5 Nail Art Trends To Try Right Now

BY: VANESSA ROBERTS

Remember those days when to “do your nails” meant a sheer coat of beige, light pink or clear? (or even just a buff and polish?) Whilst the classic nail still has it’s place (especially if you work in corporate, hospitality or healthcare), the plain nail looks positively ancient when compared to nail art trends circa 2014.

Whilst there are many super-crazy nail art trends out there (EXHIBIT A below) there are also a few ways to bring your nails into the modern era whilst still looking stylish and sophisticated.

Get ready to hire a cleaner because once you’ve got these nail art trends happening on your tips, you’ll want them to stay!

Exhibit A – Don’t try this at home. Unless home is the Harajuku district of Japan. Image: trisoriblog.com

1. Multi-Coloured Nails

Image: Pinterest

If you want to try the multi-coloured nails trend, then the best way to do it is by keeping all the colours at least vaguely related. That means using various shades of the same tone (greys and neutrals as above), or colours that different yet highly complimentary.

Unless you want to look like you dabbled in a pre-schooler’s paint box, or just couldn’t decide, avoid doing each nail in a completely different colour (and avoid using only primary colours – eek!)

 2. Ombre Nails

Image: lunaloveschocolate.com

It was only a matter of time before the ombre craze extended down from our hair to our hands. Probably best leaving the application to the professionals, ombre nails allow you to dabble in various colours at once whilst still remaining classy and wearable.

This updated nail look is a great option for special occasions (blood red nails above would have been great for Halloween for instance) and are a definite conversation starter!

3. Matte Nails

Image: BWA’s Pinterest

Move over glossy, matte nails have taken over as THE nail look of late. This look is so easy to achieve (either by applying a matte top coat to your favourite polish, using steam to matt-ify, or applying a ready-made matt lacquers.)

This work-friendly update is instantly modern and the best part is you don’t need any special skills to do this one yourself.

4. Going Graphic

Image: BWA’s Pinterest

Ok, so this look requires you to be ambidextrous and great with sticky-tape, but if you’re willing to give this look a try the results will be worth it! Such a cool and modern way to refresh your nails, the graphic nail trend can be adapted into stripes, half-and-half colours, or tri-colour triangles as shown.

This quirky-cool nail trend is great for showing off multiple colours at once and works on both long and short nails. For best results though, go to a professional.

5. Odd One Out

Image: http://styleonsite.com/

Another super-wearable nail update for 2014 and beyond is the feature nail or “odd one out.” Break up your nails with one nail that is a completely different colour. The most popular way to do this is by using a complimentary sparkle or glitter polish on your feature nail.

Using a metallic can “prettify” dark colours such as black, grey and navy blue and means NO clashing.

What do you think of the latest nail trends for 2014/2015? Let us know if you are a fan, and if you would be willing to give them a try in the comments below! 

RELATED – Celebrity Hair Inspiration For All Lengths

READ NEXT – Beauty How-To: Metallic Nails