Even super heroes have to go into the office sometimes, but you can still feel powerful with this zigzag design in gold and muted pinks. To get straight lines like this, Michelle Mismas from nail blog AllLacqueredUp.com suggests tape. "Use satin tape or painters tape -- it's a nail artist's best friend," she says. "Tap the tape on your finger to tone down the stickiness a bit, then apply it to the nail in the design you want."
Source: Nailside blog
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Get geometric
These designs could benefit from painters tape as well, or you can try the Orly Striper Brush, $7, which helps you make controlled lines. Follow the lead of these photos and do slight variations on your nails (like switching the orientation of the design on your pinkie, for example) but keep the polish colors the same so the end result still looks clean.
Source: Prima Creative blog
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Jade camo
This nail art takes some work, but the end result is pretty spectacular. To do it, paint a base coat on your nails, then apply tape all around your nails, covering your cuticles. Then, take a bowl of room temperature water and very quickly drop in droplets of multiple nail polish shades (keep them all in the same color family to get a camo look like this one). Use a toothpick to swirl the droplets of polish around and dip one finger in. Let it sit for a few seconds and use the toothpick to collect the remaining polish off the surface. Remove your finger and repeat the process for each nail. (If you need help, check out this video tutorial.)
Source: OoohShinies blog and Polish and Pearls blog
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Ring around the edges
This high-fashion manicure is a more modern take on the French or moon manicures. To do it, just paint your entire nail with a base shade, then paint a darker color just in the center part of your nail, letting the lighter shade show through near your nail base and on the sides.
As for the colors, any shades can work. Mismas says lavender and violet are office-friendly, but this would also be beautiful with taupey-brown shades as well. Or if you're feeling bold you can try this red/silver color combo.
Source: F*ck Yeah, Nail Art blog
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Sophisticated sparkle
Using a fine-milled, subtle glitter like this one makes the final look more adult. Misma says, "Doing glitter in tonal (as opposed to contrasting) shades makes it more subtle."
To do this look, apply a base color of polish, then take a piece of tape and cut triangles out of it. Place the piece of tape over your nail and do a coat of a complementary shade. When you lift the tape, you'll be left with the triangle design on your nail. (For a full tutorial, click here.)
Source: Quite Polished blog and Chloe's Nails blog
Love it or hate it, nail art is a full-blown trend. There are literally thousands of blogs devoted to these souped-up manicures, and there are countless nail designs -- more than you could try in a lifetime of trips to the nail salon.
But while we love ogling the creative techniques and the how-did-they-do-that nail designs, let's face it: As adorable as pink glittered bows or neon stripes are, they don't exactly fly after a certain age.
This doesn't mean we're permanently relegated to boring nude or sheer pink manis. With a little digging and some help from a few experts, we found 13 nail designs that are perfect for grown-ups. It's all about "fine art for nails," says Nonie Creme, Founding Creative Director of butter LONDON nail polish.
What does that mean? Think sophisticated color palettes, simple (yet striking) geometric designs, and minimal glitter. But don't worry. Just because these nail designs are mature doesn't mean they're boring. Keep clicking to see the most amazing -- and wearable -- nail designs we could find.
