Nails are one of the most universally loved aspects of the beauty space — and for good reason: A fresh set or a cool polish design is an expression of individuality and makes the wearer feel more put together. Nails are something we can enjoy in any setting — even if it's while working from home or spoon-feeding the kiddos. Whether you go to the nail salon or paint your own nails, choosing a new polish to wear or design to rock, is a fun part of self-care and mom "me time." For this reason, we've rounded up polish inspiration for your next manicure, along with polishes that will help create the look.
From glitters to neutral-toned ombre designs, and all of the twists on the French manicure in between, hold onto these designs for the next time it's time for a polish change.
Deep Red
Red is a classic polish color that works year-round, but there's more than one shade to choose from. Vampy deep reds and maroons are particularly trendy right now, and work so well in the winter. This deep red from Essie's Gel Couture line is called Spiked with Style, and it absolutely looks so stylish.
Shimmery Green
Slightly understated glitter is also a popular trend at the moment for the polish enthusiasts who want a glam color that isn't too loud. Essie's Head to Mistletoe color is a shimmery sage green that works in any season or for any occasion. Green polish isn't always easy to find in stores, but this one is worth seeking out.
Metallic Polka Dots
Metallic designs are having a moment, as they often are. Using glitter placement is a great way to add dimension and personality to a design, like in this one featuring shimmery yellow gold glitter on a neutral base. Essie's Metallics Gold color can achieve this particular look, but there's lots of glitter toppers that can recreate it.
Swirl Design
Swirly designs are very trendy in the nail art realm right now, whether they're done with thinner lines, on top of neutrals, or take up the whole nail. We love this jewel-toned dual color swirl design created with pink and maroon polishes including Essie's Swoon In The Lagoon polish.
Shimmery French Mani
French manicures never really went out of style, but they have gotten fun and modern upgrades in the form of colorful tips instead of the usual white on top of a pink base. Recreate this silver-tipped shimmer twist on the French manicure with OPI's Go Big or Go Chrome. We think gold would look cute, too.
Dotticure Fade
A dotticure is one of nail art's simplest designs to achieve, using only a dotting tool or a toothpick. This one has the dots more packed at the tip, fading toward the cuticle. This has a fun color combination using a few JINsoon nail polish colors. Here, the mix of a dusty blue, olive green, and deep red, give new life to a classic fall/winter palette.
Speckled Black
If traditional perfectly round polka dots are a bit too buttoned-up for you, this design created using JINsoon's polka black polish is a great modern twist to that look. It's more of a speckled look, and we love it. It looks like a piece of modern art on this model's nails. We're sure other bright colors could work, too, but the moody look is definitely in.
Mix-and-Match Colors
$11
from
Triple O Polish
Back in the mid-aughts it was a trend to paint all but one nail the same color. This trend is taking that style to another level: making every nail a different color or design. This look of nudes, greens, and patterns was created using Triple O polish's bla, awori, oranyan, and nok, but can be created with any colors or designs.
Double French
As we mentioned, the French manicure will never go out of style, but for nail polish wearers who love the look but want an upgrade, this trend of double lines on the tips takes the look up a notch. This manicure was painted using polish brand Zoya's Regina green color.
Light Buttery Brown
For the simple neutral babes, buttery brown tones are having a big moment. It's understandable, the colors in this family are simple and pretty much go with any outfit. This brown that looks good enough to eat comes from the brand Zoya and is called Kinsley. Just don't actually eat it, even though the brand is vegan.
Neutral Skittle
$10.5
from
Ella +Mila
Where are our neutral lovers? Just because they like colors that are more subtle in tone doesn't mean they can't have some fun with design. The trend of painting each nail a different but complimentary color is called a skittle manicure. This one was created with five differnt Ella + Mila polish colors including one called Honeymoon Bliss.
Magnetic Marvels
$14.5
from
Cirque Colors
Magnetic multichrome polishes are huge right now, just because the effect they create when you turn your hand is so captivating. Indie polish brand Cirque Colors has a range of stunning magnetic multichrome polishes that acheive this nail look. One of the two polishes used to create the manicaure is called Paradox.
Foil Designs
Metallic foils add so much to a manicure, and they can be easily applied to make a really cool design on regular polish, like the one on this manicure. This popular gold foil on green polish design, painted by Ree Nail Salon in New York City, can be recreated using nail art foils that are available for purchase on Amazon.
Marble Effect
Marble designs are huge right now in the nail polish world and it's easy to see why. The look is "polished" (no pun intended there) and super cool looking. And it can be created with any combination of polish colors one wants. This design was painted by the Akiko Nails salon in New York City. The look can be recreated using the Set in Stone marble effect nail polish.
Matte French
Yes, this is another twist on the French manicure, but it's so cool. Matte adds a new lease of life on a colorful French tip manicure. This trendy look beautifully melts all of those design styles together to create this super sleek polish look. Brown is used here, but we've seen black polish used to recreate the look, too. The manicure above uses Paint Box's nail lacquer color Like Cocoa.
French Swirls
$10
from
Pacifica Beauty
Swirls have been gaining popularity over the last few years as one of the chicest nail polish designs. Many of them take the form of French tips and extend them into elegant lines. The idea of swirls may be something we see a lot on our social media feeds, but each pattern is unique. These black swirls can be created using the cruelty-free Pacifica Plant Magic polish in the shade Charcoal.
Mixed Designs & 3D Add-Ons
$240
from
Bio Seaweed Gel
In general, there's been a huge trend of seeing super intricate and fun designs on nails. And not just on one nail, but all of them, and each having a different design. Some designs even include add-ons like these 3D butterflies or pearls. A gel product that's close to the base color of this manicure with silver is from Bio Seaweed's Gel All That Glitters collection.
Stars
$13
from
Beyond Polish
Maybe it's the interest in the cosmos or the insanely cool NASA images of the universe that have come out, but stars are a trendy design that polish wearers want on their nails, and we can't blame them. This star manicure is a great way to get that, and can be created at home using a gel liner that has a built-in art brush, like Kiara Sky's gel liner product.
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