5 nail trends to try at home during lockdown!

If you’re missing your local nail salon while you’ve been stuck at home, you’re not alone! But just because we’re homebound, that doesn’t mean our claws have to go unloved. 

 

Self-care is more important than ever right now, and pampering yourself is a lovely way to give yourself that TLC. 

We’ve compiled five of our favourite emerging trends that you can easily try at home with your favourite polishes and regular household items - all without breaking your bubble! So grab your most beloved Hanami colours, and get ready to rock your salon-grade nails on your next Zoom call!

Pssst, Hot Tip! To replicate the full salon experience with your home-based manicure, read our step-by-step guide to prep your nails before painting.

Household ‘Tools’ you may need: bobby pins, toothpicks, scotch tape, rubber bands.

Tonal French Tips

We all love a French Tip nail - classic, classy, and clean! But lately we’ve seen nail artists taking this minimalist classic and giving it a contemporary twist, simply by adding a streak of colour (or five)! Check out these local Melbourne artists who’ve been exploring this modern take:

done_a_stunner has taken the tonal French Tip to the next level, increasing the thickness of the tip for a bolder look while still keeping it minimal! The yellow colour keeps the tone close to the classic look but gives it that modern upgrade. You can recreate this look with Hanami’s neutral Tiny Dancer as the base shade, and use shade Beams for the tonal tip (or fire it up with our terracotta shade Flame Trees)!

ocean_nails_melb is taking the tonal French Tip even further by featuring different colours on each nail! Multi-colour nails, AKA ‘Skittle Nails’, are a recent trend in itself, so combining this with a tonal French Tip has us totally charmed! You can recreate this look with Hanami shades Crave you, Beams, Melody Day, Cherry Oh Baby, and Junie.

Here’s how to create the Tonal French Tip at home:

• Scotch tape: to use scotch tape, simply cut off a small section and carefully apply at a curve over your nail. The tape should be nice and flat on one side (the side you will paint the tip from) but will pleat on the other as you apply the curve. This is okay - think of it like painters tape! As long as the tape is flat on the one side, your tonal French tip will have a lovely clean line. If you don’t have scotch tape, you can use a...
• Rubber band: to use a rubber band, fold one over your nail at the chosen point of thickness, hold firm with your fingers on the same hand, and paint the tip with the other (or if someone else is home with you, have them hold the rubber band while you paint for better control). Flat rubber bands are better for this as regular slim ones may roll as the band is held taut. 

Gradient Nails

Remember when you first discovered nail polish as a youngin’ and using all of the colours you could get your little hands on? Well now you can replicate your childhood nail dreams while still keeping on trend - and without getting polish all over your mums carpet! Take a look at these Melbourne based nail artists busting out all the shades:

jesseadebeauty uses two different colour palettes for this gradient look, using warm tones on one hand and cool tones on the other. We love how this nail artist has featured as many colours as possible!

nails_by_zaru keeps their gradient to shades of just one colour, ranging from cool, calming hues to bold, energising blues! We’re especially obsessed with how this artist has used mattes, for an extra lovely suede look.

You can recreate these eye-catching nails at home, with your own favourite colours! We’ve compiled groups of Hanami shades that we know will make a stunning gradient look:

• Flame Shades: Beams, Flame Trees, Valleri, I Wanna Be Adored, Cherry Oh Baby
• Pink Shades: Dear Prudence, Pink Moon, April Sun In Cuba, Crave You, Cameo Lover
• Purple Shades: Purple Rain, Hyssop Of Love, Lady, Xanadu, Sherry
• Blue Shades: The Bay, Junie, Night Swimming, Everlong, Ophelia
• Grey Shades: Pale Grey Eyes, Still, One Evening, Stormy Weather, The Wolves
• Brown Shades: Soft Delay, Peaches, Pony, Cortez, Voodoo Woman
• Green Shades: Junie, The Bay, Still, The Moss, Octopus’s Garden

Pssst, Hot Tip! To recreate nails_by_zaru’s matte look, use our Matte Top Coat to finish!

Negative Spaces

Keep your own space positive and upbeat by trying the most exciting upcoming trend in nail art - negative spaces! We are falling fast for this super fun trend, as it allows you to express your creativity, and, well, it just looks so damn cool! Take a look at these negative space nails by local Melbourne artists:

timeforbeautyfitzroy has used the negative space trend to create freeform shapes on their nails, with a bouquet of gorgeous colours. The colour palette and the negative spaces together reminds us of blue skies and sunsets, of valleys and canyons - but we love that this look is entirely up to interpretation of the eye of the beholder! To try this look, we recommend Hanami shades Dear Prudence, Cameo Lover, Everlong, Tiny Dancer, and The Bay.

quichenailstudio has taken this trend in a different direction, using the negative space to create a striking contrast with a dark shade. We find that the combination of stark contrast and minimalist design has us utterly spellbound! If you love this look as much as we do, we suggest using one of Hanami's hauntingly dark shades Date With The Night, Octopus’s Garden, Sherry, Voodoo Woman, Ophelia, or Cortez.

Here’s how you can create your own negative space look at home:

Scotch tape: plan out your design beforehand, then cut your design out of the scotch tape carefully (you may need to use sewing scissors or a craft knife for precision). You could do anything - geometric shapes, asymmetrical shapes, squiggles, stripes, you name it! Place the tape onto your fingernails as planned, paint over with your chosen colour or colours, and leave to dry before removing the tape. Voila!

Bobby pins: these are great for smaller detail without having to use the narrow head of a toothpick! First, you’ll have to pull the prongs apart far enough that you have comfortable control of one of the pinheads. Then, you simply dip the pinhead onto your brush to pick up your colour, and paint away! This is a very useful tool for designs like polka dots, daisies, and minimalist looks like quichenailstudio’s.

Pastels

If you’ve been relentlessly scrolling through instagram at home like we have, you’ve probably seen a few pastel coloured nails brighten up your feed. The trend has us dropping our shoulders and unclenching our teeth - it has the sweet and calming effect we need that makes pastel colours a welcome sight for sore eyes during lockdown! These Melbourne artists show us different ways that pastels can be rocked:

nails.by.roshi has adopted the Skittle nails looks with their pastel palette, and we adore it! It’s hard to choose just one pastel colour - they’re all so alluring! So why not feature all your favourites? If you’re just as smitten as we are with this look, we recommend Hanami shades April Sun In Cuba, Tides, The Bay, Lovefool, and Pink Moon for those sweet sweet pastel Skittle nails.

jesseadebeauty sticks to one colour for their pastel look, accentuating the monochrome look with accent nails of a slightly darker shade. This is a stunning way to highlight the magnetic pastel colour, but we think it brings the look from pleasant, to absolutely fierce! If you’re keen to recreate this look at home, use Hanami shade Purple Rain for the pastel nails and shade Lady with an extra coat of Holograms on top for the accent nails.

Creamy Neutrals

If all of these bright and bold coloured looks aren’t so much your thing, no worries, there’s another minimalist trend you’ll be happy about - creamy neutrals! With light coloured neutrals, you can achieve a powerful look with an effortless elegance. These Melbourne based nail artist show us how it’s done:

nails_by_zaru showcases a cool frosty shade, but what we love most is the subtle undertone of purple in this neutral! This artist shows us that you can rock a creamy neutral without it blending too much into your skin tone!

clawsandmore flaunts a warmer creamy neutral, that makes us think this model is making nothing but power moves! The artist has also added a thin border of gold on the cuticle and the tip, which highlights the glow of the neutral shade and has us totally in love!

Whatever your preference, warm or cool, try these dreamy looks at home using a selection of Hanami’s creamy neutral shades:

• Cool neutrals: Soft Delay, Pale Grey Eyes
• Warm neutrals: Tiny Dancer, Peaches, Lovefool, Dear Prudence

Pssst, Hot Tip! If you’re inspired by clawsandmore’s look and want to give the bordering a go, try using a toothpick to carefully apply the contrasting shade. Simply dip the toothpick into your pot or brush to pick up the colour, and apply! Hanami has three gold shades perfect for this look - Fools Gold, Dancing On My Own, and Ritual Union.

While the lockdown and social distancing has us all missing our routines, there’s nothing quite like a satisfying DIY job - and saving lives while you do it! So, have a go at the trend that speaks to you the most. Or, you might even have time to try them all! We know you’ll enjoy pampering yourself, and you might even find that you have a hidden talent - or at least a laugh!

Show us your handiwork by uploading a pic with #hanamihomemani, we’d love to see your Hanami nails!