The Best Summer Nail Trends 2025

After a year spent mourning our monthly nail salon visits, researching D.I.Y nail hacks, and stocking up on budget-friendly nail polish from Chemist Warehouse, we’re finally ready to accept the fact that our manicures might look a little different in 2025.

With the cost of living crisis still waging a war on our wallets, we’ve had to be realistic and get creative when it comes to our nails.

So instead of entirely reinventing the wheel, we predict that 2025 will offer a refreshing air of neutral, minimalist manicures, with perhaps a pop of colour here and there. Hey, we may be on a budget, but that doesn’t mean we can’t spring for one or two new bottles of nail polish this year.

Without further ado, here are the five 2025 summer nail trends that we recommend you start saving to your manicure mood board, today.

1/ The No-Makeup Makeup Manicure

Inspired by a makeup look that’s all about enhancing natural beauty, the no-makeup makeup manicure is like, well, your nails, but better. The secret to this trend is investing the time to routinely manicure your hands, and a lick of clear top coat. If you have the right tools, a clean and tidy manicure is easy to maintain at home. But it’s also a service that some salons offer for as little as $15.

2/ The Mocha Mousse Manicure

Pantone’s colour of the year always inevitably influences the colour palettes of our wardrobes and beauty routines, and this year is no different. The shade in question, mocha mousse, is a sultry blend of chocolate and coffee inspired hues. Naturally, it’s the perfect trend to try if you’re more of a neutral nail person — we recommend reaching for a bottle of Essie Nail Polish in the shade ‘Clothing Optional’ ($10.99 from Chemist Warehouse) to nail this look at home.

3/ The Cat Eye Manicure

The cat eye manicure, otherwise known as the velvet manicure, has steadily become one of the most popular nail designs available in-salon over the last few years. The simple, but dazzling, technique uses magnetised iron particles to create soft waves of velvety shimmer. Most salons offer the service for an additional $10 to $20 to the cost of a traditional gel manicure, but you can also shop the specialty polishes and nail magnets online if you already have a UV lamp at home.

4/ Patent Nude Nails

We’ve spotted variations of this high-shine nude nail trend on digits for the past few years. However, whether they’re called soap nails or lip gloss nails, one fact remains the same — they’re exceptionally easy to pull off. All you need is a nude polish and a high-shine clear top coat to get the job done. We rate OPI’s Infinite Shine Top Coat ($24.95 from MYER) for such occasions.

5/ The American Manicure

A softer take on the classic French manicure, the American uses a contrast of sheer pink or nude, and cloudy ivory, to define the nail plate and tip. If you have a steady hand, this look is easy enough to recreate at home. We’d recommend using a micro-fine nail brush for the task — we like the options available in this nail art tools set from Priceline ($5 from Priceline).