When I recently sat down to have a manicure with celebrity manicurist and nail expert Harriet Westmoreland (who tends to the nails of Zendaya and Rochelle Humes to name but a few) it was only natural that I had to ask her what nail trends will be big news this summer. Westmoreland is the queen of minimal nail looks and chic nail art, after all.
In the past couple of months, we’ve seen spring nail trends take shape in the form of the milky nail, sheer blush nails or the lip oil mani. It seems we’ve all been gravitating to those neutral and very wearable neutrals. But, as she painted my nails she said that we’re bidding farewell to those sheer pinks in favour of sheer brown for summer. Think of it as a pair of 40 deniers for your nails, evening the nail plate while giving a hint of colour.
As Westmoreland painted my nails, she showed me Chanel’s new collection of the its iconic Le Vernis nail polish colours. Among the 17 new shades, she tipped Legendé, a sheer putty brown, to be the shade we’ll all be wearing. “This summer we’re going to move away from the milky pinks and its going to be about sheer browns,” says Westmoreland. “Legendé is so flattering, it has a yellow undertone to it and one coat gives you a really sheer brown.”
As I’ve been scrolling through my feed, I even spotted celebrity manicurist Betina Goldstein using the shade for Whitney Peak’s manicure at the Met Gala. “[I] Mixed 1 part CHANEL Le Vernis Legende with 2 parts CHANEL Le Vernis Ballerina and applied 2 coats of the mix to her nails. I then topped them with CHANEL Le Gel Top coat, to protect and give a glossy finish. To make the look come together I adhered real fresh water pearls to the underneath of each nail, creating a hidden peekaboo effect,” said Goldstein in her Instagram post.
The beauty of the sheer brown nail trend is that it suits everyone, and you can mix a little clear nail polish into the brown to achieve the perfect sheer result. If you’re looking for the best sheer brown nail polishes, scroll ahead for the chicest ones we’ve found.
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