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The Prettiest Spring Nail Art You Need to Try Now

Finally! No rainbows or elaborate designs -- it's nail art for grownups
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Line 'Em Up
Whether single striped at Tibi or checkerboard at Tracy Reese, black stripes were paired with pops of spring pastels.

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Get the Look
At Tibi, nails were painted in JinSoon Kookie White, then a thin brush dipped in JinSoon Obsidian was used to create a vertical line down the nail on the middle finger and a vertical line across the ring and pointer fingers.

For the checkerboard look, start with a base like Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Pique Side, then draw two horizontal and two vertical stripes using the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen in black.

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Fresh Floral Prints
Longer nails at shows like Emerson were the perfect canvas for these elaborate flowers.

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Get the Look
We're saving the freehand version of these florals for the pros and cheating a little with these Jamberry nail wraps -- just as pretty on shorter, square cut nails as they are on long almond-shaped nails, plus you don't have to be a modern day Monet to create them.

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The Modern French
To update the classic French manicure, Wes Gordon painted nails a light lavender with taupe tips.

We have a fickle, ambivalent relationship with nail art. Based on behind-the-scenes declarations from insiders who know, we've declared it dead and over. Kind've. Twice. (See: NYFW Trend Alert: Bare Nails Are In, Polish is Out.) Then we spy incredible, OTT manis, and we love it all over again for its cutting edge genius. Then we see 3-D nail art, and we're all ... love, hate, love hate again.

Lately, after taking over the beauty world for a few seasons, nail art has generally come to mean more OTT than edgy. But if you're not into the tiny painted puppies or Swarovski-encrusted designs that have taken over our Pinterest and Instagram feeds, we've got good news for you. Nail art is still very much a thing, and if you're taking your cue from the runways, the new nail art on trend for spring is much more subdued and, (dare we say it?), classy. Here's how to get six of our favorite, easy-to-re-create looks from fashion week -- and we solemnly promise, when you're all done, your nails won't look like they belong on a Lisa Frank folder.
BY MARISSA DESANTIS | MAR 5, 2014 | SHARES
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