Looking for a simple way to boost your mood or manifest your future? Your next manicure might just do the trick—especially since 2024’s trendy nail designs are so cool it’s impossible not to be inspired.
As for what is expected to take over? According to Michelle Nguyen, nail expert and founder and CEO of PLA Nails, the sleek, minimal styles we loved last year aren’t going anywhere. “It seems that quiet luxury is here to stay for a bit,” she says Glamour. “Many people are now embracing a sleek, minimalist look for their nails, and we’re seeing a lot of sheer and pigmented skin tones and nude shades trending for 2024.”
This should come as no surprise, especially after a year filled with bright pink Barbie-inspired nail designs. Our nails – and eyes – need a breather.
However, that doesn’t mean 2024’s trending nail designs are boring. Nguyen adds that while minimalist nail looks are definitely in, loud, vibrant colors aren’t gone forever; they just evolve. “They can still be seen in more abstract designs and patterns, like bold, bright swirl designs and more vibrant French tips,” she explains. “French manicure with a sheer base and a bold, vibrant tip is a look to watch out for as it mixes a classic design with a pop of color.”
Jan Arnold, a nail expert and co-founder and style director of CND, agrees, noting that while 2024 will move away from 2023’s over-the-top extremism, the new year’s nail designs will still be spiritual, virtual, and trippy (and therefore, super cool). More specifically, Arnold predicts that psychedelic, holographic, and pearlescent finishes will trend this spring, and says that summer will be a time to embrace “carefully composed light, warm, and cream palettes, for love, light, and luck.”
For fall, we’ll see an increase in muted earth tones mixed with upbeat bright finishes that “evoke a futuristic feel,” and “winter and the holiday season will bring us regal sophistication through textures and dimensions for a deep, glamorous, festive season,” Arnold continues .
Other styles to expect? “Colors and tones will contain top notes and undertones that play together and contrast depending on how they are paired,” says Arnold. “Extravagant details such as overscaled embellishments with rich and luxurious colors will be a perfect design for a festive night out, and patterns and textures will bring inspiration, motivation and calm.”
According to Arnold, we’ll see medium to longer lengths with softened stilettos, coffin and almond shapes continuing to dominate the nail world.
However, Nguyen says that short and natural shapes will continue to rise in popularity, along with stealth-rich minimalism. “It looks like natural colors and nail shapes will be prominent in 2024,” she says. “There appears to have been a shift from ultra-long nails to shorter and more manageable square or round nails.”
Whatever your preferred nail length, shape or style, there’s at least one – or a few – 2024 nail trends for you. Check out the coolest nail art inspo for the coming year and get ready to take a screenshot. (And then call your nail technician.)