The kaleidoscopic manicure is easy to create at home.
Get ready for some visual ASMR with this kaleidoscopic nail art trend: Blooming gel nail art has been growing in popularity because of how satisfying it is to create, Austrian nail artist Johanna Schüßleder tells Allure. Seeing blobs of color expand before your eyes is like watching a lava lamp warm up or a flower blossoming — and the results are as mesmerizing as they are psychedelic.
Depending on the bold hues added to your nails, blooming gel nail art can produce a variety of gorgeous effects, says Schüßleder. Some end up looking like glowing orbs, while others resemble snakeskin, tie dye, tortoiseshell, flowers, water ripples, or even the look of spray paint. The possibilities are endless.
What is blooming gel nail art?
Blooming gel nail art gets its name from the specific product it requires: blooming gel. British nail artist Imarni explains to Allure that the special translucent gel formula causes colorful gel nail polish to float around and bloom, a process akin to dipping a paint-covered brush in a cup of clean water and capturing that swirly, marbleized moment on your nails. The coolest part, Imarni adds, is how the colors hardly ever spread out into the same shapes and sizes twice.
What is the blooming gel nail art process like?
Nail artists always start blooming gel nail art with two layers of a cured base color before painting one coat of blooming gel polish over nails. Before curing, the nail artist will add regular polish, either as drawn on shapes or drops from a brush, that will start moving and blooming on its own. Once you’ve decided you like where the colors end up, you put your hands in the salon’s LED nail lamp and cure.
Schüßleder likes to freestyle with her blooming gel nail art, randomly dotting on colors with a nail-dotting tool. Then, to make the blooming gel nail art look more multidimensional, she adds another layer of colors after the first round is cured, occasionally adding gems or pearls.
How to do blooming gel nail art at home
If you have the right gel nail supplies at home, Schüßleder and New York City-based nail artist Alex Smith say you can easily master the blooming gel nail technique. In addition to the standard gel nail staples, such as a base coat, LED lamp, and gel nail colors of your choice, you’ll need blooming gel polish. From there, simply follow the steps above.
Keep in mind, “there are no rules with blooming gel,” says Schüßleder. “Just let it bloom.” Below are some of our picks for products to use for an at-home blooming gel manicure.
In a pinch, you can easily mimic the nail art technique without using blooming gel. “If you leave a layer of gel topcoat uncured and add droplets of other colors on top, you can swirl them around into a nice design, giving [your nail art] a similar blooming gel look,” Schüßleder explains. Just know, the colors won’t disperse as easily — or as hypnotically — as they would with blooming gel.
Blooming gel nail inspiration
To create an edgy cotton-candy vibe, blue, pink, and purple hues of blooming gel were swirled together in this Y2K, chrome-accented set. It was topped with rhinestones for added glitz. We love how this look combines so many fun nail art trends in one design.
Schüßleder reached for nearly-neon blooming gel polishes to create retro-themed flowers and butterflies. Is it just us or is this set giving Lizzie McGuire?
Can’t choose between a blooming gel French mani and a snakeskin set? You don’t have to. Take this manicure by British nail artist @j3nnailedit as inspiration: It was created with a single shade of fuchsia blooming gel, yet it combines both looks in an elevated way.
From afar, this manicure looks groovy with its different shades of purple. Upon closer inspection, though, you’ll see French tips and unique blooms that resemble tie dye.
Smith brought nostalgic vibes to this set with the help of blooming gel. We love the color scheme for this one: cranberry, tangerine, and bubblegum pink, with splashes of snow white.
Are they ladybugs? Or pomegranate seeds? These blooming blobs are up for artful interpretation and add an eye-catching element to any manicure.
Yes, you can totally do blooming gel nail art on short nails. Behold, an extra-cool black snakeskin manicure that is surprisingly timeless. For added intrigue, silver chrome stars adorn accent nails on each hand. Pair this bold look with a bevy of rings and maybe a power suit.
The designs on this nail look mimic a tie-dyed dress that Smith once saw. She placed poppy red and sage green blooming gel polish on top of a classic white French manicure to give it a delightfully bright twist. Some of the nails got a full base coat of white to really display the watermelon tones.
One blob of blooming gel polish can create an aura-like orb. Glue a nail gem to the center of each to up the adventurousness of this minimalist manicure.
