The best nail inspiration doesn’t always come from Instagram or a Pinterest board. Sometimes you don’t really know what color you want on your nails until it’s right in front of your face, specifically, on someone else’s freshly-polished finger.
At this season’s NYFW, it was one hit after another. Every model had a different shade of nail polish on, each color more interesting, nuanced, and unexpected than the next. Ahead, we’ll break down the top color trends and give the exact polishes you can buy for your at-home collection — or request at your next manicure.
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Frosted Blue
Backstage at the Sandy Liang runway show, we saw tubes of Supergoop! sunscreen (SPF eyeshadow and tinted lip balm, too), and carefully-selected bottles of OPI nail polish. One of the standout shades that Holly Falcone (the show’s lead nail artist) was most excited about was this new shade called *verified*, a bright cream blue that Falcone says gives “princess” energy. To add delicate shimmer to the blue base, she used a pearlescent top coat, specifically the OPI Glazed N’ Amused. A frosted blue polish, like Essie Immaterial Frost, which is just $6, or Anchors Away by Cirque Colors would work as well.
Butter Yellow
Butter yellow is a springtime neutral. The key, according to Falcone, is to find a polish that is soft cream colored, almost like a stick of Land O’ Lakes, as opposed to a bright yellow. At NYFW, the shade de jour was OPI Buttafly. You can get a similar look using Gucci 218 Cecilia Ivory. Or, if you’re looking for something more affordable, try Pacifica Plant Magic Polish in Happy Yellow.
Raisin
The manicure that caused the most commotion — everyone wanted it — was actually a slept-on OPI shade called You Don’t Know Jacques. It’s the most unassuming of the bunch. In the bottle it looks brown, but when it’s pointed on the nails the purple undertones appear and you get this dimensional raisin tone. Here, Falcone just used one shade of You Don’t Know Jacques. For other options, Dazzle Dry makes a raisin polish as does the at-home gel brand Le Mini Macaron.
Silver Chrome
If you’re a press-on nails person, the trend we’re all buying into is silver chrome. At the Bronx and Banco show, the models wore Chill Tips in Chill At the Disco and they quickly became the standout accessory of the event. If you don’t want to spend $16, you could try the Kiss Nails in the Glazed Donut collection, which are under $12 and reusable, for any event you have this spring.
Sapphire
It’s not black, it’s sapphire — which is what you can tell people when they compliment your manicure. It’s no surprise to see black nail polish at Fashion Week, it’s a classic, but the specific black-adjacent tone that’s trending at the moment is a blue that’s so dark it could pass for black unless you get up close and notice the jewel tones. The shade seen here is OPI Light My Sapphire. We’d also recommend Hermés Nail Polish in Bleu Encre (which would make a chic birthday gift for your friend who’s very New York City) or Nailberry in Number 69, a deep blue-gray with 5 stars.
