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The Best Fall Nail Ideas to Inspire Your Next At-Home Manicure
That fall feeling is definitely in the air at the moment and, although I am a spring/summer girl through and through, I’ve always loved the switch from warm summer days to cozy fall evenings.
This season has a lot of things to look forward to, Halloween, the changing of the leaves, getting comfy by a crackling by the fire — and of course, fall-inspired nails!
I’ve been steering well clear of dark nail polish for the past couple of months as I go for bright or pastel hues during the warmer months, but I’m already feeling so inspired for my upcoming fall nails.
I’ve been pinning inspiration like crazy, ready to take to the nail salon, here are some of the fall nail design trends you’ll be seeing on my nails this year!
Colors You Need for Fall Nail Design
Whether you’re going with an intricate 3D design, or trying your hand at painting some fall leaves on your nails, there are some staple nail polish shades that are a must-have for all of these nail designs to try.
Here’s a list of some of the nail colors I think you need for fall nail art, plus links to where you can buy them online:
- Essie Wicked
- OPI Got The Blues for Red
- Beetles Dusty Rose
- Sally Hansen Mauve Over
- Beetles Oxblood Red
- Essie Unguilty Pleasures
- Beetles Brown Gel Nail Polish
- OPI You Don’t Know Jacques!
- Beetles Chocolate Coffee
Basic Tools for An At-Home Nail Look
Since doing my nails at home, I have started to take nail art very seriously. When you’re just starting out, you can get away with repurposing tools to create nail art — like the bottom of a makeup brush to create dots etc.
But, now I pretty much exclusively do my own nails, I’ve built up a collection of more professional nail tools that make recreating all of these design ideas so much easier.
Here;’s a starter kit of products I think any at-home nail artist needs to have in their kit:
- A good quality base and top coat
- Manicure tool kit
- Cuticle oil
- Nail brushes and dotting tools
- Chrome powders
- Cat-eye nail polishes
- Fine-brush gel polish for nail art
Nail Art Ideas For Your Fall Nail Design
Whether you’re doing your nails with gel polish at home or heading to your favorite salon, these are the perfect nail designs to get you into the fall spirit.
Halloween Nails
I’m not the biggest fan of crazy Halloween nails, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to get into the spooky spirit.
I like how these nails are clearly Halloween-themed but are a bit more simple and subtle.
Colors to recreate this look:
Aura Nails
I have been seeing aura nails all over the internet recently, mainly with brighter colors but I like how this design uses deeper blue tones to make it more fall-appropriate.
If you’re doing this yourself at home, you can use eyeshadow to create the aura blue in the center of the nails, or your nail artist will have all the right tools to do this more professionally.
Colors you’ll need:
The Autumn French Tip
Take your usual French mani and turn it into the perfect fall nail inspo! The tortoise shell nail trend is one of my favorites for fall nail art, and this trendy design, in particular, is the perfect way to transition your french manicure into the cooler seasons.
This always looks best on an almond nail shape, but you could also easily make it work for short nails or square nail.
Colors you’ll need:
Keep it Matte
I’m not normally one for matte nails, but I think when it’s used in an artistic way it can really work. Case in point, these matte brown french tips.
With these nails, you would paint your entire nail in a chocolate brown color, and then use a matte top coat just on the tips. It gives a nice contrast without having to use multiple nail polishes.
Colors you’ll need:
My Go-To Fall Color
When it comes to a nail color for autumn nail designs, 9 times out of 10 I’m probably going to go for a deep red wine color – you just can’t go wrong.
I have so many gel nail polishes in this color and I just love it so much, it always give me such fall vibes.
Colors you’ll need:
3D Fall Nail Design
I’m so in awe of the nail artists who are creating these absolute works of art of people’s nails. 3D nail art has been a really big thing recently, and I think people will continue getting creative over fall/winter.
Experiment with different colors, designs, chrome, or even some glitter to spice up your nails. It may mean sitting in the nail salon a little bit longer, but when you get results that look like these, it’s well worth the wait.
Tools and polishes you’ll need:
Chrome Nails Are Still In
Chrome nails are showing no signs of going anywhere fast, and I am super happy about it.
Rather than the typical chrome on nude nails, you can bring this trend into the fall season by using your favorite fall colors as the base for the chrome. Think black nails, orange nails, or a nice deep rose like in the image above.
Colors you’ll need:
Simple nail designs
If you’re used to a single colour polish, I’d definitely recommend getting into designs more. These fall nail trends are the perfect opportunity to spice up your mani to create pretty nails.
I like this idea for nail art as it’s very simple and subtle – if you’re doing your own nails at home, they would be very simple to recreate as long as you have a small brush to paint the lines on with.
Colors you’ll need:
- Beetles Chocolate Coffee
- Beetles White
- OPI Alpine Snow
- OPI You Don’t Know Jacques!
- Fine-brush gel polish for nail art
Press-on Nails Options
Maybe you don’t have the time or skill to do your own nail art, or aren’t able to get down to a salon, that’s where press-on nails can really come in handy.
I use press-on nails all the time when I want my nails to look fresh in an instant – plus, they last much better than you would think!
Here are some of my favorite press on nails that incorporate some of the best fall nail art ideas.
Olive & June Press-Ons Velvet
Fall is the perfect time to crack out the dark red nails, and these velvet red nails from Olive & June are so perfect for any fall outfit.
They could also be really good for Halloween nail designs!
Chillhouse Chill Tips – Wavy Baby
A simple yet effective nail design I found is these ‘wavy baby’ tips from chillhouse.
With a white nail polish background and fun black lines, these are a really fun take on the more intricate nail designs that are going to be super popular this fall.
Sally Hansen Press-On Nails Kit – Hyp-Nautical
These press-on nails from Sally Hansen give the same vibe as the aura nails I mentioned above, one of the biggest trends for this autumn season.
I love the dark, inky blue and the slight gradient into the lighter shade. These are going to be so perfect for fall.
It’s Time For The Perfect Fall Nails
I hope this post has given you lots of inspo for your next mani, let me know if you pick any of the designs I shared!
