Ice Cream Nails Are The Sweetest Manicure Trend Of The Summer

"Ice cream chillin' chillin'. Ice cream chillin'!" Those immortal lyrics from Selena Gomez and Black Pink's "Ice Cream" are the words we'll be uttering all summer long now as we proudly show off our super sweet ice cream nails. The manicure trend is set to be super cool over 2024'shotter months (pun intended) as it joins the ranks of summer 2024 nail trends like fruit manicures and pastel lacquers. Ice cream nails, however, offer an extra quirky way to dress up your talons for every occasion — whether it's a festival, vacation, or anything else you may have planned.

Creating the standard version of the manicure involves applying a base color of your choice (the brighter, the better) and then adding a classic "melted" effect from the tip of the nail down. Essentially, you want it to look as if you dipped the ends of your talons into a tub of the scrumptious cold stuff. The effect is totally adorable and just perfect for the summer. Just remember that these ice cream scoops aren't lickable ... as delicious as they may look.

To get the typical ice cream nail style, begin with a neutral nude base to allow the ice cream drips to steal the focus. When it comes to choosing colors for your ice cream manicure, you're only limited by your imagination. So why not recreate the look of your favorite ice cream flavor with sprinkles on the tip? If you love mint, try pastel green, if strawberry is more your thing, then light pink is your go-to. You could even go for lemon ice cream to get in on the butter nail trend, as well!

Sometimes, the best part of getting an ice cream is the sweet, crunchy waffle cone. If you're feeling confident and want a fun variation on the trend, break out the brown and yellow polish to literally transform your nails into mini cones. You cand o this by drawing crisscross lines for dimension in an alternating diagonal pattern. Once those are dry, apply the ice cream design from the nail bed, using a dot tool to swirl the drips downward. Any color works here, from vanilla with rainbow sprinkles to chocolate brown with chocolate chunks. 

Who said you can't mix it up when it comes to ice cream nails? Another fun take on the summer design is to make the look inspired by cookies and cream ice cream. That means adding chocolate colored specs to the tops of your nails to give that speckled effect we see in the likes of cookie dough or Oreo ice cream scoops. You could even go for a chunky glitter here to get a similar effect with a little extra glam.

If the other ice cream nail trend ideas on our list seem a little ambitions for you, then give a fade a go instead. This design involves painting one color at the tip that blends into another one. While any color palette works, strawberry pink and bubblegum blue are great for the summer, since they also capture the trendy 2024 pastel nail tips. You can then add some dimension to the design by creating a cone with crosshatched brown lines. Super easy to do with a thin nail art brush!

For a more artful interpretation of ice cream nails, try a design that shows the delightful dessert spilling across your manicure. This look will be quick to achieve if you don't have a lot of time. Plus, you don't have to be much of a nail artist to get it right. Begin by painting a crosshatch pattern on one nail to serve as the "cone." While any nail shape works here, almond tips have the advantage of sort of being shaped like a true waffle cone, making them the perfect base. Then, paint white (or pink) splotches on the nails next to it to represent the melting ice cream. The splotches can go in random places, just like how ice cream would fall on your fingers if you were holding a cone yourself. Finish with tiny dashes to represent rainbow sprinkles, and voila!