Tis the season for pictures of your hands holding mugs of tea and pumpkin spice lattes. And while your outfit in the background may be trendy — are your nails up to par? TABLE Magazine spoke with the staff at Murrysville-based nail salon Life in Color, Min Tran of Moon’s M-I-N Nail Salon, and perused the aisles of Target to find out what fall nail colors are trending in 2023, so you can be stylish from head to toe.
What trending 2023 fall nail colors are you seeing? What is currently getting requested the most?
Life in Color: A lot of tans and browns, some oranges, mauve, and some greens like sage. Those are pretty typical. Chrome, on the other hand, has been making a comeback since the beginning of 2023 and has continued to stay popular throughout the year. Chrome is available in any shade because you can put a white chrome over any color. Then we have various colors of chrome, like the browns, oranges, and greens, that are both popular this autumn and hit the jewel tone trend. Shiny things are in because it adds that extra layer and dimension.
M-I-N: Seasonal colors like orange, brown, grey.
How do those color choices compare to last fall?
Life in Color: Last year was a lot of maroons, and burnt orange was a big thing. So were greens. This year is more browns than greens, for sure.
M-I-N: It was very similar to this year, actually, orange and black are always the most popular colors. And red too.
What are some timeless nail styles or colors?
Life in Color: Nudes and ombres, like a French ombre. And a French, particularly, is completely timeless. Right now, glazed donut nails are a really big thing that carried over from last year. This may be because clear, iridescent glitter is also timeless.
M-I-N: French style is always popular for the whole year. Even this season, a lot of people are still getting a French, but they are layering it with black or orange for fall or Halloween.
What is your winter nail forecast?
Life in Color: A lot of sparkly white. Gold flakes are always a thing, and it’s timeless, actually — we use them throughout the whole year. Icy blue, hunter green, and definitely a lot of reds for the holidays and blues and silvers for New Year’s Eve. It changes each month, but December is definitely a month for red, silver, and black, with this year, I’m predicting, added chrome.
M-I-N: People like to get darker colors in the winter, like red, blues, and greens are really popular.
Any tips for those going to get their nails done?
Life in Color: If you’re in a nail salon and don’t know what you want, ask your nail technician and give them your general vibe. In a good salon, a few people should come over to help if your tech can’t assist. And if you come in with a picture, remember it’s just inspiration. Give your manicurists some leeway, some room to have fun with it. They’ll understand the look you’re going for, and if they can tweak it a bit, you should allow that because it will probably end up looking better because they’ll feel more comfortable.
Trending at Target
Sold-out or almost-gone colors at Target included Essie’s Party Mix & Match, Now or Never, Crochet Away, and Cold Brew Crew — darker colors ranging from black and brown to mauve. A nail polish display advertising Moody Darks and Crisp Brights was nearly empty.
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