Are glossy neutral nail trends a thrifty response to expensive in-salon manicures?

At the end of 2023, BEAUTYcrew spoke to three leading experts in the Australian hair industry to discuss the effects of the cost of living crisis on our hair, and six months later we're revisiting the subject through the lens of the Australian nail industry and a trio of experts in the field. 

After noticing a rise in glossy, neutral nail trends (read: soap nails, lip oil nails, and syrup nails) over the last twelve months and frequent conversations with friends about stretching out the length of time in between manicures, or forgoing them completely in lieu of at-home touch-ups with a bottle of polish, we had to investigate.

BEAUTYcrew enlisted the professional insights of three influential experts in the Australian nail industry to help penetrate the effects of the cost of living crisis on our manicures and the hardworking entrepreneurs responsible for them. Introducing: Sydney-based nail artist, Victoria Houllis (AKA Mannequin Hands), Melbourne-based nail artist, Chelsea Bagan (AKA Trophy Wife), and Emma Paxton, founder of Pax Polish.

Smaller budgets are affecting small businesses

As our budgets for beauty-related expenses get smaller and smaller to accommodate the inflating costs of essentials like groceries and rent, we're not the only ones feeling the pinch — nail artists and their self-started businesses are being impacted too. 

"Given many small businesses or independent techs need to charge high prices to cover the overheads of being the sole earner in the business, these services are often first to leave their [clients'] lifestyle," explains Victoria Houllis.

"Some clients have had to stop getting their nails done all together, while others are opting for spacing appointments further and further apart or trying out simpler nail looks," she continued, elaborating that about 20 per cent of her client base now asks for minimalist manicures. 

However, the Sydney nail artist says there are still customers seeking nail art, who have asked Houllis to create manicures that retain her eclectic 'Mannequin Hands' aesthetic, and keen attention to detail, whilst sticking to a strict set budget amount. "I'll work within the constraints of what they're happy to spend," she explains. 

However, Mannequin Hands also offers an alternative to navigating the business' jam-packed appointment schedule if you do have a limited budget; Houllis has created two sets of nail decals in collaboration with two female Australian artists, which retail for less than $20 — Made in Heaven Nail Decals designed and illustrated by Stephanie Tsimbourlas and Divinity Decals designed and illustrated by Bianca Beers.

Clients are utilising interesting techniques in the pursuit of longevity

Things aren't too dissimilar in Melbourne, says Chelsea Bagan. The nail artist behind Trophy Wife Nail Art in Richmond says the current economic climate is making it harder and harder to operate a nail business. 

"Aside from increased rent and outgoings, the cost of product has skyrocketed," she tells BEAUTYcrew. "The nail industry is one of the lowest paid beauty industries, and also lowest cost to consumer services, and the pricing culture in Australia for nails makes it extremely difficult to break even at the best of times."

Bagan says customers are not only trying to extend their manicures by booking their return appointments one to two weeks later than usual, but they're also opting for nail services that promise longevity such as BIAB.

"These services cost slightly more, but the longer wear time, and time before you need to return to the salon is considerable in terms of cost savings," says Bagan. A few of her clients have also started removing their manicures at home to save on add-on removal costs at their next appointment, whilst others are opting for simple nail art or monochromatic polish and leaving intricate artwork for special occasions only.

"We have a lot of clients that will do a neutral tone base with nail art on top so that they can worry less about the noticeable nail growth," shares Bagan. "Things like negative space designs or colour that starts away from the cuticle is very popular."

People are painting their nails at home

Emma Paxton, the brains behind no-nasties nail polish brand Pax Polish, says that in this time of economic uncertainty, neutral nail polish sales are steady. 

"With everything being affected by the cost of living there's no doubt that the nail industry and its artists don't remain unaffected. Pricing for salon services have increased in order to remain feasible. A trip to the salon however, has never been economical compared to doing a natural mani in the comfort of your own home," she tells BEAUTYcrew.

"It may require more maintenance and time but a bottle of polish will stretch your dollar much farther than one trip to the salon and it seems more people are starting to pay heed to this, alongside the health of their nails," she continued. 

However, Pax Polish's best-selling nude shades don't just serve a function as easy-to-maintain nail colours, they've also appeared on the runways of Australian Fashion Week for brands such as Blanca and Acler.

"Not only is it the most in-demand look for our Fashion Week shows, but our customer base loves it too," says Paxton. "There's something easy, elegant and low-maintenance about a nude mani."

Pax Polishes most popular nail polish shades are Wangari ($31 from Sephora), a sheer taupe that models wore during the Acler Resort '25 show, and Malala ($31 from Sephora), a nude pink, and Florence ($31 from Sephora), a sheer off-white, which both made an appearance at Blanca's resort collection showing.

"The commonality between these three colours is their semi-transparent quality and neutral tone," says the brand's founder. "[But] there's so much fun to be had with nail colour, and the great thing is you can swap it out every other week depending on your mood or occasion. We love seeing unique designs our customers have created at home with our rich, vibrant shades."

Though we can't personally see ourselves ever forsaking manicures completely, this Beauty Editor has to admit that her monthly trip to the nail salon has now been extended to a strict once-every-six-weeks appointment schedule. Bottles of inexpensive nail varnish and infrequent visits to the podiatrist for medical pedicures have completely replaced the foot baths and gel sets of pedis past now too.

But is this proverbial tightening of the belt forever or are we all just momentarily holding our breath?

Only time will tell, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it's the latter — we don't want to live in a world where people are so restricted by their budgets that they can't glue butterfly charms and gem stones to their nails. 

Main image credits: @paxpolish, @trophywifenailart, @mannequin.hands/BEAUTYcrew

Want more 'High Gloss' features like this? Read the rest of our digital issue.