Skin-tone nails are the new foundation

When it came to nails, 2011 was a veritable art attack. After psychedelic shades and decorative nail art took hold of London's street and fashion scenes, Dalston's WAH nails became the most in-demand manicure in town. But now 2012 will see the return of natural nails - stripped back to their simplest form.

Nude is the must-have nail shade this season, with a fleshy spectrum of neutral colours dominating talons. The trend has been on the rise since Chanel broke away from classic reds and pinks to create Particulière - a mushroom beige shade which went on to be a sellout.

Taking the trend to its newest heights, at this year's Louis Vuitton spring/summer catwalk, models wore bespoke varnishes - each one subtly matched to every model's skin tone. Other designers who chose the less-is-more approach included Isabel Marant, Prada and Christian Dior, who opted for a sheer peach, while a light caramel wash appeared at both Giorgio Armani and Valentino. Creamy nudes were also championed by Roberto Cavalli, and at Lacoste and Altuzara flesh-toned glossy nails were used to set off luxe sport collections.

But these back-to-basics nails are far from simple, requiring a high level of dedication and a steady hand to create their polished perfection.

When choosing a shade, think of it as a foundation for your nails - the closest match to your skin tone will achieve the chicest results.

Rococo Nail Apparel has recently launched a Nude Wardrobe of eight nail colours (£12 each, spacenk.com). Celebrity favourite OPI also champions a host of varying natural shades (£11 each, lenawhite.co.uk), with actress Eva Mendes a fan of the brand's soft pink Dulce de Leche and tan nude Samoan Sands, while Rihanna favours its honey-toned Barefoot in Barcelona. Other options include Deborah Lippmann's perfect flesh-tone, Naked (£14, houseof fraser.co.uk), or, for a light, barely-there shade, opt for Revlon's Sheer Nude (£6.49, revlon.co.uk), and finish with a high shine topcoat.

Even Kate Middleton was an early adopter of the naked nail look, choosing to blend the airy pinks of Essie's Allure and Bourjois' So Laque enamel in Rose Lounge for her big day last April. If it's good enough for the duchess, it is good enough for us. There's never been a better time to flash the flesh.