Ice-cream nails take the squeaky-clean French and let the white tip dissolve into a sheer, strawberry-milk base—soft-serve drip but make it manicure. Celebrity nail artist Harriet Westmoreland previewed the look earlier this year, and by spring beauty press had slapped on the dessert nickname and sent it viral.
Frombre 2.0
The technique is basically a “Frombre” (French + ombre) dialled way down: no harsh smile line, no glitter—just a feathered sorbet gradient sealed under a glass-level top coat.
The minimalist look slots neatly into the clean-girl nail universe next to soap nails and foggy French tips—all obsessed with milky translucence and immaculate prep. Ice-cream nails simply add the pastel-flavour twist made for spring and summer.
Getting the look
At a salon, show a reference photo and ask for a sheer pink-nude base (Westmoreland shared on TikTok that she combined Bella and BIAB 17 from The GelBottle Inc.) blended upward into a warm-white tip with a sponge or feather brush. Make it clear you want zero hard line and a high-gloss finish so the fade stays creamy.
DIYers need the same game plan: prep nails immaculately, lay down a milky pink such as OPI Bubble Bath, then tap a soft-white like Essie Blanc onto the free edge and blur the junction with a tiny makeup sponge. Float a quick-dry topcoat—Seche Vite is the classic—for that “just-melting” shine. Keep cuticle oil handy; the whole clean-girl illusion hinges on hydrated skin around the nail.
Ice-cream nail micro-trend proves that 2025’s French mani is in its soft-focus era. We’re blurring, blending, and tinting the tip rather than drawing a line—and the internet clearly prefers its polish served with a side of sorbet.