13 Best Fall Nail Trends of 2019 You Need to Copy ASAP

Get ready for an influx of animal prints hitting your feed, as the infamous leopard skirt of this summer makes its way onto your nails this fall. To keep the look from overpowering your nails, try sprinkling your print just on the edges of your nails rather than all over.

To keep these spots from looking like the polka dots you wore in kindergarten (hey, those dots served us all very well, but they aren’t the trend this fall), vary up the sizing and spacing of your spots. Using a dotting tool—or, in a pinch, a toothpick with the tip cut off—gently press black spots over white polish, playing around with the shapes so they don’t look too perfect.

Don’t worry, the gradient trend of this summer isn’t dying—it’s just getting a little muted makeover for fall. Swap the soft pinks, yellows, and greens for a gradient of glitter in mixed-metal shades.

Milky nails in the middle of a hot-ass summer? K. Milky nails in the middle of a crisp, sweater-filled fall? Uh, yes, please. Double points if you pair it with the squared-off nail trend.

Think of these as the tinier, subtler, “lite” version of negative-space nails. Only the sides of your nails are left bare for these bright-red, blood-drip nails, which feels oddly cool (and chilling?) for a fall nail look.

Just the tip (heh) has a whole new meaning this fall with this cool take on the accent-nail trend. Whether you opt for tiny stars, dots, or these gilded chain-like dashes, keep the designs to the tips of your nails only, and cover the whole thing with a layer of gel-like top coat (you want to minimize those chips—they’ll look extra obvious).

When paired with a modern metallic polish and stiletto shape, fall 2019’s pearl embellishments are the furthest thing from preppy.

A tiny sliver of sparkle is all it takes to transform this simple black look into a celestial nail design. A half-moon nail design is cool and all, but an eclipse is stellar. (Get it? I’ll see myself out, thank you.)

Inspired by heat maps, this organic marbleized design looks almost iridescent with a metallic finish.

If you always walk around with chipped nail polish—which is hella visible when wearing fall’s darker hues—take a cue from Prabal Gurung and opt for a negative space design so your polish (or lack thereof) looks intentional.

Neon is still trending hard in fashion (and will continue into fall), and now, it’s extending to your beauty. Even if you’re not as talented as nail artist Mei Kawajiri, who created this design, you can still get in on the neon look with a simple coat of megawatt polish.

Florals for fall actually is kinda groundbreaking. A muted base color with orange petal designs (yup, you can use nail stickers!) keeps the typically springy look autumnal.

If you can hardly write in block letters, let alone paint with your nondominant hand, save this cool black-and-white newsprint for your next nail art appointment.