If you’ve shed your old acrylics, are biting your nails from nerves, or are just plain bored, it’s time for one thing, and one thing only: a manicure. Salons have been shut down for some time now (to the dismay of many, and if this is you, I simply ask you to reassess your values) and it’s hard to get that at-home mani just right.

Thankfully, this is a blessed time for those with damaged nails, steady hands and a penchant for color. This season’s spring manicure trends are as stylish as ever, and will give you that professional edge you’re craving from the salon. Plus, with the release of two new 7-Free nail polish colors perfect for spring and summer, we’ve got your back… without any harsh, damaging chemicals. Spring nail inspiration down below!  

 

Negative Space

photo courtesy of bodybedazzle.com

The only extra negativity in your life right now should be on your fingernails. This is one of the biggest spring trends. It’s also one of the easiest, with the help of some tape or a thin brush. Either freehand paint your desired look (abstract blobs are the easiest and look modern) or cut some tape into the shape of your negative space and paint over the untaped spaces. There are so many different ways that you can interpret this trend, either by creating abstract shapes, flowers, polka dots, or anything in between. Blow our minds!

 

Think Pink

Hues of pinks from hot to millennial have overtaken runways, instagram feeds and online shopping carts alike. You can tackle this trend in a few ways—mattify, two-tone, tye-dye or ombre these rosy shades. You can try our newly released 7-Free nail polish in Gala Cafe, which is a color cross between a melted summer strawberry ice cream and double bubble bubble gum. Is there anything sweeter for the summer? 

Photo by Sonya Belakhleff 

 

Foliaged Fingers

photo courtesy of @nail.luire

What we can’t get outside at least we can find at the tips of our fingers. Nails with flowers, leaves, and vines are trending, but this detail work keeps it simple—all you need is a toothpick, tiny brush or a dotting tool.

We recommend sticking to simpler designs, which will look clean and modern. And if you’re really feeling instagrammable, paint your details over a sheer or nude coat of polish—and more on that now.

 

Three Cheers for Sheer

Continuing with trendy paints, sheer nail polish is flying off the shelves. It’s simple, yet so dynamic. All you need to do this look is a sheer polish, in whatever color you’d like. We may even have the perfect shade for you… our Rainbow Cactusis perfect for a subtle holographic sheer look, but our aforementioned gala cafe has a buildable consistency that can take you from sheer to opaque.

Hot tip: since sheer paints tend to be thinner in consistency, a clear top coat will take this manicure from pretty to professional. 

 

Prim and Proper

Photo courtesy of Ipsy

If you’re wondering what the deal is with nail length, we have some news: Shorter, prim and proper nails are in. This is probably due to a few factors—long nails reign in the 2010s and the tides may be shifting.

Also, you can easily get germies under your nails, and for very evident reasons, this is not ideal. Trust us. It’s your safety we’re talking about! Finally, a shorter nail is easier to execute, and does not include weeks to months of careful, natural growth subbing in for salon acrylics.  

 

Two-toned French Tip

photo courtesy of @paintbyjaz

If you still want some length, you can create the illusion with a French tip. But of course we’re going the maximalist route, because this is Fluide, isn’t it? To spice up this classic, execute with color… And you have some options here.

One: Paint a colorful base coat, and one layer of a contrasting tip. Two: use a sheer or nude coat on your base, and do—get ready for this—two color contrasting tips. These are fairly easy to execute with a brush or the polish applicator, but if you’re worried about a goof-up, don’t forget about your trusty tape! Just wait for your nails to dry before you go in for the detail-work. 

 

Pastel Palette

This last trend is probably the biggest of them all. Pastel nails are everywhere, and in a thousand different ways. All you need are a few shades of these light hues. Color each nail in a different color to create one gradient on your hand, or ombre the colors on each nail. That’s it! For the ultimate Fluide touch, paint your thumb in Page Three and pinky in Gala Cafe, and slowly mix these shades together for your own gradient.