Despite being terrible at painting my own nails, I bookmark a hell of a lot of manicure photos. Sometimes they’re easy nail art ideas, other times it’s new nail colour trends, but either way, my Instagram saved folder is always full of photos and videos of aesthetically pleasing fingertips.

However, I have recently started to notice a bit of a trend in the manicures that appear on my Explore page. What is it? Well, many of the manicures feature this ethereal, pearly, opalescent finish, a bit like the mother-of-pearl-insides of a mollusc shell. So there, I’m calling it: shell nails are about to be the next big manicure trend, even if I have to make them a trend myself.

So what exactly are shell nails? Well, this trend involves using a pearlescent finish nail polish in pared back pastel or neutral tones. And the result is nails that look as though they’ve been dipped in highlighter.

A paint-and-go manicure trend, there’s no fiddly nail art required (ideal) and it’s also an wonderful nail look for summer — the way the light reflecting particles catch the sun’s rays is rather pleasing.

Of course, pearlescent polish isn’t anything new. But as new flashier nail varnish trends, like muted mattes or high-shine gel have come to the fore, pearlescent polish fell out of favour. Now I’m calling for its come back. Why? Just take a look at nail artist Chelsea King’s take on a half-moon mani using shell-shimmer polishes and you’ll understand.     

She’s not the only one to experiment with shell nails, though. The queen of the Instagram nail art scene Melanie, aka @overglowedit, has also tried her hand at the trend, pairing pearlescent polish with tiny gold stars.

Don’t worry, you needn’t delve into the back catalogues of nail polish brands to find suitably pearlescent shades; nail care giant Nails Inc’s recently launched What the Shell polish collection was — quite literally — made for the trend, featuring four neutral-toned polishes in opalescent finishes. 

Plus, cool-girl nail brand J Hannah has been well ahead of the curve with its translucent shimmer-laced nail polish, Akoya, which is a perfect companion to a piece of pearl-encrusted jewellery.

In fact, I’m so very much into this trend, I’ve even already trialled it out for myself.

So, ready to help me make shell nails a thing? I’ve rounded up the best pearlescent nail polishes available online right now.

Images: Getty/ courtesy of brands.

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