Leather-look nails are the grunge girl alternative to glazed

When it comes to mani trends, barely-there minimalism has reigned supreme for the past few seasons, thanks to glazed donut nails. But leather-look nails are emerging as the grunge-girl alternative that we’ve started spotting everywhere. Specifically, we’re talking black leather, courtesy of sheeny black polishes that look tough and glam in equal measure.

Of course, black nails are nothing new – they’re timeless, classic and neutral enough to go with everything, but in recent years, they’ve been sidelined for the wave of “clean-girl” nudes, milky manis, and soft pink glazed donut nails.

Now though, we’re seeing a return to a grungier aesthetic as an antidote to all things squeaky clean. The movement was already building before Jenna Ortega death-stared her way onto our screens, as Wednesday Addams, but undeniably her goth-girl vibe has kick started a renewed fascination with grunge.  See also: smoked out eyes, stained lips and semi-matte complexions.

The trend is heavy on nostalgia, too. The re-emergence of black leather-look nails, is giving us throwback Y2K vibes when everyone was tapping on their BlackBerry’s with a matching (chipped) midnight manicure while throwing coy looks at their favourite Sk8er Boi on the school field. Rimmel’s £3 black polish and Essie’s Licorice were the MVP of our nail polish stash. But as with then, the beauty with leather-look nails is that it doesn’t require full commitment. You can dip into an edgier mani to toughen up your everyday outfits (like Uggs, Y2K’s unlikeliest comeback kid), or lean into the aesthetic all the way.

Here’s some of our favourite leather-look nails…

Almond-shaped leather-look nails

Sydney Sweeney’s leather-look nails

Lizzo’s XXL leather-look nails

Hailee Steinfeld’s leather-look nails

Camila Cabello’s short & cute leather-look nails

Kourtney Kardashian’s pointed leather-look nails

For more from GLAMOUR’s Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk