Spring Nails
Every March, the same shift happens in the salon. Clients come in wanting something lighter, fresher, more considered. Here’s what’s actually worth trying this spring and why.
What’s popular this spring
Milky nails
Clean, sheer and effortlessly polished. Milky nails look like your skin tone, just refined. Clients who’ve never been into nail colour are booking this. Works on every length and looks just as good in week three. Especially good in BIAB.
Butter yellow
Warm, creamy and more flattering than people expect. Butter yellow sits between a neutral and a proper colour, which is why clients keep coming back to it. Keep the finish soft and glossy rather than opaque. An easy yes for spring.
Pastel French tips
The French shape stays, the white tip goes. Lilac, baby blue, pistachio and blush are the colours clients are choosing this season. Elegant from a distance, interesting up close. Works on short nails and grows out cleanly.
Soft florals
Every March without fail, clients start asking for florals. Not heavy nail art. Small, considered designs on a neutral base. A single daisy, hand-painted petals, a delicate floral tip. The kind that sits quietly rather than shouts.
Spring nail colours
Not sure what colour to choose? These are the four shades worth considering this season.
Powder blue
Softer than the cobalt that was everywhere last year. This is a sky shade — calm, clean and easy to wear every day. Works well as a solid colour or as a French tip.
Lavender
One of the strongest colour stories this spring. Soft enough to read as a neutral at a glance, distinctive enough to get noticed up close. Suits cooler skin tones particularly well.
Pistachio
A soft botanical green that sits between a proper colour and a neutral. Fresh without being loud. One of the shades clients keep pulling up on their phones when they come in.
Peach
Warm and sun-kissed without being orange. Sits closest to skin tone so it elongates the fingers naturally. Especially flattering in a milky or sheer finish.
Giang’s pick
Nude base, soft
yellow French tips
If someone sits down and says “spring nails” but can’t picture what that means, I don’t reach for florals first. I go with soft yellow French tips on a sheer nude base, the yellow closer to cream than sunshine. On longer nails the tip sits wide and clean. On shorter nails I bring it in thinner. It works either way.
I’ve used it on clients who didn’t want colour and ones who were bored of neutrals. It lands somewhere in between.
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