What is Jelly Polish?

By Loren de la Cruz, Birchbox

Zoya fleck effects

The finish of my new favorite polishes, Zoya Mylar Fleck Glazes, is jelly, which got me to thinking--what exactly is jelly nail polish?

Jellies are like glazes and are basically pigment added to a clear base. To make a jelly polish, about 25% opaque creme polish is mixed with 75% clear polish. Most jellies are still translucent after several coats and I think the best analogy would be to say that jellies are like lip gloss for nails while cremes are like lipstick.

You may also notice that a lot of glitters have jelly bases, which makes them great for layering and perfect for adding that extra oomph to an opaque color. Aside from Zoya's Fleck Effect collection, some of my other favorite jelly-based glitters are Deborah Lippmann Today Was A Fairytale, Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air, and Nubar Sour Candy.

For those of you that own jelly polishes, but want more of a color payoff, use a white base coat first. I used this trick myself recently after I bought a $1.99 polish from CVS. I really wanted color to pop and the result was electrifying!

What do you think about jelly polishes?

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