Black Aura Nails Are The It Girl Manicure Of Summer 2024

Though black nails can be totally chic when done right, they aren't exactly the first manicure color you think of when summer rolls around. Summer manicures tend to be brighter, more fun, and just all around more colorful — but not necessarily this year. Though summer 2024's nail trends still include the likes of fun fruity designs and muted French manicures, you can also add black aura nails to that list. Yep, the fall 2023 trend is back with a dark and moody bang. Not familiar with the look? Aura nails are designed such that there's one color in the center of the nail that fades out very softly into another shade, which is kind of like the background color. 

Trendsetter Dua Lipa proudly showed off her black background aura nails on Instagram in April, and, hey, if it's good enough for the pop queen, then it's good enough for us. In fact, she's one of the main reasons why we've rounded up some of the very best black aura manicure styles to help you get ahead of this surprising summer nail style.

Though, traditionally, there's one single shade in the center of the nail that fades out with aura nails, there's no reason why you can't change it up. Hey, we're already stepping outside the box with black nails in summer, so why not take things one step further? To do that, try making black your fade-out color and create a few aura circles around the nail rather than just one. This will help bring some summer fun back to the look, especially if you rock a lighter shade as the background color.

Another way to dress up the traditional black aura manicure is to add some nail accessories. 3D nail charms have been popular with manicure enthusiasts, and adding extras like pearls or rhinestones is a more understated way of getting that look. While pearls will add a delicate twist to the look, rhinestones will glam things up a little. But why stop there? If you want to go all out, try larger 3D charms like bows or hearts to bring your own style to the trend.

You may have heard that clear nails have been hot for a while, and we want to keep that going. To get more trend for your buck, try a sheer or semi-sheer all-black aura look that will really catch the eye. The way to get this look is to apply a sheer black powder to the entire nail (this works better on longer talons), then create your black aura over the top. You could even add a little something extra to really amp things up, like metallic accents.

As we've mentioned, black isn't the most traditional summer nail color, but aura nails flip all of that on its head. If you're not feeling the super dark nails as the temperatures rise, try the traditional aura look with a single shade in the middle. Just make sure that the color is on the lighter side. Something like pink or yellow is more in tune with those summer days, so you won't feel like you're missing out on the sunny day fun.

You could also bring your black aura nails to life this summer by rocking them with a little texture. There are countless ways to do this, but the easiest is to create your look and then add a clear builder gel over the top. That way, you can add anything you want to make your nails 3D, such as swirls, stripes, or even dots to give the illusion of raindrops.