Before every nail appointment, I catch myself scrolling on nail artist Zola Ganzorigt’s IG for inspo. Ganzorigt is the brains behind many of the nail looks you’ve seen on your feed recently—including the viral “glazed donut nail” trend that was made famous by Hailey Bieber. I recently caught up with Ganzorigt to chat all things fall nail trends—including what her celeb clientele are already requesting, plus the looks and shades she knows will be loved by everyone for the fall 2024 season. Keep scrolling for a curated list of the biggest fall nail colors and trends, straight from my favorite nail pro.
Dark Nail Colors
“I’ve already gotten so many requests for dark nails,” says Ganzorigt. Two shades she loves for the season? OPI’s Malaga Wine and Lincoln Park After Dark (seen above on Kylie Jenner). They’re two deep, almost-black shades that she says “always come back in style for fall.”
Square Nails
According to Ganzorigt, square nails are “definitely coming back.” The shape lends itself to a fresh, “naked” nail look, especially if you opt for a short length to match. With that, she predicts minimal nail designs (like the French tips above) and solid colors will also be v popular.
Maple Syrup Nails
The latest look Ganzorigt did on Bieber? These jelly brown nails the internet has dubbed “maple syrup nails.” She mixed a bunch of shades to create this custom color, so you won’t be able to get an exact replica. But start with a chocolate brown polish, then layer on a brown jelly shade for that sheer, glazed, syrup-y look.
3D Designs
“3D designs continue to reign supreme,” says Jan Arnold, founder and style director of CND. “These slick, viscous textures and their graceful movements add a touch of magic and luxurious dimension to the design,” she adds. The coolest way to try it out is with a mismatched mani, per the ref above, that combines varying heights and shapes, like blobs, swirls, and dots. Bonus points if you do it all in a fall color scheme too (we’re big fans of olive greens, oranges, and mustard yellows rn).
Matte Finishes
Matte nails in fall look extra cool—I don’t make the rules! Just ask Christian Cowan, who opted for a matte black nail look on his autumn/winter ’24 runway. Make sure you’ve got a handy matte top coat on deck, and you can legit transform any of your nail polishes into a velvety dream.
Coffee Chrome Nails
Ganzorigt says people request chrome nail designs all year ’round. But the base color and type of chrome change with the seasons, like this trending chocolate-brown shade seen on Selena Gomez recently. Go for a neutral, mid-town brown, then top it with chrome powder (you can go bold here with a fully iridescent situation or try a ~demure~ pearl or gold for a more natural vibe).
New Nudes
Sheer, light-pink manis are getting a reboot. At the Marc Jacobs autumn/winter 2024 show, nail artist Jinsoon Choi went for a completely opaque light-beige polish all over the nails, complete with an ultra-glossy top coat.
Cat-Eye Nails
Halloween nails are one of Ganzorigt’s biggest request every fall, FYI. But if you want to go for a spooky vibe without a full set of ghosts and pumpkins, try cat-eye nails, which perfectly encapsulates the moody season, but with a lil glitz too. If you’re gonna DIY, you def need a cat-eye nail polish kit, which will include the necessary tools (ahem, a magnet) to achieve the effect.
Extra Length
Thom Browne, Prabal Gurung, and Chet Lo all went for exaggerated lengths for their fall runway shows. And ya know what? We’re into it. Are they practical? Eh, not so much. But that’s the beauty of press-ons.
Shades of Green
Why would we possibly let Brat summer end?!?! Brat green is just the start though, since we’ll be decking out our nails in all shades of green. Khaki, olive, forest, and lime are amongst the coolest fall nail colors for 2024.
Studded Nails
This fall, we’ll be injecting grunge vibes into our nail looks any way we can—including with studded nail designs. We saw this all over clothes and accessories on runways, so it was only a matter of time before they ended up on our nails. And it’s v easy to add to any of your regular rotation nail looks, like this black French tip mani.
Animal Print
Cow, tiger, leopard—you name it, we’re putting it on our nails this fall. If you’re not Van Gogh-level with your nail art abilities, grab a set of nail decals in your desired animal print to get the look yourself.