Fall Is Actually the Best Time to Wear Bright, Bold Nail Art
From groovy florals to funky cow print.
Photographs: Jess Pettway
Switching to dark, moody nail polishes come fall is one of the many arbitrary beauty rules that are made to be broken. Bright shades and expressive designs shouldn’t be reserved only for the summertime. In fact, the crisp, breezy fall days are the best time of year to wear loud manicures.
It’s actually been scientifically proven that bright colors like pink, orange, and yellow are mood boosters and associated with the feeling of joy. And who couldn’t use some extra cheer as the daylight hours get progressively shorter?
Together with Essie celebrity manicurist Steph Stone, we've highlighted six playful fall nail art trends created with a palette of vivid nail polish colors. Perfect to pep up this otherwise sleepy season.
Sharp Lines
Jess Pettway
Top marks in math aren’t necessary to ace this simple yet striking geometric manicure. With endless possible color combinations, the design can easily be customized. However, bold contrasting shades like lime green, magenta, and lavender make for an eye-catching take on the design. Plus, the color trend for fall 2022 is pretty much all of them.
Shades Used:
essie Nail Polish in Piece of Work, Pencil me In, and In Pursuit of Craftiness, $10 each; ulta.com
essie Gel Couture Top Coat, $13; ulta.com
Ring: Missoma Fused Ridge Signet Ring, $188; missoma.com
Groovy Florals
Jess Pettway
Excuse the cliche but there’s no better way of putting it: flowers for spring aren’t groundbreaking, but flowers for fall? Now, that’s an exciting manicure. Instead of painting daisies in pastel nail polish shades, go with rich pink and brown for a retro feel. Better yet, alternating the base and flower colors on a couple nails is a fun, unexpected detail.
Shades Used:
essie Nail Polish in Sew Gifted and Paintbrush It Off, $10 each; ulta.com
essie Gel Couture Top Coat, $13; ulta.com
Bracelet: Missoma Dome Cuff Bracelet, $175; missoma.com
Half Moons
Jess Pettway
Sure, the half-moon manicure hasn’t technically gone anywhere, but it’s taken a backseat to other nail art trends in recent years. For fall 2022, the classic design has made its triumphant return. A traditional half-moon manicure will always look chic, but experimenting with the placement of the moons and painting the shapes in different colors like trendy lime green and pumpkin orange looks ridiculously cool.
Shades Used:
essie Nail Polish in Cut It Out, To DIY For and Piece of Work, $10 each; ulta.com
essie Gel Couture Top Coat; $13; ulta.com
Funky Cow Print
Jess Pettway
Warning: a cow-print manicure may elicit a ton of enthusiastic “yeehaws.” Animal prints tend to go in and out of fashion with each season, and fall 2022 is all about the wild West. Instead of a traditional black-and-white print, get funky with a baby pink and lavender color scheme.
Shades Used:
essie Nail Polish in In Pursuit of Craftiness and Sew Gifted, $10 each; ulta.com
essie Gel Couture Top Coat, $13; ulta.com
Pearl Core
Jess Pettway
Harry Styles single-handedly brought back the pearl necklace from the jewelry boxes of grandmas everywhere. While pearl jewelry is still going strong this fall, adding the gemstones to a cool lavender manicure is a unique way to partake in the trend.
Shades Used:
essie Nail Polish in In Pursuit of Craftiness, $10; ulta.com
essie Gel Couture Top Coat, $13; ulta.com
Pearls: Manicurist's own.
Heart French Tips
Jess Pettway
Express your love and devotion for this iconic design by opting for heart-shaped tips in lieu of traditional white ones. Instead of doing a French tip on every nail, choose two accent nails and paint the rest of the nails a warm coral-red tone to add a playful touch to the manicure.
Shades Used:
essie Gel Couture Nail Polish in Fairy Tailor, $13; ulta.com
essie Nail Polish in Handmade With Love and Pencil Me In, $10 each; ulta.com
essie Gel Couture Top Coat, $13; ulta.com
Ring: Missoma Harris Reed Star of the Show Pearl Signet Ring, $136; missoma.com
Photographs
Jess Pettway
Nails
Steph Stone using essie's Handmade With Love Collection
Models
Parts Models
Art Direction & Set Design
Party of One Studio
Beauty Direction
Erin Lukas
Creative Director
Jenna Brillhart
Senior Visuals Editor
Kelly Chiello
Associate Photo Editor
Amanda Lauro
Production
Charley Stone
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