The rise of the Naked Nail
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What recent trends are influencing nail care choices?
Okay, a bit of breaking news now. It seems there's a backlash against big nails. Apparently acrylics, extension, nail art, all out. People are reverting to the so-called naked nail broadcaster, Africa O'Connell. Good afternoon.
I don't know why you didn't have me on your newspaper panel for this.
I know, yeah. These are the things that matter.
Why are influencers moving away from gel and acrylic nails?
Are you into your nails? I'm trying to look over now.
I am, yeah. I've got really bad nails.
What does the term 'naked nail' mean in the current beauty context?
I've got like short nail bed, which is not something I felt I had to be concerned about, but it turns out you do. So I love manicure, but I never went big on the gel and the big, exactly. Because I was kind of like, how do you do anything? How do you type? How do you wash your hair? How do you go to the loo? Yeah.
You know the sound of tapping on, I love the sound of talons tapping on a phone, yeah.
Yeah, but I was like, so the closest thing I ever went to nail art or anything like that was like a French tip. Keep them real short. They're very round. They're a bit gross, to be honest. But I'd also have this massive bogey.
You see, it's big nail has done that to you. I'm a bit gross, yeah. OK, so are you millennial or Gen Z, by the way?
God bless you for asking that question. I'm very much a millennial.
OK, and explain to me the nail wars. Are the Gen Z's bullying and mocking the millennials again?
I don't think they are actually bullying and mocking the millennials. I don't think they think about us at all. to be honest but millennial women seem to feel that we're being we're under attack because we have this thing where we're so attached to the things that we love and you know that became popular when we were coming up in our prime and we were the only show in town and all this yeah yeah yeah And it's hard to let go of. So, but now, so you get all these articles written by millennial women who are saying, Gen Z will never take my, you know, gel, my acrylic extensions or whatever. They're not trying to, I don't think. I think they're not thinking about it at all.
But there is, Gen Z are freeing the nail now, correct?
They are freeing the nail, apparently, yeah.
And what's the natural nail look now?
So,
I presume it's anything but natural.
Of course it is, yeah. Because you can't actually spend less time on your appearance. You just have to appear like you're spending less time on your appearance, if you know what I mean. I'm about to blow your mind now because spring, summer 2026, right? And I know you're big into this. All the trends on the catwalks are milky nudes, whisper nails, invisible nails, soap nails and naked nails are the key trends. this spring, summer 2026.
Listen, I am an influencer. I'm ahead of my time here. I know you are. Bitten nails, are they in there now?
No, you see, this is the problem. This is the problem. I was a big fan of a dark nail, like back in my kind of teenage MySpace. Oh yeah, I hear you.
You know, kind of those guys. Black and purple and that kind of thing.
All of that, yeah. When I was going to Metallica concerts to impress boys and all that kind of stuff. But you would have seen the Met Gala in May. It... The theme this year was fashion is art, right? So you would have thought that it would have been the perfect place.
How are generational differences impacting nail fashion?
Nails around that, yeah. Exactly, and nail art and all this kind of stuff. But then you had celebrities like Hailey Bieber and Tate McRae showing up in beautiful outfits, but with barely their nails. And I think what they're doing is, have you ever heard that phrase, money talks, but wealth whispers? No.
Yeah, this is a flex.
This is a flex, right? Because what is more wealthy than health? Do you know what I mean? So it's kind of, if you get rid of the sort of glaring big colours, big extensions, all that kind of stuff, and you put the same kind of time and money into your healthy nails, you look wealthy rather than rich, which I think is what people are going for here.
So it's a quiet luxury kind of... Quiet luxury, exactly. ...comes to nails.
Exactly. So it's that thing of you want to look like you're doing, I don't know if you've heard of this clean girl aesthetic that is a huge trend on Twitter, on the internet.
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