Beauty trends come and go, but one we’ve seen a lot of lately and think it will be here to stay indefinitely is nail art for men, also recently dubbed as the "man-icure." While the men’s manicure isn’t something necessarily new, as we’ve seen it in the past on celebrities like David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Kurt Kobain, the trend rarely made its rounds outside the world of rockstars or the grunge and goth subcultures. Now, freshly polished fingers are being seen on just about any man and maybe soon, every man. A trend that was once seen as a badge of rebellion is now showing up on men from every space, from Brad Pitt to your average Joe.
Anna Parvatalova, SNS Creative Director says, "I think one of the reasons we are seeing more men paint their nails is simply because there's less stigma around it. I think more male celebrities are doing it. I've even seen popular streamers painting nails live in front of their audience, so it's definitely something that's likely to come across as less bizarre as it happens more and more.” Celebrities like Post Malone, Harry Styles, Jared Leto, and A$AP all seem to be endorsing the "man-icure", regularly donning uber-cool nail art, and men everywhere seem to be quickly catching on.
The great thing about the “man-icure” is that it’s super low-maintenance, inexpensive, and simple enough for pretty much anyone to try. Also -- applying nail polish doesn’t take much commitment, as you can easily remove it from one day to the next if you regret your color choice or decide it’s not for you. Men who like forms of self-expression or are into fashion, but aren’t ready to commit to a tattoo or piercing may find nail art is the perfect outlet or middle ground. From matte black and bold colors to symbols and geometric lines, men are wearing nail art loud and proud, and we absolutely love it.
At one point, nail polishes were solely geared towards women, but now fashion labels and nail product companies are launching nail polishes just for men. We are seeing a lot more gender fluidity when it comes to trends and beauty standards, and many are becoming completely gender-neutral and all-inclusive, making gender stereotypes obsolete. At SNS, we are all for this latest trend and have begun promoting our nail products specifically to men and including them in our advertisements as well. “Fashion is a world that is constantly changing, especially when it comes to things traditionally associated as being masculine or feminine. The world of nails is no exception,” says Parvatalova. At SNS, we believe all our products are genderless and can be worn by anyone who wants great-looking, healthy nails.
