Iridescent ‘mother of pearl’ nails are bringing mermaidcore to your fingertips

Mermaidcore has been making a splash of late with its dew-saturated, pearlescent skin. Now ‘mother of pearl’ nails promise to give our manicures a gloss up for Spring as the same aesthetic has trickled down to our fingertips. So much so, videos tagged ‘mother of pearl nails’ has over 61.6 views on TikTok. 

As ever there are several iterations of mother of pearl nails, ranging from Kim Truong‘s to-the-letter 3D interpretation of the inside of an oyster shell to a dialled-down duo-chromatic shimmer that changes depending on how the light hits. 

The trend is exactly as it sounds: a pearlescent finish that is subtly glowy with a multi-coloured effect similar to moonstone or opal gemstones.  Mother of pearl nails have another ace up their sleeve: they sit somewhere between a glazed donut nail and sheer sparkle nails, both of which are viral mani trends. 

Also cool: not only is the mother of pearl nail trend in the spotlight now but the AW23 catwalks cemented its status as a year-round glitzy mani.  At Annie’s Ibiza the models’ nails were adorned with Essie’s Mademoiselle Nail Polish and topped with Feel The Fizzle for a nail strobing effect that mirrored the highlighter on their cheekbones and a structured mother of pearl top on the runway.