Oyster Nails Are Trending and One of the Prettiest Ways to Send Off Summer—Here Are 7 Designs to Try
Pearly polish and tiny 3D shells are closing out the season.
Summer deserves one last manicure before moving on to fall, and oyster nails feel like a fitting, and very chic, final hurrah. They’re ocean-inspired without being overly literal, and depending on your manicure tolerance, they can be as understated or over-the-top as you desire.
The simpler version is all about color and finish: a sheer oyster gray-meets-silver shade with a pearly sheen. It’s a milky, slightly iridescent polish that could easily pass for a neutral with a bit of zhuzh. If you want the full oyster experience, though, nail artists are using sculptural gel to recreate the shell’s ridges, often adding chrome or a tiny pearl in the center. Some are surprisingly realistic; others play up the pearly details and texture.
Not ready to commit to ten tiny oysters on your fingers? A single sculpted accent nail or a few pearls work just as well. Then again, it is the last week of summer, so you might as well go all in.
Molten Pearl
A nude base keeps all eyes on the chrome curling around each nail. Look closely, and there’s a flash of opal sitting right in the middle.
Shuck and Shine
A moodier gray takes this pearly chrome straight into fall. The pink shift still gives it that oyster shell glow.
Mother of Pearl
The pearls are almost hidden among the swirls of milky chrome polish for a cool, iridescent effect. It’s about as close to a freshly shucked oyster as a manicure can get.
Shelling Out
Raised ridges turn every extra-long nail into its own shell, with a pink-and-yellow iridescence that brings out the texture. This is mani maximalism at its finest.
Chrome Catch
Here, oyster nails go abstract. Raised silver chrome takes the place of literal shells, and no two shapes are exactly alike. Is it an oyster? Or is it just a cool molten effect? Either way, it makes for a stunning end of summer manicure.
String of Pearls
Why stop at the necklace? Tiny pearl details scattered across a milky white manicure tie the entire look together and act as another accessory.
Pearly Haze
For the softest possible take, start with a sheer white base, then add a haze of super-fine shimmer polish. The teeny pearls nearly disappear until the light catches them.
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