What is a mismatched manicure? A guide to the viral nail trend

Pastels and embellished manicures are dominating Spring/Summer nail trends, however, an addition to the list of viral manicures is the mismatched manicure which features a different combination of colors on every finger.

Taylor Swift shared an Eras Tour manicure featuring a different shade on each nail to symbolize her albums wherein Pink represented Lover, Black represented Reputation, and so on. Pioneer of glazed and pastel manicures, Hailey Bieber was also seen sporting the mismatched manicure.

One can either wear the mismatched manicure by combining different nail shades or by pairing nail shades and designs alternately. Easy to curate, mismatched nails allow beauty enthusiasts to experiment with their favorite manicure styles together.

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A guide to styling and sporting the mismatched manicure

Like every manicure that must be long-lasting and glossy-looking, the mismatched manicure requires adequate nail prep which can be done by shaping the nails using a nail file and nail cutter. It is important to use a cuticle oil and push the cuticles back allowing for more space for nail product application.

When starting with a mismatched manicure without having any specific ideas in mind, one can opt for a contrasting color on each nail either in a combination of pastels and neons or chrome shades. Once the nails have been painted with different shades, one can add different designs to the nails or use stickers for a quick nail makeover.

Some of the ways that beauty enthusiasts can sport and curate a mismatched manicure include:

Mismatched French manicure:

Beauty enthusiasts who love French manicures but want to switch up the manicure's monotonous look can pair different base shades and contrasting tips for an attractive-looking Mismatched nail set.

One can start by using pastel shades such as milky pink, lilac, and butter yellow for the base and pair them with red, deep purple, and orange shades for the tips respectively.

Groovy Mismatched nails:

Groovy nails feature a wavy design on the nails which are often a combination of two or more shades. Combining the groovy and mismatched nail trend, one can alternate between sporting wavy designs along with simple natural shades or design two or three nails with the wavy pattern and leave the other nails colored without any pattern.

Mismatched quirky manicure:

A quirky manicure can comprise multiple designs such as the yin and yang symbol, chequered design, emojis, and much more. For a fun spin on the mismatched nail trend, one can pair their favorite quirky designs on each nail and sport a colorful, poppy-looking manicure.

One can use nail wrap sheets and nail stickers from Amazon to elevate the manicure without having to hand draw the designs.

Clashing mismatched nails:

Those who want to try the mismatched manicure trend but don't want to undertake the effort of painting each nail a different shade and design can opt for the clashing color combination. The clashing design of mismatched nails consists of using a combination of two complementing shades on one hand and two complementing shades on the other.

This may include using white and blue on the fingers of one hand and orange and yellow on the other hand.

Patterned mismatched nails:

A patterned manicure consists of chequered designs, abstract lines, and shapes. One can pair all abstract patterns with a pastel or natural shade for the base and dark shades for the lines and shapes on the nails.

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The mismatched manicure is a trend that allows beauty enthusiasts to experiment with multiple nail designs simultaneously. Additionally, there are various ways in which one can sport the nail trend ranging from low-effort colour combinations to intricate designs.