Any beauty obsessive worth their salt knows that brown nails have been a runaway success – not just for this season, but the season before that (and the one before that, too).

A classic in its own right, brown has always offered a softer alternative to black, whether it’s mascara, eyeliner or nail polish. Not to mention that it provides a gentle neutral that feels less harsh and a lot more warm across deep to fair skin tones. Add to that the fact that it’s timeless (and seasonless), and you have yourself a beauty triple-threat. It brings warmth with tan and bronze shades in spring-summer but also cosiness with mochas and deep chocolates in autumn-winter.

At the end of last summer, latte makeup (then latte nails) took off, with monochromatic brown makeup looks and glossy brown manis taking centre stage. Of course, the shade is headlining again for autumn, but through winter and heading out into spring, it’s set to remain a top contender.

So, from milk chocolate to a more mahogany-toned dark chocolate, brown nails are going nowhere. You can use it as a blanket colour over almond-shaped nails or to play up French tips, marble swirls and negative space. Even the emerging trend for patent nails is embracing chocolate hues, albeit an ultra-shiny, lacquered iteration characterised by a hard-shell finish that’s as pretty as it is chip-resistant.

Here’s 25 of our fave brown nails to give you some inspiration for your autumn manicure and the nail polish we’ll be buying to achieve them.

Brown polka dot nails

We told you in the summer that polka dot nails were going to be everywhere and they’re not going anywhere for autumn. An alternative to the classic black and white colour combo, a brown base with white dots is a cute twist on the trend.

Brown cat-eye nails

Another one of 2025’s biggest nail trends, mesmerising cat-eye nails are perfect for brown nails. Go dark or lighten things up with the golden undertones in this set.