New year, new nails. But what exactly will our manicures look like in 2022? From metallics and chromes to lettered stickers, the industry’s foremost nail experts share their trend predictions.

Multicoloured metallics: “Metallic styles are evolving. Until last year, the most common style was to dye the nails all over, but my nail artists are increasingly designing metallics in a variety of styles. Gold, silver, unicorns, and various shiny chrome powders are being incorporated into traditional designs, for a playful twist.”

Ring Nail: “Silver and gold ornaments are now not only adorning our fingers but are also adorning our nails. With the invention of thin, three-dimensional lines and nail products that look like rings, we can create any form of jewellery. The style goes very well with magnetic nails.”

Black-tipped French manicures: “The base colour of the nail design we created for the Laquan Smith show at New York Fashion Week was a nude colour that gently blended with the skin. However, the tip of the nail was a jet black French style with sharp lines. A style that combines gentleness with unique strength, this is how French nails have evolved.”

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Customisation and personalisation: “Customisation and personalisation are hot on my list for nail trends in 2022. Spearheaded by the likes of Harry Styles, who recently launched his Pleasing beauty range (including a capsule collection of four nail colours), this trend is all about expressing your inner beauty mood via your fingertips. Feeling a moody, black nail one day?  Easily switch this up on a whim the next by layering over the gorgeous iridescent shade Pearly Tops, thereby creating a second dreamy look. Choose different shades for different fingers. Layer, experiment, play.”

Lettered nail stickers: “There’s also lettered nail stickers coming soon, enabling you to express your opinion or mood through language on your digits. As seen in the Gucci Aria campaign, logomania and personalisation will be massive trends next year. Keep it simple with your initials, or sport your favourite designer brand name.”

Experimental French manicures:“French manicures are always trendy. It doesn’t need to be with pink and white colours, it can be a clear base with colourful tips, your favourite colour combos, a matte colour base with glossy tips, or different colour tips on each nail.”

High-quality metallics: “There will be a big shift towards metallics. We’ve already seen chromes and decadent glitters come to light at the end of this year, but I think brands will start producing top quality metallic polishes and gel paints.”

Nail health:“I think another continuing trend will be nail and hand health. Brands like Diptyque, Neom and Byredo are producing luxury hand scrubs with incredible scents that consumers won’t be able to resist!”

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Classic French manicures: “People are leaning toward simplicity and the classics when it comes to nail art. Reimagined French manicures are going to be everywhere, whether it’s an outline French, ombré French, or traditional French. The classic pink and white is clean and will complement any colour palette, so I know it’s a trend that’s going to be a staple in 2022.”

Matte nails: “Matte colours give a different texture without having to visually complicate the manicure. Trends are becoming simpler, and a matte top coat makes any colour more interesting. Try an opaque nude like Essie’s​​ Topless And Barefoot. It looks like brushed concrete. So expensive.”

Light reflective glitter: “How do I describe this? Think of a cat eye on the road when a flashlight hits it. Light reflective glitter does exactly the same. When nails are in natural light they have a nice sparkle, but when a flash hits them, they glow! Light reflective nails look great as a design or as a feature of a French mani or an ombre. It’s also really fun for a pedicure.”

Bling embellishments: “As we’re coming into the party season (hopefully parties will still be on the cards this year), a little bit of bling is an easy way to spice up any manicure. It’s also a trend that can go as maximalist or minimalist as you like. Cuffs are cute, and so are single crystals placed in the same spot on each nail. Several of my clients regularly opt for a crystal manicure, they’re actually quite popular. Apply crystals with a small dot of nail glue and use top coat to secure. My go-to top coat is Essie Gel Couture for the ultimate shine with zero shrinkage. My go-to sparkles are always Crystals by Preciosa. ”

3D: “As nail technology keeps evolving, the latest trend incoming is 3D manicures. This is where your nail professional creates a 3D design using builder gel on the nail. This can be used to accentuate a design underneath – think swirls and outlines. It looks super cool and is very popular in Korea and Japan right now.”

Blooming gel manicure: “Blooming gel is quite niche, but such an amazing product. Essentially, it helps to diffuse gel polish on the nail, creating a barrier so the design doesn’t merge or bleed. You can create some really interesting and cool designs using it – like Dua Lipa’s snake tips mani. If you don’t wear gel manicures, you can still recreate a similar effect by dotting colours into a wet clear base. Work quickly though, this works best when the polish is super wet.”

Dark side: “As we’re coming into the colder months and shorter days, nothing beats a chic dark mani.  As seen on Adele recently (in her “Easy On Me” video), this chic manicure is timeless and works on every length or shape nail – even the shortest of nails look good dark. Think Cab Sauv, dark grape, rouge noir, and even navy and dark greens if you want to step away from the more obvious shades. Wicked by Essie will be a forever favourite of mine.”

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The ’00s: “The French manicure made an epic comeback this year and is here to stay, alongside its sibling the American mani, which has a softer, more natural white tip. Other ’00s trends include square shaped nails (yes, square is back and very cool again), flicks and dots, tribal tattoo style designs and iridescent base colours. Incorporate any of the above into a French nail, and you’ve basically bossed the The Simple Life assignment.”

Gender-inclusive nail art: “Thanks to musicians like Bad Bunny, MGK and Harry Styles, male manicures are becoming normalised. It helps reinforce that nail art is gender-inclusive and that there should be no limitations on who gets to express themselves with a manicure. I’m inspired and excited to continue to see this trend evolve.”

Manis with a message: “Nail art decals are very popular and continue to be because they are easy to apply for the nail pro and even the consumer. They aren’t going anywhere, in fact some brands will continue to lean into the trend. How I see it morphing though is with a shift in focus towards letters versus images. For example, Lil Yachty’s polish brand Crete, and Harry Styles beauty brand Pleasing both launched nail decals featuring the alphabet. This allows users to easily spell out any message on their nails they feel is worth sharing.”

’90s nails: “Classic ’90s nails are in for next year: short, French, deep reds and browns.”

Optical nail art: “As for nail art, I’ve been really inspired by optical prints like wavy lines and graphic circles.”

Bold nails: “Nail trends for 2022 will definitely be lots of patterns, colour, texture and length. I feel like square is going to be making a big comeback, also. Purples and rich colours, and matte! Lots of matte!”

This story was originally published on Vogue.co.uk 

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