The 'Soap Nails' trend is 2025's answer to the minimalist manicure
The nail trends of 2025 are all about enjoying the indulgence of a manicure in the current cost-of-living crisis.
We're looking to our refrigerators for inspiration (read: the milky nails trend) and being introduced to new subcultures online that influence our nail art too (think: goddess and sea-inspired).
But what about the classics? Expect to see more of the monochromatic minimalism of an at-home manicure using a a single, albeit on-trend, shade of nail polish in Mocha Mousse.
Speaking of minimalism, neutral manicures in 2025 are fresh, clean, and inspired by one of life's bare necessities — introducing: soap nails.
What are soap nails?
Soap nails are intended to look freshly manicured all the time, not just five minutes after your salon appointment.
Polish is applied in sheer layers to match the hue of the nail plate, and the finish should look transparent, glossy and wet, like soapy water.
However, it's not the nail colour, but the manicure itself that's the most important part of this nail trend.
Cuticles and nails should be neatly and carefully trimmed. It's also a good idea to exfoliate the hands — don't forget to keep them well-hydrated with a cuticle oil and hand cream.
What nail polish colours work well with the soap nails trend?
Soap nails don't have a prescriptive colour palette, so if you want to stick to a tried and true classic nude like OPI's Bubble Bath ($18.99 from Chemist Warehouse), Essie's Ballet Slippers ($11.99 from MYER), or Pax Polish's Malala ($31 from Sephora) that'll work here.
A single coat of the stuff is all you'll need to achieve a transparent soapy finish, but you can also customise the opacity of your nail colour by mixing a nude polish with a clear top coat.



Don't have a nude nail polish in your kit? Hailey Bieber's nail artist always has these 3 nude nail polishes on hand.
Main image credit: @lefevrediary

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).