There’s a longstanding internet adage among style enthusiasts: “I can’t wait until it gets colder so I can really start dressing.” Under this school of thought, fall is fashion’s peak season. The same can be said for beauty. Without having to account for makeup melting off of your face from humidity or lashes getting coated in ice (true story: that actually happened to me one particularly frigid Canadian winter), fall beauty is full of possibilities and nail art is where they all come together. After a summer chock full of rosy dusted chrome powder, airbrushed aura nails, and textured French tips, fall nail art trends are upping the ante without dialing into the season’s cornier sensibilities—no pumpkin spice-inspired palettes here.
To get an accurate reading on the fall nail trends that should be on our radar, we tapped celebrity nail techs Mei Kawajiri and Tammy Taylor for their top fall 2022 nail trend predictions for short nails and longer tips. Spoiler alert: They're way more fun than you may expect.
Punk-Inspired Nails
Punk’s not dead! Per Kawajiri, the Y2K punk revival that has flooded our feeds for most of this year (and last year) is getting a second wind. This time, it’s taking a cue from the gothic graphic eyeliner trend.
“Everyone is doing tribal makeup and crazy eyeliner with linework,” the New York-based nail artist tells Coveteur. “Nail art with edgy tribal shapes is trendy—lots of red, black, and charms, too!” This trend has Taylor’s cosign, too. She tells Coveteur that "the vibe for this fall is definitely rock and roll, which is one of my absolute favorites.”
Recreate the Trend:
Greyscale Nails
Fall and neutral hues just go together. And this season, the neutral our nail techs should stock up on is grey. “I’ve been seeing a lot of gray and stone colors,” Kawajiri says. “Those colors aren’t conventionally beautiful or bright.” But this isn’t limited to traditional concrete shades of grey. She described seeing a lot of “greens, but grey-ish green, nude, but grey-ish nude and pink, but a faded pink. Those colors are very cool for fall.” To add texture, she says that you’re likely to catch these stoney hues with a matte top coat.
Recreate the Trend:
Espresso Nails
Nails to match your coffee order? Yes, please. Brown nails aren’t an everyday find, but Kawajiri says that they’re on the trend horizon this fall. To create the look, she reaches for the browns in her collab with Nails Inc and Magnum (yes, the ice cream bar). “I love the idea of a two-tone French tip with a brown base with a brown tip,” she adds. “Those are very cute.” The brown trend goes beyond our fingernails—brown toes are having a moment, too, Kawajiri says.
Recreate the Trend:
Pearlescent Nails
You haven’t seen the last of the many splendored glazed donut nail popularized by Hailey Bieber. "Bieber’s chrome nails got so popular, but that type of shimmery shine used to be more popular among [an older demographic]. Pearly nails are coming back,” Kawajiri says. To experience the full scope of the trend’s versatility, Kawajiri suggests experimenting with different base colors, like milky white or baby pink—just like that, a pearly shimmer transforms into a warm rose gold.
Recreate the Trend:
Multicolor French Tips
This fall, five colors are better than one. "Multicolor French tips are one of my favorite simple nail trends I've been doing for years," Taylor tells Coveteur. This is the ideal trend to try when you're feeling indecisive before a trip to your nail tech. "The possibilities are endless," Taylor says. "You can do a different color on each hand or a different color on every nail. I personally love using three to five colors." To give the nail art an artistic edge, she thinks of the palettes for her multicolor French tips as color stories.
Recreate the Trend:
Low-Contrast French Tips
Would you try a tonal French mani? If you’ve been toying with the idea of a monochromatic, low-contrast French, this fall is the time to give it a try. “White and nude is a classic French combo, but less contrasting colors are cool, too,” Kawajiri says. She suggests playing with shades like white and off-white, or an ashy grey with a concrete-colored tip.
