer

There’s something so joyfully appealing about jelly-like textures in beauty and fashion. It’s hard to resist Jelly sandals, #Jellyskincare, even jelly bracelets — especially in the summer when you can expect bright sunlight to make anything with a juicy transparency look even brighter and shinier.

Simply jelly nails and translucent, colorful polishes have been around for a few seasons now, but now, they’re getting a makeover for summer 2024 to be even more creative, playful, and delicious-looking. The easy way to think about it is to combine two (or more) popular nail art trends to create a new design that’s more fun to look at and wear than either one of its influences.

Read on for five new reinventions of the jelly manicure, you’ll want to rush straight to the salon.

1. Jelly Marbles

Play up the glassy finish of jelly nails and transform your look into a marble manicure. Simply apply a high-shine, clear gel top coat over a sparkly, multi-dimensional base to make your nails doubly shimmery and reflective in the sunlight.

2. Half Jelly, Half Chrome

Chrome has been one of the biggest trends in manicures in the past few seasons, so it only makes sense to use the metallic finish to remix see-through jelly nails. We love how these designs play up the contrast between the two textures by juxtaposing them side by side on every nail.

3. Jelly Gumdrops

Jelly nails already have a delightful plump-looking effect, so why not double down on it by adding some extra 3D details? Blobs, bubbles, and water droplets create an interesting and whimsical look, even without any additional bright colors.

4. Suspended Glitter

Another way to accentuate the dimensional nature of jelly nails is to add accents that appear to float in the translucent polish. For an edgier design, take inspiration from the gray jelly nails with dark glitter that Mei Kawajiri created for Iris Law’s 2024 Met Gala look. Or a simple chunky glitter butterfly in an iridescent pool of color looks light and airy.

5. Translucent Tips

Combine the traditional French mani with the trendy jelly finish to create modern-looking translucent tips. This design works especially well on longer nail shapes and gel extensions, that can really let the light pass through.