The Best Polish Colors For Pulling Off The 'Clean Girl' Nail Trend

When the detail-oriented and elegant "clean girl" beauty trend went viral, it created a firestorm of how-to videos and mood boards on social media. Today, the "clean girl" is instantly recognizable by her slicked-back hair, low-maintenance makeup style (her priority is skincare, anyway), neutral-hued clothing, minimalist jewelry choices, and a green juice in her well-manicured hand. It's an aspirational aesthetic for people who are looking to get their lives together or, at least, want to appear more put together.

Nail polish is one of the lowest bars of entry into the "clean girl" aesthetic since it's easy to apply and relatively inexpensive to get done. To give yourself a true "clean girl" manicure, look to the motifs associated with the aesthetic for inspiration. These include all of the extra things women do in their lives to appear low maintenance, like expensive dermatology treatments for healthy skin, and cosmetic procedures, like brow lamination, to have perfectly defined features. 

The ultimate goal in the "clean girl" look is to accentuate your natural beauty, so opt for nail polishes that do the same. 

Minimalism is a defining feature of the "clean girl" aesthetic, and finding the right nail polish colors for the perfect minimalist manicure is easier than you think. Opt for shades of neutral nail polish like Cirque Colors' Coffee Talk, ESSIE's Ballet Slippers, and People of Color Beauty's Brown Sugar Babe. Opt for one of these nail polish options the next time you go to the salon and you'll be one step closer to achieving this highly sought-after aesthetic for yourself.

We would be remiss not to also mention how effective having a French tip is in achieving the "clean girl" aesthetic too. Whether you opt for a classic French manicure or a more modern version like the outline French manicure trend taking over social media, this style, along with neutral nail polishes, instantly elevates your hands and eliminates any distractions, drawing all of the focus onto your pristinely manicured fingertips. Not only are they an obvious choice when you need to boost the appearance of your hands, but they also give you the extra-finished look that we're after for the "clean girl" aesthetic.

Pulling the "clean girl" aesthetic off properly involves spending time on yourself and investing in quality beauty treatments because you are a luxury. Elevate your minimalist neutral nail polish with the glossy nail trend that's been dubbed as the glazed donut style manicure; popularized by "clean girl" enthusiast and Rhode beauty brand founder, Hailey Bieber. With its cool finish and muted tones, the glazed donut style nail design is a fun way to ramp up your look for the "clean girl" aesthetic. 

Most often, the glazed effect of this style is created with a chrome-colored finishing powder applied over a neutral base coat. Skip the trip to a salon by investing in powders like Candy Coat's Mermaid Powder Palette and the Manicurist Paris' Glazed Effect Powder to achieve the look for yourself at home. There are also nail polishes you can use to get the glazed look, without powder, like Manicurist Paris' Diamant Nail Polish, Nailberry's Star Dust Nail Polish, Expressie's FX Iced Out Nail Polish, and 786 Bahrain Nail Polish.

We know you'll be happy with whichever shade of nail polish you choose to use while achieving the "clean girl" aesthetic, since its streamlined look will have you feeling refreshed and refined afterward, no matter what.