The butter yellow nail polish trend hit like a storm. One day, we were chatting about bubble bath nails and their subdued pink and white prettiness. The next, Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Kelsea Ballerini whipped out Kerrygold-colored manicures. I was skeptical of the unexpected hue's spike in popularity—until Hailey Bieber embraced the butter yellow summer nail trend in all its glory. If history tells us anything (remember glazed donut manicures?), Bieber’s stamp of approval means everything to nail aficionados.
On Tuesday, July 30, the Rhode founder shared scenes from her butter yellow explosion of a baby shower on Instagram. Bieber wore a butter yellow naked dress by Jacquemus, ate some butter yellow cake, and even sported a butter yellow vintage hair scarf. The softest detail, however, was her pale yellow manicure, which signaled that the food-inspired hue is a new neutral capable of defying seasonal constraints. In fact, I suspect we’ll see the butter yellow nail hype carry into fall manicure trends. (Apologies to her previous farmers market nails, which didn't last the season after all.)
“It’s the new nude,” Priscilla Nguyen, an Apres Nail Educator and Manicurist, previously told Marie Claire. “It has a pop of color without being so vibrant.” Its versatility is precisely what made it popular in the fashion world, with Sandy Liang opting to paint models’ nails in the cheery shade for her Fall/Winter 2024 Ready-to-Wear runway show.
Executing the trend in the real world is actually very approachable. Yellow surprisingly works with all skin tones and beautifully accents most clothing colors. The key to choosing the right shade is seeking out a tone with a high opacity and a subtle shimmer.
If you need a little inspiration to get started, shop my favorite butter yellow nail polishes below. Hailey Bieber would definitely approve—at least until she and go-to nail artist Zola Ganzorigt decide to switch up her manicure yet again.
