The 6 nail trends everyone should try at least once in 2024
2023’s nail trends were simple.
We stuck to uniform nail colours and maybe dipped our toes into a chrome dust if we felt really adventurous.
But as far as 2024 is concerned, minimalism is something to be reserved for other areas of your beauty regimen (read: your skin care routine and your first trip to the hair salon after the holidays).
As we ring in the new year, we’re doing away with the comfortable and familiar and stepping out into the unknown, pushing our personal aesthetic boundaries in the easiest way possible — with a manicure.
It’s time to indulge your girlish sensibilities and abandon all sensible ‘less is more’ mantras.
Ahead, you’ll find six nail trends everyone should try at least once in 2024.
Velvet nails
Velvet nails are nothing new — you may know the trend by another name — cat eye nails. But it seems salon goers have recently rediscovered their love for the simple but mesmerising look; #velvetnails has over 56,000 posts on Instagram and a whopping 91.2 million views on TikTok.
Much like gel nail polish, cat eye nail polish is applied to the nail plate and then cured under a UV light. However, cat eye nail polish contains tiny iron ore pigments that can be manipulated into different designs and shapes using magnets. The result looks similar to the sheeny swathe of brushed velvet, which as you might have guessed is where this trend gets its name from.
Bow nails
Bows are everywhere right now. They’re on the runways, they’re in our hair and now they’re on our nails. There are over 36,000 #bownails posts on Instagram alone, while TikTok views for the trend have skyrocketed to 28.3 million. Equal parts whimsical, girlypop and coquette, this trend is all about revelling in the innocence of motifs associated with girlhood.
Everything nails
Everything nails have been popular for a number of years now, and while there are a myriad of styles to try, it’s clear that in 2024 that trend is starting to look more refined. Expertly curated sets with carefully considered colour palettes, 3D elements and textures are starting to become commonplace. They also offer the opportunity to create something truly unique with your nail artist. Check out the hashtag #everythingnails on Instagram (45,000+ posts) and TikTok (1.9 million views) for inspiration for your next set.
Glass nails
The glass nails trend combines multiple techniques such as chrome dusting, 3D gel and the application of translucent, holographic nail foil stickers, and the end result looks like sunlight refracted through a window. The technique has garnered over 23 million views on TikTok, while Instagram houses over 224,000 #glassnails posts .
Baby blue nails
Yves Klein blue was the colour du jour of 2023, but it’s going to be all about baby blue nails in 2024. The lighter hue of blue is far easier to wear, especially if you’re more of a neutrals fan. With #babybluenails posts reaching 131,000+ on Instagram and 25.8 million views on TikTok, we expect to see plenty of French tip manicures in the pastel coloured shade next year…
Duo-chrome nails
Hailey Bieber popularised the chrome manicure with her glazed donut nails in 2022 and 2023. While we’re not doing away with chrome dust altogether in 2024, we are exploring new ways to use it, such as layering it with metallic or chrome nail polishes to create a duo chrome effect. We’ve started seeing nail artists utilise this technique to create duo-chrome 3D elements in their manicures, as well as all over the nail plate for a more traditional finish. Check out the hashtag #duochromenails on Instagram (11,339 posts) and TikTok (176.9K views) for some visual inspiration.
The new year is also the perfect time to start rocking a ‘Peach Fuzz’ manicure — it's the Pantone colour of the year for 2024.
Image credit: @nailsbyzola
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
