Sam Escobar
Outside, the temperatures are dropping. Your scarves and sweaters will soon be taking center stage. Your coffee shop order’s officially transitioned from a chilled matcha latte to a hot cappuccino (unless you’re one of those people who drinks iced coffee year-round). Get those fingertips ready: It’s finally fall 2024, and fresh trends are on the horizon. This autumn and winter, pros predict rich espresso browns, a new type of “neutral,” eye-catching jewel tones, muted olives (wave goodbye to brat green), and matte textures that add a cool twist to nails, regardless of the color or design.
No matter which trend you dip your toes (er, fingertips) into this season, the finished look will always be better if you approach it from a solid starting point. “Proper prep is going to make all the difference—something as simple as a cuticle exfoliator can help remove that waxy gunk that builds up around the cuticle line over time,” says Sigourney Nuñez, a nail artist in Los Angeles. While it may be tempting to pass over a step or two when you’re in a rush, she warns against skipping your base coat, as it “helps prevent staining, especially as you transition to darker colors this season.” And don’t skimp on the last part of the process, either—Nuñez insists that using a topcoat is a must, as it gives your manicure extra shine and longevity.
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Now that you’ve mastered the basics, explore these upcoming trends to find your next polish shade, manicure style, or nail-art design for fall and winter.
1. Rich Espresso Brown
Much like deeper, richer hair colors tend to pick up in popularity during the fall and winter, dark brown hues are bound to pop up. “There’s no denying that espresso-colored manicures have had their moment this year, but they are really about to shine this fall and winter,” says Nuñez. Here, artist @nailartnoob shows how stunning a metallic espresso brown can look in the sunlight.
Bring that extra oomph to this nail-color trend with a romantic, shimmery set of tips, like this manicure from @polishedreader.
2. Desaturated Green
If you spent more than two seconds on the internet this past summer, you probably heard about “brat green.” Whether you were down with the bright, slimy hue or couldn’t get far enough away from it, Jessica Washick, a nail artist and design director for Nike, suggests turning to a toned-down shade for fall and winter. “Greens have also been just super popular,” says Washick. “Green, in general, has been widely adopted as a neutral in fashion, especially when unsaturated, and I’ve increasingly seen this coming into nails and looking like a new neutral.“ For this understated funky look, nail artist @melanated.mani reached for Death Valley Nails polish in Sage.
With its shiny glimmer and smooth finish, this soft, muted-seafoam manicure by @isabelblakenails is an elegant look for any occasion.
3. Sweet Peach
Like an expertly baked peach pie, this trend takes a traditional bright color and transforms it into a sugary, burnt, ooey gooey delight that wears beautifully with your fall and winter outfits. Citing the 2024 pick for Pantone’s Color of the Year, Peach Fuzz, Nuñez predicts sweet peach will be everywhere. “Peach has really taken center stage on nails,” she says, noting that people are more likely to gravitate toward orange shades that channel the colorful changes in nature. “Think of it as more of a deep apricot versus a bright peach.” For this lovely floral mani, she turned to Essie’s Fab Florals.
4. Darkest Cherry
For this sultry, ultra-saturated look that instantly brings liqueur-soaked cherries to mind, Nuñez used Wicked by Essie. “I think this color doesn’t need an explanation,” she says. “It’s timeless, vampy, and eventually makes it into the fall manicure rotation.”
5. Neutral Yellow
Yellow is one of those shades we don’t see nearly enough in seasonal trend reports—a surprising absence, given its versatility and wearability for all skin tones. Fortunately, for fall and winter 2024, yellow-nude is in the air. “We’re coming off of a butter yellow kick,” says Washick, “so I anticipate that to evolve into a more neutral and/or taking on a shimmery touch.” This captivating yellow manicure from @melanated.mani elegantly encapsulates the trend.
If you still want a hint of buttery tones but don’t want to go “full-on movie theater” with your look, try a gentle yellow that straddles the border between warm and neutral, like this pretty, perfectly shaped manicure from @nailsbyalsn.
6. Deep, Moody Red
There’s nothing like a striking dark-red nail in the fall and winter, like this set from @isabelblakenails. “Deep reds are always important for the colder months,” says Washick. “I’m always here for the vampy and moody colors that will ensue.”
Surely, there’s a joke here about wearing your heart on your fingertips rather than your sleeve—truthfully, though, I’m too busy staring at this negative-space manicure by Washick to come up with it.
7. Matte Madness
Matte textures bring a vibe of sophistication and mystery to your fall manicure, like this multidimensional gradient look from @redeemed.and.polished. The cool color spectrum and that textural contrast between the glitter and matte finish are simply *chef’s kiss.* “Clients love matte nails this season—the satin finish can enhance the rich tones popular in the fall and winter,” says Nuñez.
For her viral sea glass nails, Washick used a matte topcoat, transforming a simple aquamarine manicure into a look that is so delicate that it almost seems breakable.
8. Punchy Orange
This juicy shade is often associated with the warmer months, but given that oranges are typically in season from December to March, doesn’t it seem like a bit of an oversight to skip it in the fall and winter? Keep things sophisticated and versatile with perfectly shaped tips and chic nail art, like @melanated.mani’s cool jelly manicure in a papaya-meets-pumpkin shade.
9. Vampy Burgundy
You sleek vixen, you. This brooding shade, modeled here by artist @lets_polish_the_town, always looks great during the chillier months and perfectly bridges the transition between fall and winter. Does it work for Halloween? Check. Holiday parties? Check. Valentine’s Day festivities? Check, check, check.
Afraid to DIY with a polish this dark? Take a page out of Nuñez’s tried-and-true book of pro tips: paint first, ask questions later. “If you accidentally paint outside the lines, take a clean-up brush and dip it into nail polish remover to clean up the excess polish and crisp up the cuticle area so the end result has that salon-quality finish,” she says, adding that you could even use an old eyeliner brush, provided that you never plan on using it for your face again.
10. Contemporary Goth Chic
Perhaps it’s my inner elder millennial goth talking, but I can’t stop seeing intense navy, profound plums, and borderline-black green shades everywhere I look, like this ultra-shiny manicure from @isabelblakenails. “I am looking forward to the Beetlejuice-ification of it all!” says Nuñez. “I think we will see more goth-inspired aesthetics this season and things will get more vampy.”
If you’re down with the darkness but prefer a little more drama (and sparkle), try a glitter-over-black manicure with a soft almond shape like this shimmery look created by @pretty.nails.111.
11. Demure Nails
“Demure has obviously taken over the internet and pop culture,” says Nuñez—and the nail-art world is no exception. But, you may wonder, what exactly might a set of “demure nails” entail? Nuñez explains that “the easiest way to translate that to nails is with a clean and gorgeous single-colored manicure, especially on short nails.” Case in point: this half-moon manicure she created using a vibrant lapis shade, though it would work well with any hue. Plus, it looks fantastic with short nails thanks to the “peekaboo action at the cuticle area.”
“Like Jools says, it’s for the divas that don’t do too much,” says Nuñez, adding that you can “never go wrong with a beautifully executed single-color manicure.” To take it up a notch at home, she recommends playing around with texture, geometry, and negative space, like this angular minimalist manicure. “The crisp lines and pop of color make short nails appear streamlined and not too busy,” she explains.
12. 3-D Textures
On top of playing with colors, designs, and finishes, nail artists like @kana___sugi are bringing textures into the mix. “Nail art is taking form in a textured, three-dimensional shape,” says Nuñez, noting that, in addition to artists’ sheer creativity and desire to innovate, this trend can likely be attributed to the availability of products that facilitate these types of designs, such as molding gel or 3-D rhinestone gels. “In the past, sculpting 3-D elements was solely done with acrylic and hard gel,” she explains, “but now there are more options to play with.”
13. Sparkly, With a Twist
We’ve all seen silver glitter manicures around New Year’s Eve and super-sparkly scarlets around the holidays, but who says you need to stick with just one color palette during any given season? This bold rainbow-on-black manicure by nail artist @lets_polish_the_town brings something new to the autumn-winter table. As a bonus, you can break this look back out in June to celebrate Pride.
14. Celestial Seasons
Whether you love to watch meteor showers on the beach (Geminids, anyone?) or simply ponder the placement of Mars on your astrological chart, celestial-inspired nails are an fun way to sparkle throughout the full season. Let designs, like this gorgeous nail art from @ardornail_sydney, to inspire a stellar look.
15. Cat-Eye Shine
Few manicures are as eye-catching as the cat-eye manicure, like this head–turning look created by Washick. “Finish is so huge,” she muses. “From cat-eye to reflective to galactic, there are so many great ways that polish itself can act as nail art just due to how it plays with light.”
If you want to catch the light without catching too many stares, you can stick to nude colors for your cat-eye manicure, like this subtle look from @nagisakaneko. “Liquid metals always come to life in low light situations, which are prevalent during holiday seasons as the days get shorter,” says Nuñez, adding that she’s observed people moving away from traditional glitter colors and more toward a “muted metallic space, which feels more premium, less girly, and more evolved.”
16. Pretty in Plaid
Does anything say “fall” quite like cozy plaid patterns? These black-and-red lumberjack nails by Washick are basically your favorite fleece-lined shacket in a manicure.
For those seeking a festive twist (or simply appreciate a good sparkle in your nail art), use metallic polishes like Nuñez did for this seasonal design.
17. A-Little-Less-Bratty Green
Not ready to leave behind this year’s biggest shade just yet? As a big fan of the so-called “brat green,” I get it: it’s one of the brightest, most fun color trends we’ve seen in years and there’s no rule that says autumn and winter have to revolve around deeper, darker shades. If you want to keep things relatively simple (in other words, not completely clashing with your outfit), try sticking with a single-color manicure like this one.
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