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You may have noticed that gummy candy’s PR team has been working overtime lately. Over the last year or so, Swedish candy companies have taken over the zeitgeist, with people lining up around the block of new storefronts to handpick their curated selection of fruity, chewy bites. While the food phenomenon might seem unrelated to the world of beauty, that addictive, mouth-watering obsession has sparked a new trend that you’re going to want to sink your teeth into: “jelly beauty.”
Searches for the “jelly candy aesthetic” are up 100 percent this year on Pinterest. And like a sweet tooth you just can’t satisfy, we can’t get enough of this nostalgic trend — which is why it’s a pick on our inaugural Feel-Good List.
“Think of the ‘jelly trend’ as the high-shine, high-sensory evolution of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic,” says Alexandria Cervantes, training and education manager of NYX Professional Makeup. “It’s a playful, nostalgic movement that moves away from heavy, opaque pigments in favor of translucent, bouncy, and vibrant textures. This trend is about more than just a ‘wet look’ — it’s a full sensory experience.”
Jelly beauty has taken over everything from our nails to our makeup and skin-care formulas, with many ever-forward-thinking companies in Korea pioneering the concept. And now, even the fragrance world is getting in on the game with the newly released Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 68 Jelly Perfume Balms ($26).
The obsession isn’t new; every ’90s baby probably remembers the sparkly jelly sandals and hair clips of yesteryear. “Playing with transparency and jelly textures was all the rage, from jelly shoes and hair clips to inflatable furniture, clear backpacks, and, yes, jelly polish,” says Rita Remark, Essie’s global lead educator and nail artist.
The jelly beauty trend leaves your skin, nails, and lips so juicy that they look downright edible. And who doesn’t want that? To learn how to jellify your beauty routine, keep reading.
Jelly Skin Care
We see the trend in skin care in two key ways: through jelly-textured products and bouncy skin. Jelly skin is dewy, luminous, and perfectly smooth. “It prioritizes ‘plumped-from-within’ hydration that looks drenched in moisture and feels incredibly lightweight on the skin,” Cervantes says. It bounces back to the touch and feels just as juicy (or hydrated) on the inside as it looks on the outside.
Cleansers have historically been the most popular product type in this trend, such as Glossier Milky Jelly ($24) and Herbivore Pink Cloud Creamy Jelly Cleanser ($28). But in the last year, we’ve seen more jelly masks, like the Byoma Bio-Collagen Radiance Facial Mask ($18), and moisturizers, like the Innisfree Cherry Blossom Dewy Glow Jelly Moisturizer ($30) and Medicube Collagen Niacinamide Jelly Cream ($22), take off. “These formulas are designed to provide an instant cooling, watery sensation upon contact, drenching the skin in hydration without the heaviness of traditional creams,” Cervantes adds.
Jelly Makeup
Makeup is the most popular — and easiest — way to get in on the jelly trend. Everything from your primer to your eyeshadow, lip gloss, and blush has been jelly-fied, allowing you to channel that squishy sensation through pillowy lips, flush cheeks, and slick lids.
“These products are designed to create a ‘glass-like’ transparency, allowing your natural skin texture to peek through while providing a lush, hydrated glow,” Cervantes says. For peak nostalgia and to tap into your inner child, opt for fingerprinting the textures onto your face. “The warmth of your skin helps these gel-based formulas melt seamlessly into one another, preventing the ‘skipping’ or ‘patchiness’ that brushes can sometimes cause with high-shine products,” Cervantes says.
The jelly nails trend resurfaces again and again every few years. “[It’s] been around since the Y2K era,” Remark notes. But recently, it’s seen a bit of an upgrade in structure and texture. “It’s not just about transparency anymore. Today, we see thick, structured jelly manicures achieved with 3D gel and 3D appliques. In polish, we see jelly textures in the form of sheer, milky polishes that offer a slight coverage and in super transparent, almost-glass, polishes that wear like lip gloss,” she says.
Different takes on this nail design have taken off recently, from “Korean blush nails” to “moonlight nails.” Jelly nails are typically characterized by translucent, glass-like finishes achieved with sheer polishes, such as Essie Nail Art Studio Jelly Gloss Nail Polish ($13), Cirque Colors Sheer Jelly Polish ($13), and Nails Inc. 45 Second Speedy Gloss Nail Polish ($9). Nails are ultra shiny and made to look perpetually wet — as if you can take a bit out of the glazed top coat.
Jessica Harrington (she/her) is the Section Lead of Beauty at Popsugar, where she oversees all vertical coverage across the website, social media, and newsletter. With over nine years of industry experience, she has interviewed numerous celebrities, reported on hundreds of beauty trends, and swatched more lipsticks than she can count. Prior to PS, Jessica worked for publications such as Makeup.com, Skincare.com, and The Zoe Report. She’s based in New York City and has a degree in journalism from Hofstra University. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, traveling with her husband, thrifting, and cooking.
