9 Nail Trends You Need to Try this Fall

Every woman has her favorite go-to style whether it’s French tips or that one accent nail that pops out from the rest. While these traditional trends have proven their staying power, it’s always fun to try something different every now and then. We’ve seen a multitude of nail styles that have gone just as quickly as they came over the years. Sometimes a few of them will even return to make a cameo on some influencer’s Instagram feed to satisfy the tastes of those looking for new nail feats for a short season.

Fads can be fickle — but they can also be fun. The past couple of years gave a lot of people the time to surf the net, learn new hobbies, and tap into their creative potential. As a result, several nail trends and tips have started popping up, or making a comeback.

The possibilities are endless now that so many nail polishes, accessories, and tools are available. Being able to purchase these items directly instead of carving out time and spending money for a nail salon appointment is an added bonus. If you like the pampering of the nail shops or just don’t see yourself doing your own nails, you can always visit your favorite nail lady to give some new trends a try too. Do whatever works for you, but make sure you give one or a few of these styles a try.

The following nail trends range in difficulty from beginner level designs to advanced, intricate styles that incorporate decals, stickers, line-work, and other things of the sort. Check out the nail trends below for some inspiration for your fall 2022 nails.

1. Vertical Ombre

Vertical Ombre nails have taken the classic ombre gradient trend and kicked it up; let’s say…100 notches. This look is achieved by painting the nails with two different colors and then blending. After blending a French tip transposing the colors is painted on to the nail, blended, and then cleaned up with a nailbrush. This is one of the more difficult designs to execute but it is one of the most appealing! Vertical Ombre sets are rumored to be going for as much as $30 a nail due to the amount of time it takes to paint the design.

2. Negative Space

Negative Space nails leave a little bit of the nail bed visible. Painting a part of the nail and following up with a clear topcoat creates the look. The look is similar to the nude color placed under the classic French white tip, sans the nude polish. Negative space nails give a classic trend a modern twist — not to mention, you also get to use less polish so your bottles will last a little bit longer. The difficulty of this trend can span from super easy to extremely difficult, depending on the style you’re doing with the colored polish.

3. Doughnut Glazed

Doughnut Glazed nails are actually an old trend that was made popular again by social media. Chrome powder nails have been around for quite some time, and come in a wide variety of colors. The Doughnut Glazed trend calls for a specific color palette. This is a simple nail design that can be done with a just a few items. For these nails a base coat of clear polish followed by light layers of OPI Gel Color Funny Bunny. After curing with a top coat and wiping with alcohol, Magic OPI Chrome Effect Powder in Tin Man Can is rubbed onto the nail with a small brush. The nails should be cleaned with a dust brush and cured with another clear top coat to finish the effect. This is one of the easiest trends to rock, even the least experienced people can pull this one off!

4. Squiggles

The Squiggle design has also been around for a while but it seems to be making a big comeback. This nail trend can range in difficulty from easy to moderate. It really depends on your ability to work with a thin line brush. The squiggles can be paired with any nail design so long as there is space for them to be painted on the nail. They’re also starting to be pop up in the same sets with some of the new nail trends like negative space and droplet nails.

5. Solid Gradient

Solid Gradient nails are one of the most versatile nail trends on the scene. This is because they can be done with any color, as long as there are at least five different shades of the color readily available. Solid Gradient nails give a single color to each nail. The colors should be arranged from light to dark (or vice versa) to get the look. For instance, if you wanted to do a Red gradient you could use the following colors and paint them on in order from dark to light: maroon, burgundy, ruby red, crimson, and scarlet. This is one of the easiest looks to achieve because it only requires a single color, free of designs and decorations per nail. The only downside to this trend is that you have to work with about seven bottles of polish (five, seven when you add in the base and top coats).

6. Raindrop

Raindrop nails are fun because the trend can be paired with pretty much any nail design. This trend makes it look like there are little drops of morning dew resting on your nails. This look can be done with small dollops of either a clear acrylic powder or a clear non-wipe topcoat. The difficulty level for this trend lands in the middle of the scale. You won’t need a lot of tools but you will have to make sure that your dollops are shaped perfectly. You’ll also want to make sure they don’t run and turn into an uneven topcoat of clear. This style also calls for a longer drying time as the polish is more concentrated and may not set internally right away.

7. Two-Toned French Manicure

Two-Toned French manicured tips are another spin on a well-revered classic. This nail trend takes the simple white French tip manicure and amplifies it with some color. These designs are created just like you would a French manicure using two different colors in place of the classic white. To create this look you will need to paint one side of the tip with a color, then the next side with the other color, followed by cleaning it up with a nailbrush. While French tips are a classic style they can be a little difficult to achieve if you aren’t the best at line-work. If you’ve got a grip on the French manicure style, this one shouldn’t be hard to replicate.

8. Aurora

The Aurora nail trend is probably one of the most aesthetically fascinating styles right now. This look is a bit more difficult to do however; it can be successfully carried out with a little time and patience. Start with a clear base followed by a light iridescent shade of your choice. After curing and wiping the nails with alcohol, brush the nail with a chrome powder, then top, and cure with a clear coat. . Next you will need to cut a piece of iridescent nail film and place it on the nail. Make sure that the nail film is smaller than the nail; some of the nail bed should be visible around the perimeter of the nail film. Cure the nail film and follow up with several coats of clear builder gel, followed up with some buffing and polishing. This extensive process results in a super trippy three-dimensional look.

9. Aura

While similar to the Aurora trend, the Aura nail is a little different and doesn’t require as many tools or steps. This trend will give all the millennials some joy. This nail style is achievable with skilled airbrush methods. This is one of the more difficult trends and is probably best left to the professionals. If you just happen to have an airbrush machine on hand and actually know what you’re doing with it, by all means — do your thing! Typically a base color will be painted over all of the nails, followed by a few different sized airbrushed spots with a couple of other colors to create a spray-painted gradient effect. It doesn’t require as much product or as many layers as the Aurora nail but still gives off a three-dimensional effect.