There are so many reasons why you would be interested in a set of natural (or nude) looking nails.
You may want the look and feel of a luxurious salon treatment but require a natural and sensible look for work reasons. You may want the protection a nail treatment offers but are not quite a fan of the over-the-top long coffin nails the divas are sporting in the clubs. Or you may simply love the look of some nicely manicured tips that give you the feel-good feelings that you have pampered yourself.
Whatever your reason, nude nails are a style that will always be on trend so it is a good option to have in your back pocket.
However, as simple as they look, natural-looking nails are deceptively complicated and require a bit of thought and preparation in order to achieve the look that you ultimately want to achieve.
At Body Bedazzle we have received quite a number of questions from our community asking what factors need to be considered for a natural look for your nails. To help everyone out we have created this ULTIMATE GUIDE for the BEST LOOKING NATURAL NAILS.
We are an inclusive community at Body Bedazzle so we have approached this guide for all levels. If you are new to the world of nail art and design we would advise working your way through this guide from the beginning. Alternatively, if you know what you are looking for, then feel free to use the navigation below to jump to the section of your interest.
Types of Natural-Looking Nails
There are many different types and styles of artificial nails that look natural (or nude). Knowing which one can make your head spin!
To list a few of the more popular options:
- Gel Nails – are a perfect technique to complement your natural nails. To use gel nails, you simply purchase the gel nail polish and apply it. You then apply a UV light to the gel to harden and set it onto your nails. Because you are using your natural nail for the foundation of the gel it presents a more neutral look.
- Acrylic Nails – are a very popular choice for nail art designs. They are an artificial type of nail that is layered on top of your natural nails. It requires some glue or strong adhesive products to ensure a close bind with your nails. They are generally stronger and more chip resistant than other types (such as gels). However, due to their artificial nature, they do not have a neutral appearance than other options.
- Porcelain Nails – similar to acrylic nails, porcelain nail options have an artificial layer glued onto your naturally occurring nail. The pros and cons are very much the same as acrylic nails. The only difference being this is made out of a slightly stronger material.
We generally recommend going for gel nails, at least for your first attempt at nude-looking nails. The gel sets onto your natural nail giving it a much more neutral look with the advantage of strengthening and protecting your nails from daily routine.
We would recommend the acrylic and porcelain nail options when you struggle to grow your natural nails and are after some length.
Styles of Natural-Looking Nails
Not only do you have different types of natural-looking nails. You can also choose several different styles of natural looks.
French Manicure
Probably one of the most popular and well-known natural looks is a French Manicure. Here are a few of our favorite styles of French Manicures.
The French Manicure is typically represented with soft pink tones for the body of the nail and bleach-white tips at the ends of each fingernail. Even though they are designed with over-the-top white tips, the tips are intended to elevate a natural look. The French Manicure style is perfect for formal occasions, such as weddings where many brides opt for a classic French Manicure for their special day.
Nude Nails
You may be thinking Nude Nails is just another word for natural nails – but there is an important difference. Unlike the French Manicure described above with the bleach white tips, Nude Nails consist of one tone (often pale pinks) covering the entire nail from base to tip. To many, they represent an image of sophistication and importance.
The thing with Nude Nails is the mono-tone base of the design gives light to many options to jazz it up – with small and subtle hints of glitter and shine. What we love about this is you can instill your own personality into the design and as we love to say at Body Bedazzle – BE YOUR OWN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL.
This unique feature of Nude Nails gives it flexibility and a dynamic feel to Nail Art Designs – something we strongly encourage with our entire community.
Best Neutral Nail Polish for ALL Skin Tones
Now let’s take a look at the all-important tone of the nail polish that you should use. Unfortunately, there is no one universal tone that is going to look striking on any set of fingers. Many factors can influence the choice of color you should choose for a natural-looking set of nails. One big determining factor is your skin color and tone.
So to help you and our community out we have put together a set of rules you can use to guide your choice for selecting the right natural-looking nail polish for your skin tone.
Best Neutral Nail Polish for Fair Skin
Does your skin tone tend to shine on the fairer side of the skin tone spectrum?
Fair skin is perfect for using lighter shades of pink tones, like sandy beige shades. The lightness of the shades/tones gives a refreshing feel that enhances your skin, rather than contrasts.
To elevate your look, pair your light tones with pastels to complete a show-stopping look.
If you are looking for a style with a little bit of difference, try using a light-toned nail polish with small particles of glitter and shine. Note the smaller the better when it comes to glitter as it tends to produce a more subtle, ethereal appearance. As opposed to a tacky teenage appearance with big pieces of glitter.
Here are a few examples of tones you can use to complement your fair skin complexion.
Nail Polish for Dark Skin Tones
For darker skin tones it is recommended that you should be looking for nail polish colors for dark skin tones that have cooler undertones. You can opt for polishes that have earthly clay hues that will accentuate the skin tones and not represent any jarring comparison. The earthly hues will often give a bold look to the hand and complement darker skin tones.
The great thing about darker skin tones is that you can actually play around with the nail polish tones and still achieve a naturally-looking set of nails. Light nude colors, such as beige and cream shades will pair nicely with the darker skin tones. The resulting look often gives off a sophisticated and feminine appearance. We love the look of a professional setting like the working environment or a special evening out.
Nude Polish for Medium/Olive Skin Tone
So you would think that having a skin tone in the middle would make it easy to match when compared with neutral nail polish for dark skin or fair skin tones. However, to achieve a natural look, the nail polish needs to be balanced carefully with how it plays on the tones of the skin.
When considering an olive complexion you will most likely be targeting polishes with pastel tones shining through. This is because the pastels work nicely to not contradict the beautiful olive tones in the skin. If you choose too light color, the natural look is lost. Choose a darker tone and it sends the wrong signal that you are trying to make a statement, rather than a blended look.
If you want a bit of pizzazz in your nails we recommend including a bit of shimmer and shine in the design. Like a high gloss finish (rather than matte), or some small particle glitter to catch the light. This achieves that subtle art of beauty without being too ostentatious and in your face.
Check these designs out for some inspiration.
Key Takeaways
We love it when our readers write in or send pics of their natural-looking nail designs. What really blows us away is the variety of colors and tones our readers have used. It highlights the main takeaway that we would love to reinforce – to be your own kind of beautiful when it comes to natural or nude-looking nails. There is no one right answer or color or tone that will suit every hand in the world.
You need to experiment with the different tones. We encourage you to put YOU into your designs. Whether that is going for a small hint of glitter or a complete matte finish – any design that makes you feel like a beautiful woman is the right tone for you!
We sincerely hope you enjoyed our article Nude Nails Guide – Best Tips for Natural Looking Nails. Remember to send in your pics and if you have any questions please leave them below in the comments. We will get right back to you as soon as we see it!
Yours truly,
The Body Bedazzle Team.
