‘Naked nails’ is the quiet luxury manicure trending right now

Hailey Bieber may be the high priestess of maximalist manicures. But against all odds, social media has made a hard pivot away from clashing mismatched nails, crowning naked nails and their silky pink afterglow the hottest trend of the summer.

Indeed, judging by the way naked nails are permeating our Instagram feeds, it seems few can resist the siren call of doing less as temperatures soar, with one TikToker going so far as to dub 2023 ‘naked nail girl summer’.

“I’ve seen a ton of people rocking naked nails,” content creator @sydneyv.nichols says in a viral video, which has already racked up over 1 million views. “I am so sick of going to a nail salon every two weeks to sit and get a gel manicure.”

Naked nails also reflects the current mood for ‘quiet luxury’. After all, a thoughtfully assembled, barely-noticeable manicure screams polished and put together in the same way as glossy, ‘no makeup’ makeup does.

The trend is exactly as it sounds: buffed, effortlessly elegant nails, where your natural tips show through clean and white. We're talking seriously healthy nails here. "The look is timelessly chic and enhances the natural beauty of your nails, giving them a very fresh finish,” says Daisy Kalnina, founder of The Gel Bottle Inc.

Naked nails two ways

The internet is flooded with inspiration but ultimately naked nails can be interpreted two different ways.

1. Polish-free nails

The first iteration is a completely polish-free nail, with impeccably pushed back and trimmed cuticles, a buffed nail plate and little else except for perhaps a treatment base coat.

Manicurist Paris has a wardrobe of base coats to match your nails' particular needs, including After Glow, which saturates the nail with hydrating sweet almond oil, while imparting rosy French manicure-like luminosity. Also good for a ‘your nails but better’ finish is the Dior Abricot Base Coat and Nails Inc. Back To Life Recovery Treatment and Base Coat.

For an at-home DIY manicure, nail expert Betina Goldstein recommends a stellar line up of skincare products in this video posted on her Instagram.

After filing, buffing and trimming her cuticles she mists the nail bed with Thayers Rose Petal Facial Toner. She can then be seen working the Ouai Scalp & Body Scrub from her wrists to her fingertips before a layer of Thayers Radiance-Boosting Balm is applied over the hands and nails.

The pièce de résistance, however, is a drop of La Mer The Renewal Oil on each cuticle, which she subsequently massages over the nail bed for a healthy sheen.

2. Sheer neutral polishes

Don't fancy going completely naked? The other iteration of the trend is nails painted in hushed hues for the type of elevated ‘faux naturel’ finish beloved by celebrities such as Sofia Richie and Margot Robbie.

"Ask your nail artist for a sheer, natural-looking manicure,” notes Daisy, who recommends customers ask for The Gel Bottle's Au Naturel shade. Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in 111 Ballerina is the cool girl's go-to polish on Instagram thanks to its milky tint. Other hero shades include Essie Nail Colour 6 Baller Slippers and Hermès Nail Enamel in 01 Rose Porcelaine, built up in two thin layers to mirror the natural tone of your unpolished nails.

Meanwhile manicurist to the stars, Tom Bachik has coined the term ‘angel nails’ to describe the sheer wash and hint-of-pink nail colour he adorned Selena Gomez's nails with. After all, who said a minimalist manicure had to be boring?

This article first appeared on www.glamourmagazine.co.uk

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