The Best Nail Inspo of Summer 2024/5

By Anne-Marie Jones

The days are heating up, and so are our fashions here at Sans Pareil! We are bringing you the best of our fave nails this summer.

Champagne Chrome

This subtle, low-maintenance look suits everyone and is so easy – just a coat or two of a light, champagne/metallic ‘nude’ shade.

Photo credit – https://www.byrdie.com/champagne-frosted-manicure-trend-7197840

Neons, For Summer? Groundbreaking.

Neons are a periennial summer classic, why not again this year! There are lots of fun takes and fresh looks with neon colours.

Photo credit – https://ldsnails.com/blogs/nail-art/best-bright-neon-nail-ideas

Photo credit – https://naildesignssavvy.com/neon-nails/

Negative Space Nail

‘Negative space’ has been a nail trend for awhile now, and is still popular this summer. Negative space nails leave part of the natural nail showing in the artwork.

Photo credit – https://www.instagram.com/nail_art_by_tal

Photo credit – https://www.reddit.com/r/Nails/comments/vc0cj0/not_my_usual_style_but_i_had_fun_with_these/

Y2K Nail Art

Y2K fashion is back on-trend, and nails are no exception!
There are lots of different elements to the Y2K look – images of dragons, butterflies, crosses, Chinese and Japanese symbols were all popular, even all at the same time! Lisa Frank was ending her reign as the Fluro Queen so some bright colours were still on trend but it was mostly becoming more grunge-y/dark.
One of the popular styles was mixing ‘naughty and nice’, a bit of sexy and a bit of innocent sweetness – think Britney Spears.

So there is a wide variance in what you can consider ‘Y2K’ – I think in the 90’s there was grunge, and there was the rise of ‘girl power’ (and I guess before that, riot grrl, etc), so I guess the turn of the millenium was about combining those two quite different things, and adding a dash of technology/futuristic inspiration too.

Yes, it was a messy time to be exploring the world of fashion, and I hope some of those photos of 14 year old me never see the light of day, Glassons have a few fashion faux-pas to answer for.

Photo credit – https://www.reddit.com/r/NailArt/comments/1clz5xs/green_y2k_nails_inspired/?rdt=51479

Photo credit – https://luxnailsalontx.com/2024/02/05/y2k-nail-designs/

Funky French Tips

The classic french tip is still hot AF, but this summer there are new variations on it.

From chrome tips, to the ‘reverse French’, here are a few fresh takes:

Photo credit – https://globalfashion.ru/en/blog/id644-reverse-french-the-most-stylish-manicures-of-2024

Photo credit – https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditLaqueristas/comments/x9mjks/chrome_french_tip/

Mocha Mousse

Pantone’s Color of 2025 is Mocha Mousse, and since brown has been coming back in trend for awhile, we think this will be pretty hot for nails next year!

Photo credit – https://thepinkissue.com/mocha-mousse-nails/ (via Pinterest)

Christmas Nail

It wouldn’t be a Kiwi summer without Christmas nails in December! Don’t just stick to red and green, you can try white, frosty blue, gold or silver, or nail art with Christmas patterns.

Photo credit – https://www.instagram.com/emilygilmour.nails/

Photo credit – https://eleganceechoes.com/white-christmas-nail-designs/

Summer Pedicure

Yip, it’s sandals/jandals season (get ya bread-tags ready), so don’t forget to treat your feet as well if they’re going to be out on display. These are some of the gorgeous summer pedis we’ve seen: