Nail trend exhaustion is playing into the summer manis we've been seeing on our favourite stars. Remember the E! Mani Cam? Well, if it were around today, it would be a parade of mostly naked fingernails. It seems that celebrity manicures at large are in their most minimalist phase ever. So minimal, in fact, that you can rarely tell if there’s any nail polish there. Given that keeping an eye on nail trends is part of our job, we had to wonder if our culture's current hyper-speed embracing of micro trends has led to this bare-bones aesthetic. Is the barely-there nail a reaction to blueberry milk, glazed lemonade, Mob Wives, and all the rest?
Just as 2023’s milk bath manicure trend stole the spotlight from the glazed donut nail popularised by Hailey Bieber in 2022 — and as the glazed trend drew focus from the hyper-detailed nail art trends before — naked manicures have risen to sought-after status on the red carpet. The trend is exactly what it sounds like: either zero polish whatsoever, or a hint of sheer polish that creates the illusion of totally bare nails.
Make no mistake: This is not a nude manicure, where the goal is to find a nail polish that’s a close match to your skin tone. This is a nail that could be totally bare – if it isn’t actually bare – whether that’s via natural nails or extensions. I once read that eternal style icon Ashley Olsen only gets her nails buffed, never painted. That’s the vibe here, and the look has been popping up consistently on the hands of the internet’s biggest nail trendsetters.
Selena Gomez, who has been known to wear everything on her nails from bubblegum-pink glitter to creamy pastels and beyond, went extremely minimal for a handful of events this April. It was only once I zoomed in on all the photos that I could tell she was wearing any polish at all. Tracee Ellis Ross opted for a mostly-naked nail at the 2024 Oscars, and multiple Met Gala attendees (including Rachel Zegler, Vittoria Ceretti, and Kerry Washington) chose to pair their garden party ensembles with bare-looking nails.
Meanwhile, Nicola Coughlan has worn long, almond-shaped nails with the subtlest glimmer of sheer polish throughout the promotion cycle for Bridgerton’s third season. Kylie and Kendall Jenner gave the trend spin with matching sets of naked-looking nails for an event in May. Even more recently, nail artist Kim Truong created a nude-illusion manicure on Rihanna for a recent Fenty Skin campaign. Demi Moore went barely-there at the Cannes Film Festival, and Jennifer Lopez’s recent version featured the teeniest hint of shimmer.
Bare (or bare-looking) nails have always been a staple on runways and in editorial shoots, but it’s intriguing that celebrities are relying on them more than maybe ever for big-ticket occasions such as the Met Gala, film premieres, and promotional events — places where manicure standards in recent years have been highly elaborate and on the bolder side. It’s a noteworthy contrast to the resurgence of the French manicure that’s endured for the past five years, or the currently waning all-chrome-everything trend.
It also makes sense, given that naked nails are endlessly compatible with celebrities' outfits, which often change multiple times in a day. It’s practical, and not just by a famous person's standards. Take it from veteran editorial and runway nail artist Jin Soon Choi. “Nearly naked nails are so popular because they seamlessly blend with any fashion or colour, complementing every style effortlessly,” she says. That explains, at least in part, the recent uptick in requests for naked nails that she’s received lately (Jin Soon was responsible for a couple of the naked manicures at the 2024 Met Gala.) In her decades-long career doing manicures for runways, shoots, and celebrities, she says: “70 percent of the nail looks have been sheer manicures — and as of late, that percentage is increasing.”
Practicality isn’t the only reason for that, according to manicurist Georgia Rae, who did a naked manicure on Sofia Richie for her wedding day last spring. “I think we’re seeing a shift in every aspect to embracing and enhancing your natural beauty, and that’s what this nearly naked nail trend embodies,” she says.
Achieving the naked manicure can be as low- or as high-maintenance as you prefer, whether it involves a bare-bones buff on your natural nails, adding extensions, or doing something in-between. But what all naked manicures share is an emphasis on hand care and preparation.
Because the naked manicure leaves nothing to the imagination, keeping the nails spick, span, and hydrated is essential. Georgia recommends establishing a hand-care routine when going this route. Weekly exfoliation with a scrub, using cuticle oil several times a day, and applying hand cream at night and during the day “will keep your hands looking nourished and keep your nails hydrated,” she explains. “If your nails have little white marks, this is often a sign of dehydration, and for the nearly naked manicure you want your natural nails to be in peak condition.”
Here's our favourite ways to wear them.
Cleaning, shaping, and buffing your nails before applying polish (if you’re using any) is non-negotiable for a well executed naked manicure. “A true naked manicure is about creating a healthy, well-groomed base that allows the natural beauty of the sheer polish to shine through,” Jin Soon explains. She recommends softening cuticles with a cuticle remover or oil before gently pushing them back with a cuticle pusher. “Avoid cutting or trimming excessively to prevent infection,” she advises. “Just snip visible hang nails only.”
Clean your nail beds with a non-acetone wipe, then buff the nail for natural shine. “Buffing and shining your nails before applying any polish, not just sheer polish, is a professional trick,” says Jin Soon. “It smooths the nail surface, enhances shine, and allows for better polish adhesion.” Most buffing tools are double-sided with an abrasive side for smoothing and a softer side for shining; just be careful not to overdo it with the abrasive side, which can damage your nails. Buff in an X shape, then flip the tool to the shine side and work in small, circular motions until your nails are gleaming and gorgeous.
To take the naked manicure beyond actually naked, try a sheer, tinted base coat with a hint of colour, like Manucurist Active Glow – then add a top coat for shine. If you’d like a little more colour, try one or two coats of sheer polish atop the base coat. Jin Soon’s picks include Essie’s beloved sheer pink Sugar Daddy and Chanel’s luxe Ballerina. Nail artist Mazz Hanna loves Manucurist’s Active Range, a line of polishes designed to enhance and treat natural nails with a barely there finish. Georgia recommends Essie’s Gel Couture in Sheer Fantasy.
Though trends continue to cycle faster than you can say “quiet luxury” or “tomato girl,” many people have embraced a lower-maintenance approach to beauty, like investing in brow tinting, contouring with self-tanner to avoid wearing makeup, or opting for balayage highlights to brighten their hair colour without bi-monthly trips to the salon. “We have been seeing a broader trend toward minimalism, not only with nails but also in fashion and makeup,” Mazz says. “There is an emphasis on quality over quantity with timeless pieces and makeup looks that subtly enhance natural features.” On the flip side, there’s been a recent uptick of maximalist looks in other beauty departments, like the Mob Wife aesthetic with its thick black eyeliner, and the resurgence of sky-high ‘80s-inspired hairstyles. Sure, that could be due in part to people’s never-ending quest to go viral and spark micro trends on TikTok, but it also proves the point that there are just too many trends, so it’s inevitable that people would eventually desire a way to opt out.
In a world where we whip through micro trends at a breathtaking, exhausting pace — your coquettecore, strawberry girl blush, office sirens — nail trend exhaustion is real and the naked manicure feels like a breath of fresh air because it’s so simple. It’s not trying to set a trend, even though it inadvertently became one. It’s just there, content to look nice without generating headlines or going viral on TikTok. When everything is a trend, nothing is a trend, so why not just strip things down to basics?
This feature originally appeared on Allure.
