Hottest nail colors and designs

The news on nail colors

Gold, pink, white and beige nudes are nail colors that are standing out for summer this year. Clean and subtle, they work well with all of the bright colors and bold prints of the season’s clothing.

Classic colors like cherry-red, corals, chartreuse and burgundy are all making a strong showing as well. Summery and bright, they are perfect shades for a pre-beach mani-pedi.

Metallic and glitter polishes are a little more on the flashy side, but are just as cute as the more classic colors. This is especially true when you work them into designs.

If you want to get really crazy with color, check out Nicki Minaj's OPI line of nail polish colors >>

A twist on French manicures

Play up French manicures by adding a creative twist. Black tips over light pink is super chic, or try black tips with black polka-dots over a white base for more of a throw back to the pin-up look. Also, there’s really no way that you can go wrong with glitter tips. They will add a cute and flirty finish to your favorite little black dress. Plus, who doesn’t like sparkles?

Fading shades of ombre

Ombre nails are cool and subtle and they are relatively easy to do on your own. Opposed to the clean contrast of a French manicure, ombre manicures show a subtle shifting of shades. To create it, all you need are two shades of your favorite nail color to create the gradual shade change. Check out the video below for a quick and easy tutorial.

Quirky half moons

Half moon nails are super easy and adorable, too. Plus, this style works with almost any color combination. To give yourself a half-moon manicure, you’ll need two nail polish colors, base coat, top coat and reinforcement stickers. After you clean and dry your nails:

1. Apply the base coat.
2. Next, apply the half-moon color. This is the color that will show at the bottom of your nails.
3. Let the half-moon color completely dry.
4. Cut the reinforcement stickers in half and apply to the bottom of your nails.
5. Apply top nail color.
6. Remove stickers and apply top coat.

More manicure finds, trends and tips

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