Nail designs are very diverse, from classic and discreet to flashy and bright, but a single-color manicure will always be in trend. The 2021-2022 nail industry season offers us many trendy ideas for single-color manicures for short and long nails. However, the most interesting thing is that every year trends appear and serve only as a guide, because the main thing is the ability to adapt them to your personality so that you can show your individuality.
A single-color manicure is simple and versatile, and it will always be relevant, regardless of the season or time of year. We offer you interesting ideas that are worth considering for your next manicure.
Features of a plain manicure
Covering with one color is considered a universal solution for everyday nail design. A well-chosen shade that matches the main image may turn out to be more interesting than elaborate design solutions.
The main advantage of a single-color manicure is that it looks perfect on both long and short nails.
On the one hand, such a design is laconic and simple, and on the other, thanks to modern varnishes and decorative possibilities, it is original and varied.
Light manicure with multi-colored “splashes”
Do you want to add bright notes to the laconic shades of your image? In this case, we hasten to present you a new manicure using the “paint splash” technique. Craftsmen apply multi-colored sprays of varnishes of other colors onto a light, monochromatic coating. The result is an original and bright accent that does not weigh down the light nails and adds a touch of playfulness. This technique has become very popular among fashionistas and is in demand among nail technicians.
Modern monochromatic design ideas
The number of options for decorating nails in a single color is huge and limited only by the designer’s imagination:
- Glitter and sparkles;
- Beads and sand;
- Rhinestones and beads;
- Gloss and velvet;
- Application of modern techniques.
All this gives the classic coating a feeling of luxury and nobility, romance and elegance.
Luxurious notes of light manicure: glitter, rhinestones, drawings, rubbing
Who said that an elegant evening manicure should only be dark or very bright colors? The nail experts offered an amazingly beautiful light manicure, especially for such occasions and chic looks. A sea of sparkles in the form of glitter, rhinestones, mother-of-pearl or pearl powder will make your delicate manicure festive and chic. Various sparkling patterns and accents on nails of any length will decorate your hands at any event. And exquisite floral designs, geometric motifs, or any other themes will complement the image with an exquisite twist. You can decorate all the nail plates, or select one or two nails, and combine decorative elements with each other, for example, simultaneously use glitter and rhinestones, or designs with sparkling details on one nail.
Traditional simple manicure
Most women of all ages consider simple coating of nail plates with one color of polish to be comfortable, practical and elegant. You can use any shades: dazzling light, deep dark, shiny, bright or muted pastel.
- A single-color manicure will look equally beautiful on short nails, long nails, and medium-length nails.
- It will suit any look and any situation: a gala reception, a theater premiere, a bright party, a meeting in the office.
- The coating in a single color is designed simply, but can be decorated with various elements.
Playing with color
If you want something more lively and dynamic, then you can use a combination of several colors. There can be so many options for such a manicure that you can create new compositions every day and not repeat yourself.
The main thing is to remember the color laws of combination. After all, it is best to combine two adjacent colors:
- Based on the principle of contrast. For example, red + white, blue + yellow, etc.
- Based on the principle of nuance in colors. That is, colors are selected that are similar in color, but still not different shades of the same color, since in this case the manicure will look unfavorable. Beige and chocolate-coffee, blue and dark blue, pale pink and deep coral combine perfectly.
For a monochromatic manicure, you need to combine it as follows - several nails or one is painted a certain color, while the others are painted a different color.
Monochrome with glitter
One of the most common decorative design effects is glitter. In the photo of a single-color manicure you can see both a gentle shimmer for an everyday look, and a spectacular shine of the lines, patterns or holes of a French manicure.
Sequins for a festive coating can be larger and brighter, and the colors chosen are often gold or silver.
A selection of ideas
Extended monochromatic nails may allow the presence of small rhinestones or stickers on the coating. Likewise, the entire design of extended nails can contain any decorations in this range of shades:
- Sand (velvet) coatings. They can be in the form of powder, fine sand or very small beads.
@sk_lemur
- Rhinestones and broths . Broths can most often be found in silver (steel) color, but there are also colored options. And rhinestones, which are often complemented with bouillons, come in almost all shades, so there can be many options for creating a monochromatic manicure.
@tpoleshuk_dejavu
- Kamifubuki. Kamifubuki to match the coating will not stand out much, however, such a design will definitely be successful. Kamifubuki diversify extended plain nails and make your manicure even more attractive.
@kkoss007
- Nude manicure. This shade does not require additional decor, although thin strips of tape or rhinestones and half-beads will make this manicure alluring and mysterious.
@ekaterina_nails_vrn
- Sequins (glitter). A glitter manicure in a solid color design will look really good on its own, but adding glitter to the design will make the design much brighter. A single-color manicure with glitter can be done using the French technique or striped with glitter to make the design more shiny and eye-catching.
@manicurtmn72
- Rubbing. The rub looks best on a plain black surface. But pearl, blue, steel and other shades will decorate your monochromatic design even better. This manicure does not require any decoration at all, although you can decorate it to your taste with rhinestones or sparkles.
@kuzmicheva_nails
- Volumetric transparent drawing. Such drawings are very helpful for girls who are forced to adhere to a strict manicure style without design, but still want to somehow decorate their nails. You can create a variety of patterns - flowers, patterns, simple drawings, droplets.
@darinka.shevchuk
The colors of a single-color manicure depend on the personal preferences of its owner. Bright, rich and rich colors are chosen by girls with a light and perky character. Nude and flesh-colored pastel colors are suitable for romantic beauties and office workers. Rich dark tones are the most common choice of confident women. A light, delicate and airy manicure looks better on the nails of teenage girls.
@nails_design_nd @viktorynails.minsk @nikolskayanatasha
The fashion for extended monochromatic nails never goes away, and by decorating such a manicure with a wide variety of designs, you will enjoy shiny nails for a long time.
Inspired by our review and selection of photos of monochromatic manicure, create your own interesting and mysterious design.
@pustashovanails @toma.kiev @nails_666x @katerina_nails_kh @chtkna_nails @sasha.nails_home @kigami_nails @alena_klimenko_nails @mushara87 @lara_nail_service
Matte velvet
One-color matte manicure is currently at the peak of modern fashion. The velvety contrast to the gloss looks original, mysterious and noble.
- This type of coating is great for decorating both long and short nails.
- Matte velvet looks elegant even without any decoration.
- With the use of various design ideas it looks truly royal.
A beautiful monochromatic manicure can be imagined in a combination of matte and glossy textures of French manicures and 3D designs. Volumetric shiny patterns on a velvet background attract attention with a special chic.
Light manicure using the spider web technique
Decorating a light manicure in a “spider web” style is one of the popular tricks of this season. Masters use black gel to apply a “web” on the nails and add a backing of shiny foil, strips of glitter or shiny tape as an addition.
Light manicure, made in delicate and pleasant shades, in 2020 has become one of the most versatile, widespread and unique options for nail design. A manicure in this style will fit perfectly into your every look and will gently decorate your hands at any event.
Decoration with rhinestones
The variety of sparkling stones provides enormous design possibilities.
- Rhinestones can have different sizes, shapes and colors.
- They can be matched to any monochromatic coating.
- For modest decoration, inexpensive elements made of glass and polymers are used.
Exclusive options involve specially processed faceted glass. The most famous luxury decoration for plain nails is Swarovski rhinestones.
"Grout"
“Grout” is a powder with microscopic glitter particles. The powder is rubbed into the nail already painted with gel polish. As a result, plain nails can shimmer with pearl, gold or holographic glitter.
The magic of sand
New single-color manicure products for 2022 include an unusual relief coating made using special grains of sand.
Using decorative sand, you can turn a boring monochrome into a masterpiece with three-dimensional images.
The substance can be used as a single coating or used to create convex images of different textures:
- The finest fluff;
- Small beads;
- Silk powder.
Stylish compositions created with sand will turn your nail plates into works of art.
Fresh light manicure ideas for short nails
Subtle colors on short nails will make your manicure as natural as possible. Variations such as nude design, thematic geometry and pastel notes have become especially popular in 2022. The geometric style is characterized by barely noticeable lines of compositions on short nails with a base light coating. Such an interesting solution deprives the manicure of any shadow of ordinariness and adds some charm to the overall look. Dusty pink, muted lilac, light graphite, sky blue and other shades from the pastel range add restraint to the image of any young lady. Many ladies choose these solid color options for manicure for everyday use, and remain absolutely confident in the relevance of their choice. The combination of a nude matte finish as a base and the finest painting, with barely noticeable lines of some delicate plant or branches, has become simply mega-fashionable for nails of this length this season.
Plain short nails
Nowadays, ladies of all ages actively use all kinds of gadgets.
- Working on a computer or typing on a phone or tablet is much more convenient with short nails.
- A bright multi-colored manicure is not always appropriate for such a length.
- The ideal option for nail plates of modest shapes would be a discreet, elegant one-color design.
There should be very few decorative elements, and it is better to use light shades.
Fashionable light manicure in the style of “minimalism”
One of the popular leaders in various areas of the fashion industry today is the minimalist style. Nail art, and especially fashionable light manicure, was no exception and presented ladies with chic options for decorating their nails. Fashionable light colors in lilac, pink, beige, blue and white look wonderful with neat lines, stripes, twigs, flowers and geometric shapes in a minimalist style. The combination of light tones of “negative space” and minimalism in a single design of nail plates was very successful. Also, for the most catchy manicure in this design, it will be enough to decorate your nails with strips of rhinestones, glitter, or make a small accent with foil, use kamifubuki, or any other option of your choice. Just don’t forget that minimalism should remain in all manicure designs.
Long nails in one color
A monochromatic coating will look good on long nails of any shape. It can be a soft square, an almond-shaped oval or a sharp stiletto.
The choice of color and decoration options for plain long nails is almost unlimited.
Beautiful spring manicure colors
The color palette will remain from previous seasons, but shades of blue, blue, burgundy and light purple will prevail. A huge palette will suit every beauty's taste. After all, cool tones are so diverse: from cosmic indigo to light lavender, appetizing mint and deep red-purple. But also don’t forget about sunny yellow – the trend, magical green and delicate pink tones. As a basis or in patterns, drawings. They will open up in a new way and add freshness and sophistication to nails of any shape. After all, it is she who takes over all the attention with a short length.
Seasonal decoration
When choosing the right color for your nails, you should focus on the time of year.
For each season, you can choose shades that are appropriate at a particular time:
- Spring. A time of elation, hope, fulfillment of desires. It is better to choose light and delicate tones: pink, beige, mint. An interesting choice would be a monochromatic café-au-lait manicure with a simple pattern.
- Summer. A good mood and an abundance of sunshine appears in bright, colorful or neon shades. There are practically no restrictions on colors. Decorative elements with a marine theme are welcome.
- Autumn. Bright colors turn into a more muted state and soothe the eye with golden shades of brown, deep blue, greens, and burgundy. Red, caramel, pistachio are also suitable. A monochromatic autumn manicure should be unobtrusive, so the number and size of decorative elements should be modest.
- Winter. A time of holidays and miracles. For everyday wear, light coating options are well suited: azure, hot pink, cream. A strict business style can be represented by burgundy, dark crimson, and gray. Bright shades of blue, red, white and green will be good for the holidays. You can safely decorate it with rhinestones, sparkles, mother-of-pearl and silver rubs.
The universal qualities of a single-color manicure will help you choose the ideal design for any season, situation and application.
Which shade of nail polish to choose for each season
Spring, summer, autumn and winter invariably follow each other. Each season brings new emotions and impressions, delights with holidays and entertainment unique to it. To emphasize the look chosen for the time of year and create the right mood, many ladies prefer to get a seasonal manicure.
Spring charm
In spring you want something light, romantic and pleasant. The soul asks for positive emotions and seeks inspiration in a pastel, delicate, airy nail design. Use light tones of pink, light green, lilac and lemon. Neutral milky and beige colors are also trending. They complement the romantic range with small flowers and sakura branches, lavender and lilac, images of butterflies, and single sparkles.
Bright summer colors
Summer provides beauties with complete freedom of expression. The trend is both soft pastel, airy transparent colors and neon colors. You don’t have to be afraid to overload your summer manicure with shiny accessories or bright images. Today in fashion:
- juicy fruit slices with drops of water or in creamy foam;
- holiday motifs - shells, sea, foam decor;
- imitation of the texture of natural stones - malachite, turquoise, marble, onyx;
- the focus is also on floral and animal prints, realistic images of butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies, and other insects.
Golden autumn
In autumn, nature falls asleep, the bright summer colors fade. A wide variety of designs are available.
- Noble shades of chocolate and coffee, restrained blue and green, wine.
- Dark, calm tones, combined with crimson and gold in the form of maple leaves;
- The decor includes transparent rain drops, stylized floristry, clouds and twigs.
- For a more elegant option, use peach, pistachio, caramel colors and neutral beige.
Winter magic
The best paints for the winter season:
- cold frosty blue, white, silver;
- light milky, beige and pink;
- for New Year's holidays they choose expressive dark blue, red, gold, green with a variety of shine;
- For a business woman, deep shades of burgundy, cherry, graphite, and lilac are suitable.
Photo of a single-color manicure
Velours
Not only matte surfaces are in fashion, but also imitation velor. Thus, some well-known cosmetics manufacturers produce nail polishes with velor effects. The surface turns out not only matte, but also rough, as if the nails were sprinkled with fluff.
Stripes
In manicure supply stores you can find thin strips of foil with an adhesive base. With their help, you can emphasize the beauty of the nail shape and make plain nails more original. The stripes can run vertically, cross the nails horizontally or diagonally.
Sliders
Increasingly, instead of painting nails by hand, nail artists are using ready-made water-based stickers. They can be very small or the size of a fingernail. You can choose a slider to match a single-color polish and add it to one of the nails on your hand.
