The ‘clean’ aesthetic is all about chic, minimal, well-groomed nails. Basically, your nails, but better.
‘Clean Girl Makeup’ and ‘Clean Girl Nails’ are social media trends that have garnered millions of views and counting. These trends are all about neutral looks, glowing skin, and highly sculpted yet barely-there finishes. It seems we have entered a ‘Clean Girl’ aesthetic era.
Regardless of the trends, there is something beautiful about natural looking nails. Clean, neutral nails have been racking up millions of views across social media, with nude nails, simple nail designs and nude nail art taking over from bold colours and designs. Think sheer shades in baby pink, apricot and milky white, minimalist yet Instagram-worthy nail art and immaculate cuticles.
Achieving the clean nail look at home
- The ‘clean’ aesthetic is all about chic, minimal, well-groomed nails. Basically, your nails, but better. It’s about taking care of your nails and giving them a boost. To take care of your nails at home and achieve a clean, minimal look we recommend:
- Prep your nails and cuticles. Use a gentle mositurising exfoliator on the cuticle to remove any dead skin. Do not remove the cuticle, as this can damage the nail and cause infection. You just want to remove any dead skin from the nail.
- Once the nails have been exfoliated, it’s time to paint. Start by wiping your nails with a nail polish remover to create a clean base. Then apply a base coat to protect the health of the nail.
- Once the base coat is dry, select a colour that is either sheer or milky in colour, such as OPI’s Put It In Neutral (£14.30) or Chanel's La Base Camélia (£28).
- To get a perfect, non-streaky nail, make sure only one side of your brush is loaded with a generous amount of polish by wiping the excess off the other side on the top of the bottle. Then simply glide the polish over the nail. You might want to start in the centre of the nail and then 'join up' the polish with a swipe on each side. The trick to a flawless finish is keeping your nail polish layers thin. Since neutral polishes are often transparent, it might take you two or three coats to build up the shade you want.
- Once your colour is dry, finish off with a high shine topcoat.
- For any polish that ends up on your skin, simply dip a cotton bud in nail polish and remove any mistakes.
- If nail art is your thing and you want to add some to your clean nail look, then the key to this is to keep it simple. Think a minimal French tip, dainty hearts, accent dots and even tiny, diamanté embellishments.
Skincare matters!
For the ultimate in ‘Clean Nail’ luxury, don’t skimp on your skincare! Take care of your hands by exfoliating them with a luxury scrub before moisturising and adding cuticle oil. This simple action will leave your hands glowing and improve the result of your manicure. If you're worried about smudging, you could always exfoliate after you've tended to your cuticles but save the hand cream for last as your polish might not adhere properly, resulting in chips.
Go Pro!
If you love the clean nail aesthetic and fancy treating yourself to a pampering session, head to your local salon for a professional manicure. The shine from a professional manicure is unmatched and lasts a lot longer compared to standard polish, which might chip easily. You can find salons and freelancers close to you via our salon search here!