Spring Nail Trends

I'm a creature of habit when it comes to my nails. Most often I wear the "traditional" french manicure with the white tip. I also love color, so I'm all about the blues and others. However, I'm going to break the mold and try something new. While perusing the Allure website, I've decided that I'm going to try all white nails,  and white with a black strip. But first, the black and white checks. That one caught my eye immediately---I love it! I don't trust myself to do it home, so I'll head to the salon.

THE NEW FRENCH MANI

The French manicure is clawing its way back to chic—with a few crucial tweaks. The most important one: The line across the top of your nail should not attempt to look natural in any way. In fact, the color should be as unexpected as possible. At Monique Lhuillier's spring 2016 show, manicurist Gina Edwards paired Kelly-green tips with a sheer pink base. She painted the design freehand, but French-manicure stencil stickers (available at any drugstore) are great for creating a crisp line.

THE NEW FRENCH MANI

Orly Half-Moon Guides, $5 (orlybeauty.com).

Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer in Later Alligator, $9 (jcpenney.com).

SINGLE DOTS

Put googly eyes on anything and suddenly, it earns our unparalleled adoration. But the manicure at Adam Selman's spring 2016 show was more than adorable; it was cool. Manicurist Madeline Poole used four-millimeter nailheads dipped in navy polish to stamp perfect circles on bare nails. "Stick the point into an eraser so you're not holding something sharp," she says.

SINGLE DOTS

Cina Nail Art Dotting Marble Tool Kit, $7.99 (sallybeauty.com).

DUSKY SKY

A far cry from basic reds and pinks, this muted version of the classic spring pastel—shown here at Narciso Rodriguez's fall 2016 show—is unexpected and cool. Almost every major nail brand launched a few of these dusty shades this season as a segue to summer brights.

DUSKY SKY

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in DWS Cement Grey, $18 (illamasqua.com).

Smith & Cult Nail Polish in Stockholm Syndrome, $18 (net-a-porter.com).

Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab Pro nail polish in Get Lucky, $20 (deborahlipmmann.com).

ALL-WHITE NAILS

Even if this look, as seen on Nanette Lepore's spring 2014 runway, reminds you of that time you got creative with Wite-Out in elementary school, you have to admit: It's weirdly refreshing—and kind of like a palette cleanser for your nails.

ALL-WHITE NAILS

Burberry Nail Polish in Optic White, $22 (saks.com).

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss in Snow Storm, $3.89 (amazon.com).

OPI Infinite Shine 2 Lacquer in Non-Stop White, $12.50 (ulta.com).

CLEAN LINES

"Though it's minimalist, one line makes a huge impact," says manicurist Miss Pop of the vertical stripe (painted with a striping brush) she executed at Marissa Webb's spring 2016 show. And by huge impact, she means elongating the nail. Basically, you're wearing Gianvito Rossi stilettos on your fingertips.

CLEAN LINES

Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Striper in Black, $3.99 (ulta.com).

Winning Nails Striping Brush, $9.99 (sallybeauty.com).

ROYAL BLUE

This shade is a subtle step brighter than the brooding jewel tones that ruled your winter nail wardrobe. We also noticed (and liked) that it's ultravibrant during the day but rather sumptuous at night. It's like nail magic. Shown here: the look at Jenny Packham's spring 2016 show.

ROYAL BLUE

Guishem nail polish in Cobalt Blue Crème, $14 (guishem.com).

Essie nail polish in Butler Please, $8.50 (walmart.com).

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in I Sea the Point, $5.45 (amazon.com).

CHECKERS

This sporty gingham pattern is the definition of spring. But if you're looking at this manicure thinking you're more likely to solve a Rubik's Cube than to successfully paint perfect squares, we get it—and so did manicurist Naomi Yasuda, who did the look at Opening Ceremony's spring 2016 show. Instead of trying to make tiny boxes with the tip of a brush, she used tape.

How to get the look:
1. Paint your nails with the lighter of the two colors you're using. In this case, white.
2. Cut five three-inch strips of Scotch tape and paint the nonsticky side with the darker color.
3. Once dry, cut the polished tape into tiny squares.
4. Create a checkerboard design by placing three or four squares on each nail. (Use tweezers for precision.)
5. Trim the tape at the edges of your nails with cuticle nippers. Seal with topcoat.

CHECKERS

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in White on White, $6.99 (sallybeauty.com).

Scotch Magic Tape in Dispenser, $1.99 (officedepot.com).

China Glaze Nail Polish in Liquid Leather, $7.50 (jcpenny.com).

LEATHER AND METAL

"Nails are similar to shoes or bags. You see brown leather with silver hardware—it's funny you don't see that nail-color combination more often," says Poole, who did the look at 3.1 Phillip Lim's spring 2016 show. If you think about it, nails are like mini accessories for your hands.

LEATHER AND METAL

Brown and silver:
• Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in All Bark, $7.99 (ulta.com).

• Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Color in Buffalo Nickel, $7.49 (target.com).

Khaki and rose gold:
• Butter London Patent Shine 10X Nail Lacquer in Khaki, $18 (butterlondon.com).

• Nars Nail Polish in Pastorale, $20 (barneys.com).

Black and gold:
• Formula X Nail Polish in Dark Matter, $10.50 (sephora.com).

• Essie nail polish in No Place Like Chrome, $8.50 (ulta.com).

GLASS NAILS

If you're manicure-obsessed, you're likely already following@nail_unistella on Instagram. (If you're not, do so immediately.) The account is run by Korean manicurist and salon owner Park Eun Kyung and she's the one to thank for the glass-nails trend, shown here at Creatures of Comfort's fall 2016 show.

GLASS NAILS

Unistella Glass Nail stickers, $8 (glowrecipe.com).

allure.com