As a beauty writer of nearly a decade, I’ve seen nail trends of all kinds—some predictable, others delightfully out of left field. There are the classics you can count on, like neutrals in winter and brights in summer, and then there are the curveballs, like the sardine fashion trend, which somehow made its way to our fingertips and became a full-blown social media obsession this summer. So what’s next for fall? I spoke with four leading manicurists—Miss Pop, Mei Kawajiri, Erica De Los Santos, and Britney Tokyo—for their take on the nail trends primed to take over salons nationwide for fall 2025.
Ahead, you'll find a comprehensive lineup of nine fall nail trends that'll thrill both minimalists and maximalists alike. To the delight of my beauty-writer heart, several celebrity manicurists independently called out the same themes, which all but guarantee they’ll be on repeat requests this season. Think texture (from tactile 3D nail designs to techniques that mimic the effect), an array of neutrals (with chocolate brown emerging as the breakout star), and minimalist patterns like—you guessed it—polka dots galore.
