"Bubble Bath" Nails Are a Minimalist's Dream

Updated on Nov 9, 2023 at 2:50 PM

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It has been the year of minimalist beauty, and judging by the latest trends on TikTok, it's not slowing down any time soon. In keeping with the "quiet luxury" and "clean girl" aesthetics, various spin-offs of simple nail looks are projected to be everywhere next season, and that is exactly where "bubble bath" nails come in.

Like the manicures that came before it — like glazed doughnut and "naked" nails, to name a couple of standouts — the bubble-bath nail trend is uber soft and understated. The look centers around elevating your natural nails, but better. If that sounds like your dream manicure, keep scrolling as celebrity manicurist Julie Kandalec, who works with the likes of Joe Jonas, Emily Blunt, and Jessica Chastain (among many others), goes into more detail.

What Are Bubble-Bath Nails?

Whether you still take baths now or they're a distant childhood memory, you can likely picture that pinkish hue that fills the tub when you pour in a dash of bubble bath. As the name suggests, the nails are not too dissimilar to the milk-bath trend of this past year. Though they lean more pink than white like the original, they still feature that cloudiness that's characteristic of the look.

"It's like a strawberry milkshake," Kandalec tells POPSUGAR. To get the manicures you see all over your Instagram feed, you'll likely want to get BIAB nails, otherwise known as structured gel or builder in a bottle manicure. "It's full-coverage baby pink builder gel," she says.

Best Nail Polish For Bubble-Bath Nails

As far as the execution goes, bubble-bath nails are fairly easy to get as they don't include any intricate nail art. Some shades that immediately come to Kandalec's mind to get the look include CND Vinylux Longwear Strawberry Smoothie ($10) and Gelish Soak-Off Gel Polish in Pink Smoothie (salon only).

For an at-home version, try two coats of the OPI Nail Lacquer in Bubble Bath ($10) and one coat of OPI Nail Lacquer in Funny Bunny ($11). The viral combination has been hailed for being the perfect shade of pink.

For inspiration to bring with you to the salon, keep scrolling.