Cady’s video has been viewed more than 12.5 million times on TikTok, but she’s not taking full credit for the ingenious idea.
"I saw the hack on my nail friend’s Instagram Yndaly Neimanis [Lee Beauty Studio] and she discovered it from one of the popular Russian nail art pages on Instagram," Cady, 28, told Fox News.
She went on, "I never expected my videos to go viral. It feels surreal. I remember seeing the numbers rolling and being in total shock. I love helping others in the nail industry and that’s always been my goal when posting tutorials, so to know I’ve reached over 12 million people blows my mind."
WOMAN WITH THE LONGEST FINGERNAILS CUTS THEM FOR FIRST TIME SINCE THE 90S
Neimanis shared a video of herself using the same nail hack in mid-July, but instead of using a spherical silicone sponge, she opted for a cylindrical nail stamping tool, which is also made out of silicone. With the clear nail tool, Neimanis was able to create a traditional white and a coral glow in the dark French manicure.
She confirmed to Fox News that she originally saw the technique on a Russian nail art account, but couldn’t recall the page’s name.
"I wish I could credit the original artist that came up with this lifesaving hack, but to be fair it is a very popular technique within the Russian nail technician [community]," Neimanis said. "I watch Russian nail videos obsessively. I saw it several times and when I finally decided to try it I was too impressed not to share it."
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Other TikTok users have tested the hack with different silicone sponges and nail shapes, including Amina Chelloug (AKA Amina Oui).
She shared a video of herself "trying the silicone French manicure trend on Friday, Aug. 13, and the video has already amassed 9.8 million views.
Instead of using a spherical silicone sponge, Chelloug opted for a flat tear-shaped sponge that’s commonly used to apply makeup.
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According to her video, the hack "kinda worked." One commenter under her video disagreed and wrote that they thought her pale pink French manicure came out "perfect."
Chelloug, 26, told Fox News she was inspired to try the nail hack after she saw the trend take off with silicone nail stamping tools. She opted for a silicone makeup sponge when she could find any stamping tools in her Montreal neighborhood.
"I decided to be creative and use something similar and thought of these silicone makeup sponges that used to be super trendy two to three years ago," Chelloug said. "I didn't think it would work but it was actually pretty easy to use, plus it's way more readily available for everyone to purchase versus a stamping tool."
She went on to say it felt "unreal" to see her nail hack video go viral on TikTok considering she’s a university student who only began doing her own nails during the pandemic.
"It has warmed my heart to see other people react to my video and try the hack themselves," Chelloug said.
