Nail Beanies Are the New Instagram Nail Look You Need to See

Oh, Instagram—how you delight, inspire, and confuse. Let us never forget the brilliant gems social media has brought us over the years, like glitter butts, fishtail brows, and, of course, reindeer boobs. And the most recent beauty ~lewk~ to pop up on my Insta feed and warrant a deep-dive investigation into WTF am I looking at? Nail beanies, a nail art (nail clothing? Nail…wrapping?) look that's equal parts cool and bizarre, yet really makes me want to test it out for myself.

Imagine, if you will, a tiny bejeweled hat for your fingernail. Boom—you’ve just pictured the nail-art look from Unistella, the nail queen of Instagram, who recently posted a few videos of fingertips covered with jewel- and bling-studded “beanies,” lookin' like the missing fingers to some fingerless gloves.

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#nailbeanies . 그냥 내 스타일 . 그냥 영상 모음 ????

A post shared by Park Eunkyung (@nail_unistella) on Sep 9, 2019 at 9:22am PDT

If you’ve never ventured onto Unistella’s Instagram page, it’s basically the birth place of ground-breaking manicures, courtesy of Korean nail artist Eun Kyung Park (glass nails? That was all her idea. Wire nails? Also hers). "I'm always wondering what nails we could be doing in the future," Park tells Cosmopolitan, "so I try these new things out and add some trendy elements while making them fully comfortable to wear in daily life."

Her most recent inspo? The fact that she couldn't see her own mani while wearing gloves, and, thus, nail beanies—the inside-out trend—were born.

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분명 거기서 멈췄어야 했는데 또 과해짐 어쩔 수 없음 . #nailbeanies 풀착 I should have stopped there. this is my problem??? But I LOVE ?? ? @ellie__eee 이감독님 ㅋㅋ

A post shared by Park Eunkyung (@nail_unistella) on Sep 9, 2019 at 8:12pm PDT

It's important to note that pretty much everything Park creates eventually becomes a much-copied trend, which is why this nail beanies style is so fascinating. As impractical as they look, could they actually be the next new nail trend in some capacity?

Will we see Beyoncé and Taylor Swift wearing diamond-studded or rainbow-coloured (respectively) nail beanies next month? Will Chanel release a limited collection of nail beanies—nay, berets—for spring 2020? Will your mom try to DIY these herself for the holidays?! WHO KNOWS?! Life's crazy!!

Especially when, according to Park, this trend has been quietly evolving for years in her brain. "I previously though that wearing a Barbie doll's tiny beanie on my nails would be fun, and I even took a photo of myself wearing thimbles on all my fingers in 2014 saying it's 'Korean beauty,'" she jokes. "I think what's important is the fact that I'm always challenging myself to create something that can be used in the future."

And that brings us to today, the day of ze itty-bitty beanie, which, Park swears, is "comfortable enough to wear in daily life." But, she warns, "it's crucial to select the right material to make it wearable," starting with a pair of gloves you were looking to throw away, or just some black disposable gloves, which it looks like Park is actually wearing in these photos.

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More close up I’m back with my new item ????? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 아직은 미완성

A post shared by Park Eunkyung (@nail_unistella) on Sep 8, 2019 at 7:26pm PDT

Then, quite literally, bedazzle them, gluing tiny gems, stars and moons, or chains around and across each of the fingertips where your nail would be (stuff the gloves rather than trying to wear them while doing this). "I always say that nail art also needs something unique that catches the eye, and that sometimes, nails can actually be used as a form of jewelry," says Park. Let your designs dry, cut off the fingertips, then wear them all together, or just one at a time with a really killer manicure and curated-ring situation.

Also, yes, Park is fully aware that these nail beanies kinda look like thimbles, and to that, she nicely says, "I'm thankful for all kinds of feedback!" Clearly, the haters will only make her stronger, helping her to eventually take over the nail world one Instagram post at a time. So until that happens, why not test out nail beanies, even just for the Insta shot, amiright?