Some women love long talons; others prefer short squoval nails - while nail shape is subjective, trends are constantly changing for DIY and in-salon manicures. So we rounded up a slew of ideas to inspire your next nail look. From bright pops of colour to intricate designs. Here we searched Instagram to find the art and techniques that offer divine inspiration. By editor Trudi Brewer.
Geometric Manicures
If you love a bold graphic nail look, these ‘90s-inspired colours' in eye-catching patterns will rule for winter. The team’s creations at New York-based @nailinghollywood have the perfect page to find divine inspiration.
Marbling
Though it might appear intricate, this look is surprisingly easy to achieve at home or in-salon. In a range of shades, from blue to soft mauve or graphic monochrome, this look is topped off perfectly with a layer of shimmer by New York-based salon @nailinghollywood.
Mix & match
From vintage shades to poppy pastels, mix and match are ideal for a range of warm reds or skin-flattering nudes. Los Angeles-based nail artist Sigourney Nuñez from @nailartbysig has an eye for clashing some gorgeous hues.
Negative Detail
A negative space mani shows off your own natural nail with subtle nail art. Ideal for dressing up nude nails with skinny stripes or swooshes of metallic glitter. New York-based @jinsoon has one steady hand. She also makes her own eponymously named lacquers, and they’re brilliant.
Colour blocking
Fashion no longer has a monopoly on colour blocking. New York-based nail artist @julieknailsnyc rocks almost any shade with this look. When it comes to colour, choose any shade that complements our skin tone and clashes beautifully.
Pretty in pink
It’s a seasonal favourite, and not just for spring or summer. Pink in every shade, from ballet to watermelon, rose, and fuchsia, this is a universally flattering colour for any skin tone. Worn as a new look in French polish, this is the ideal way to bring a touch of pink into your daily fashion look. NYC-based nail artist @julieknailsnyc has made a career from reinventing looks with this timeless shade.
Poolside blues
Inspired by the new Pantone Color of 2022, Very Peri, blue in a rainbow of shades, is back on the fashion map. This is the shade to boost your winter mood and take your on-trend mani right into spring from subtle accents to a full-on periwinkle hue. If you’re looking for blue motivation, the New York-based @paintboxnails has it in spades.
Fresh-look French
French mani’s are timeless, but the change in contrasting colours has made them trend again. It’s not just because of the unexpected hues that tip the nails, think lilac, yellow, pale pink, and baby blue, but once sprinkled with glitter seen here by @nailinghollywood, they are eye-catching as well as eternally chic.
Squoval nails
For anyone who likes to wear short nails, rounded-square (or squoval) nails are back, and our editor is very. happy about that. “I always recommend finding the nail shape best suited for your hand, which can be done very easily by pushing back your cuticles and mirroring the shape of the tip of your nails,” she shares. “This gives you the most natural, elongated nail,” says New York-based @aliciatnails, the queen of perfect squoval nails.
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