What better excuse for colourful nails than Pride Month amidst a hot Hong Kong summer?

Searching for “summer nails” on Pinterest will return pastel and gradient nails in various colours. So naturally, I wanted to have a go at them (the last time I had rainbow nails was when my high school friends and I went treasure hunting in SaSa’s nail vat…). Still, I preferred something more than plain colours to avoid boredom by week two.

I found a small swatch of glass candy (a.k.a. jelly) gels, essentially colours that don’t require additional mixing to achieve translucency. Bold and fun, they would work great as accent nails in a monochrome set. Initially, I requested clear gel textures on top – think raindrops, s-curves, abstract dollops and faceted jewels. But my manicurist said if I’m going all out, I might as well get ice nails instead.

Never heard of it? BLACKPINK’s Jennie created a sensation when she posted a mirror selfie with glowing iridescent nails (check out Yuca’s feed dedicated to a similar aurora nail look). Ice nails are a twist on glass nails, which are nothing new. In fact, they were the first nail fads that got me mesmerised 6-7 years ago, and I’ve always thought of them as a classic Korean style I wanted to save for a trip there.

Be warned that it’s challenging to attain a smooth foil placement. It would take even the most skilled of manicurists a lot of manoeuvring atop a thick gel base to smooth things out. However, we were pressed for time and opted for rectangular foils rather than fitting them over the entire nail. The OCD me was screaming a little inside, but the uneven foil created jagged refractions that made it look better under the sun. Rubbing on a layer of mermaid powder also helps with blurring and obscuring layers.

The result is a dazzling, iridescent look that reminds me of Sailor Moon crystal transformations.

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