The weather is getting colder, and with cold weather comes one thing: cuffing season. Over the years, couples have found lots of creative ways to publicly express their love, from adding their anniversary date to their IG bio to having a photo of their partner as their phone wallpaper (how cute). But the truth is, promise rings and “hard launching” on IG might be a thing of the past — the latest way to show you have an SO is through the initial nail trend taking over TikTok.
While it’s unclear where the trend originally started, the hashtag #initialnails now has over 12.8 billion views on TikTok, and the look has been seen on multiple A-list celebs. Kourney Kardashian sported a gothic-scripted “T” at the Met Gala in May for her now-husband Travis Barker, while Jennifer Lopez played into the trend by incorporating both her and Ben Afflek’s initials, sporting a gold “J x B” on the ring finger of her almond-shaped manicure. And following in her big sister’s footsteps, Kim Kardashian wore long, hot pink nails with a bedazzled “P” on her ring finger when she was with Pete Davidson (although, what is up with the rumor that the two may be seeing each other again?!).
How does Gen Z feel about the initial nails trend?
Initial nails are essentially a less-permanent alternative to initial or name tattoos, which can be painful and expensive to remove if the relationship were to end (because let’s be honest, not all relationships last forever — just look at Davidson and Ariana Grande).
While some are all for the trend, others think that the trend is too possessive and controlling. But IMHO, is the initial nails trend really any different than wearing a promise ring? Or having your anniversary date in your bio along with a ring emoji? Just saying.
How to get initial nails
The trend itself encompasses a wide variety of nail styles, from short to long and almond-shaped to coffin-shaped. All you need to participate in the trend is to just add your partner’s initials to your regular mani. You can even play around with fonts, size, and colors!
If you’re all in on this nail trend, the best part is that you can easily participate in the trend at home. You can add your SO’s initials in crystal (or, plastic crystal, I guess) a-la Kim Kardashian, or if you’re handy with a brush, paint their initials on with a thin nail brush. This Sally Hanson nail kit from Target ($5.99) has everything you might need to paint or paste your partner’s initials on at home. You can also spell your partner’s first name out in plastic gems or pearls — like these pearl ones on Ulta ($12) or these rhinestones on Walmart ($2) — if you’re feeling a bit extra.
The initial nail trend is a great way to subtly pay homage to your partner, and worst-case, it can always be removed with a bit of acetone or a nail file.