Leaving the salon with a mismatched manicure sounds like something to complain about (or if you’re overly polite like me, sulk about once you get home). But if Instagram is anything to go by right now, uniform nails are no longer the default.
In their place is something deliberately inconsistent: contrasting designs, unexpected shade combinations and nail art that has absolutely nothing to do with that on the finger next to it. The surest sign mismatched manicures are about to be everywhere? The stars are very much on board.
At Paris fashion week, star Cynthia Erivo’s long stiletto nails featured snake print tips in a rainbow of different colours. Over the weekend, nail artist Imarni shared the intentionally uncoordinated manicure she created for Iris Law ahead of the YSL show – an accidentally perfect combination of pastel purple and sky blue flanked by a saturated canary-yellow hue on two fingers.
“Iris always comes with inspo,” Imarni tells British . “She loves to be playful and she loves pastels, so we started by picking out a few of The GelBottle Inc pastel shades together,” including Jade, a duck-egg blue and Destiny, a blue-meets-violet colour. “We brought in the YSL moodboard, with its purple quilted satin, mustard croc and dusty blue satin straps, and started colour matching,” adds Imarni. “The look just evolved from there.”
For the milky grey, Imarni combined a few drops of Miss Grey with Daisy, a crisp white, to perfect the tone. As for the bold mustard yellow with a slight chartreuse undertone? That’s The GelBottle’s Legacy. “We finished on a short squoval shape with a glossy finish using Extreme Shine Top Coat. It’s fun, a little cheeky and very Iris,” said Imarni.
After years of intricate French tips and “clean girl” manicures built around 50 shades of nude, Imarni thinks it’s only natural that we’re keen to have a little fun again. “A mismatched manicure is an easy way to show some personality without going full nail art,” she says. “It’s self-expression, even on short nails, but it never feels over the top,” adds Imarni, “and it works with jeans and a T-shirt just as well as on the front row.”
She offers just one small rule: “I’d recommend keeping the shades in the same family of intensity,” says Imarni. Think all pastels, or all brights, or all neons. “This will look intentional,” says Imarni. “I like to pick four or five shades, repeat them across both hands and keep the shape short and neat so it still feels polished.”
Get inspired with the mismatched manicures below.