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It used to be that you'd spend an hour meticulously painting on your face with the patience of Michaelangelo (or in the least, a YouTuber getting used to their camera equipment) before heading out for a night. But with face masks taking up the larger majority of your mug these days, people are now directing their artistry skills elsewhere — and come fall, it will be all about your nail colour.
The shift in popularity makes sense: Switching up your manicure is a fullproof way to make a big impact with minimal effort, and while it might be too early to declare nail polish as the new lipstick in these COVID-19 times, all you have to do is open Instagram to be inundated with whatever fancy designs and polish colours sparking joy at this particular juncture. "A lot of companies and manicurists are putting together DIY manicure kits for people to do at home, so I think we'll be seeing a lot more tutorials on Instagram, Tiktok, or YouTube," Sarah Bland, celebrity manicurist and brand ambassador for Smith & Cult, told POPSUGAR. "I've even been seeing a lot of people match their nails with their masks, which is so cute."
"I've been seeing a lot of people match their nails with their masks, which is so cute."
As for what exactly you can expect people to be wearing in the coming months, she has some ideas: "We're going to be seeing a lot of matte nail looks," she said. "What a lot of people don't realise is that when you put a matte top coat on nail art, it makes it pop even more. We'll also be seeing a trend of shiny-meets-matte within the same manicure, like a solid matte base with a shiny tip."
If you're looking for the tools that could earn you an (unofficial) artistry licence, stick with us as Bland breaks down the four coolest nail colour trends to shop this fall. They might not make quite the same statement that a swipe of lipstick would, but they'll make it through a hell of a lot more pumpkin spice latte orders — and that's got to count for something, right?