Aastha Jain“Wow! You’ve got some pretty nails there.” A compliment like this can really make your day, right? After all, you have spent hours finding the right salon and the nail art that really matches your vibe. So, getting compliments like that makes you feel proud and happy.
People say things like, “Oh, it’s only applying some colours and making some lines.” But it’s more than that. It’s a whole experience. An experience that makes us feel better about ourselves. And sometimes, we all need to treat ourselves to good things.
I remember the first time I got a nail design on my fingernails. There were two events lined up in my schedule, a friend’s birthday party and a college event. I decided to go for a minimal design and got a pink coloured nail design with a star design.
It looked so simple and beautiful, everyone asked me where I got them done. I felt ecstatic, telling everyone why I liked this design and how it didn’t take much to get it done.
Getting your nails done feels like an easy job. However, looking for the perfect nail design and finding the perfect nail salon is hard. There are too many colours to choose from, and every nail art looks amazing.
In such a situation, deciding on one design can feel like a difficult task. You’ve to make sure that the nail paint doesn’t harm your nails or skin. Plus, finding the best nail salon and artist takes a lot of time.
We want to help you with your search for the perfect nail designs. In this article, we have summarized a list of designs that will get you those pretty nails. Whether you want something easy, detailed, or natural, there’s something for everyone!
What Are The Current Pretty Nail Trends?
Nail trends have changed a lot in the last few decades. If you had told Walt Disney that his 1928 character Mickey Mouse could be added in a nail design, he’d definitely get shocked.
It’s not just Mickey Mouse, though. Nowadays, people can get anything on their nail design. For every season, mood, and reason there is a nail design. In the summer season, people’s pretty nails have colours like blue, pink, green, yellow, lavender, orange, and more.
Winter brings snow, Halloween, and everyone’s favourite: Christmas. Many nail artists design nails with festive art. Such arts include Christmas trees, candy designs, pumpkins, snowflakes, etc. There are many creative ideas for Halloween besides pumpkin. You can get anything spooky you want, fictional or non-fictional. People often get spiders, skulls, spider webs, and ghosts.
Not all designs are favoured by people. Generally, this happens because everyone has different tastes and choices. Some people like French tips as they are, and some opt for different colours than white. There are many designs that may look boring to a kid but uniquely artistic to an adult.
A kid or a teenager likes bright colours. They pick those designs that have their favourite cartoon character on them. Whereas, an adult goes for darker colour tones and abstract designs.
Apart from colours and characters, you can also add objects to your design with some nail art tools. Many people add diamonds, rhinestones, pearls, and other types of decorative items.
Today, there’s no limit to what you can do with a nail design. You can pick any colour, stone, shape, or character and have some pretty nails.
Pretty Nails for Teenagers
Teenagers are at that point in their lives where they’re experimenting. They are always looking for out of the box ideas. For teenagers who like to do things differently from their peers, here’s a list of nail designs for you:
- Blue Nail Design with Pink Bow-ties
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For this design, you need bright pink and blue colours. You can apply pink and blue coloured nail paint on three of your nails. In the remaining nails, you can make stripes, add yellow colour here. Once the paint dries off, you can make a small bow-tie design on the stripes. This is an adorable nail design that matches the summer or spring vibes.
- Glittery Pink Nail Design
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If you like glitter, then opt for this nail design. You can apply glitter pink nail colour on your nails, leaving two empty. On the empty nails, you can apply white or transparent glitter nail paint. Then, you can make pink flower designs on them.
- Watermelon Nail Design
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This is a cool design for summer. It’s a plus if you love watermelons. Making this design would be difficult for you if you’re a beginner. Therefore, you should go to a good nail artist with this design. Here, you can apply pink or red coloured nail paint and add small watermelons to them.
- Cute Holographic Nail Design
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This holographic nail design would give you cute and pretty nails. For this design, you need white, pink, and gold glitter nail paint. First, apply the white colour, then add waves on it with pink colour. On one nail you can make a cute figure or animal. You can apply the gold nail paint on the remaining nails. However, the design would also look good without the gold colour.
Pretty Nails for Women in Their 20s
Many people tell you that you’ve to hustle in your 20s. In all the hustle and chaos, you don’t get the time to enjoy and live in the moment. Here are some nail designs for the times when you want to enjoy more and worry less:
- Red Hearts
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Adding hearts to a nail design is very common these days. For this design, you can apply either transparent or light pink coloured nail paint on your nails. Then add the design by making small red coloured hearts on them. If you want to, then you can make bigger hearts and cluster them together.
- Peach Dotted Tips
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If you like double cuffs on a nail design, then this design would be a good choice for you. Here, you can make double cuffs with peach coloured nail paint. You can also add dots to some tips. Make dots different with either white or another contrasting colour.
- Candy Swirls
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Swirls make for a different and unique nail design. You’ll have to put some effort if you want to make this design at home. Make sure you pick the correct size brushes to make the swirls. Use orange, red, and white coloured nail paints. This design would look good on people who have long nails.
- Glitter Tips
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This is an effortless and minimal nail design. Here, you can make French tips with glitter nail paint in silver or golden colour. If you want to, then you can give your nails a shiny appearance by applying transparent nail paint on your nails.
- Ceramic Coloured Nail Design
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Ceramic hues look elegant on your hands. Use ceramic tones of forest green and clay brown colours. It makes for a simple design. On the occasion of Christmas, you can have pretty nails with these colours.
Pretty Nails for New Moms
New moms are always tired and sleepy. Finding time for themselves is difficult for them. But, don’t pretty moms deserve some pretty nails? They surely do! These nail design ideas may just give you the motivation to go out and have some “Me time”.
- Lovely White
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Spread some love with this beautiful nail design. It won’t take much time to do this design. Apply two layers of white nail paint on all your nails. Then pick a brush with which you can write the word ‘Love’ on one of your fingernails. Opt for matte nail paint, as it’ll be easier to write on that.
- Spring Nails
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Who doesn’t love some spring colours? Spring is a pleasant season. You can design your nails in a pleasant fashion. You may use some pastel shades of light colours. Opt light blue, pink, green, or yellow colours.
- Neon Orange Flowers
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Flowers make everyone happy! If you like flowers and orange colour, then this is the design for you. Here, you should get matte orange nail paint or any other nail paint of your choice. You can apply them on all the nails, leaving one on each hand. On the empty nails, you can make a square-shaped design, like a window. Then, you can add the flowers to them.
- Red Nail Design with Flower
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Red nail paint colour will never go out of fashion. For this design, you can apply two layers of shiny red nail paint to your fingernails. On one of the fingernails, you can apply transparent nail paint. When it dries off, you can make a flowery design on it. Use the right-sized dotting tools here, and make a small design that would make the whole hand look pretty.
Pretty Nails for Businesswomen
As a businesswoman, you’re always surrounded by many people. There are many company events, webinars, and seminars that you’ve to take part in. At these events, you want to make sure that when all the eyes are on you and you look the best.
A wrong choice of heels can ruin your whole look. Same way, the wrong nail paint colour or design can cause you some regrets. Here are some nail paint designs to opt for:
- Deep Blue with Silver Tips
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You can convey a lot by simplicity. This nail design is classic and it’s easy to do. To apply this, you can put on two layers of deep blue nail paint. Once it’s completely set and dry, you can add silver tips to your nails. For thick tips, you can use a brush with thick hair.
- Half and Half
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For this nail design, you can use black and white nail paint colours. Apply white coloured nail paint on half of your nail. Then, move to another nail and apply black nail paint on it. This design looks simple, but if you don’t have the right brush, you won’t get the right design.
- Black and Gold
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This is an attractive nail art design that’ll be perfect for an office party. Here, you can apply black nail paint on four of your nails. Then, apply the gold nail paint on the empty fingernail. You can design it by adding some stars, lines, or a wine glass.
- Pink Almond Nails
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Show your love for diamonds through your nail design. Apply some pink nail paint and add small diamond stones to them. You can make a triangle shape with the diamonds, or add one diamond to each of the nails. Make sure that the diamonds don’t hurt your cuticles, though.
How to Maintain Pretty Nails
Applying nail paint to your nails is fun and exciting. But sometimes, you have to give those pretty nails a break. You should properly take care of them. When you take all the measures to keep them well, you’ll be able to design them any way you want to.
Here are some easy ways to maintain your nails:
- Keep your hands clean: You must keep your hands and nails clean. There are times when dirt gets under the nails. This dirt is harmful to our overall health, and not just for nails. Therefore, clean your hands thoroughly with soap. Plus, remove all the dirt under the nails with a tool.
- Always apply moisturizer: Washing hands is important. But it can also lead to dryness in the hands. To prevent this dryness, you should apply a good moisturizer to your hands.
- Don’t use harsh nail polish: Many nail paints have toxic ingredients in them. Get those nail paints that are free of harmful toxins like dibutyl phthalate, dimethyl, diethyl phthalates, formaldehyde, and camphor.
- Clip your nails: Give priority to your nail health instead of nail length. Clip your nails regularly to avoid hangnails or breakages. Go for a manicure that will help in cleaning the excessive dirt that you can’t remove. It’ll also give a good shape to all your nails.
- Get a cuticle oil: Cuticles protect your nails from bacteria or fungal infection. Ask a nail artist or a friend to recommend you a good cuticle oil. They also help in hydrating the dry nails.
- Choose a good remover: Yes, a remover is as necessary as the nail paint colours. A good nail paint remover won’t dry your hands or nails. Find one that is acetone-free and isn’t harsh on your nails.
The Best Nail Salons in The USA
Here’s a list of the best nail salons in the US. Make sure you visit some of these nail salons to pamper yourself and to get yourself some pretty nails.
- Jin Soon Nail Salon: Located in New York City, US, Jin Soon nail salon offers many beauty services to their customers. The interior of the salon is dreamlike, though the nail care services are a little expensive, they’re worth each penny. You can also buy their brand’s nail paints. They offer many colours like Persian pink, creamsicle orange, muted pink, and more.
- MiniLuxe: MiniLuxe is a nail salon that you would find in the busy streets of Boston. The salon has won many awards for its services. The environment inside the salon is clean and welcoming. They offer nail care services that are free of toxic ingredients. If you want a minimal nail design, then this salon is for you.
- Nails 07: The Nails 07 nail salon is located in Michigan, US. The salon offers services such as pedicure and gel manicure with deep thermal transformation. The transformation helps in smoothing fine lines around the nails and rejuvenates the skin. They also offer therapeutic hand treatments. Their selection of nail paints is extremely safe even for pregnant women.
- Nails Y’all: You really can’t miss out on this nail salon. Located in Texas, US, Nails Y’all is a salon that gives you nail designs for any kind of event. You should definitely book an appointment to get your nails done before a party.
- Sparkle San Francisco: At Sparkle SF, you can get any type of nail art and design. They do gel manicures, stiletto nail designs, intricate nail designs and more. And, as the name suggests, all their nail designs have some sparkle in them.
FAQs
Which Are The Best Short Pretty Nails Designs?
If you’ve short nails, there are many designs and ideas you can choose from. Short nails look adorable in pastel colours. You can get a polka dot design in such colours. Use a transparent nail paint colour. Apply two layers of it on your fingernails. Add green and yellow coloured polka dots.
Short nails look good with French manicures too, if white is not your colour of choice for nails, then you can opt for a nude shade. Put on the first two layers, then use a pink colour shade to do the tips of your nails.
Short nails look good in simple designs too. You can get some pastel shades like lavender, yellow, orange, or lilac. If you’re indecisive, then go with all the colours! Put a different colour on each of your fingernails.
You can also use silver or gold glitter shades in some of your designs.
Which Are The Best Pretty Nail Ideas?
For having pretty nails, there are many nail designs that you can opt from. With the right colour combination, any design would make your hands look beautiful.
You can opt for simple designs where you just have to add small details. These details can be added at home by yourself too. You can apply some pastel shades or white coloured nail paint. You can write something on one of the nails or make some flowers on them.
If you like diamonds and glitters, then you can choose a nail design with glitter nail paints. If you’re going to a formal event, then you can pick silver, gold, or black colours.
Red coloured nail paint also looks good on women. You can simply apply red nail paint or add a flowery nail design to it. There’s also a popular design where you can apply pink nail paint and add small hearts to them.
How To Get Pretty Nails Natural At Home?
Doing nails at home doesn’t require much time and effort. You have to find the right colours and tools. Once you have everything, you can get started. Here are the steps that you can follow to get pretty nails naturally in the comfort of your home:
- Clean your hands, remove the dirty skin around cuticles if there is any.
- Apply moisturizer on your hands.
- Get your nail art brushes, dotting tools, and nail paints.
- Start applying the base layer on your nails.
- After the base layer dries off, put on the second layer. A second layer makes sure that the nails look shiny and smooth.
- Do the nail design that you like.
You can use a dotting tool to make polka dots on your design. If you want to make flowers, then use a flat angled brush. You can also add geometrical shapes to your nail design with a striping brush.
In Conclusion
Pretty nails feel like a proud achievement. It’s because there’s a lot of hard work that goes into making nails pretty. There are some easy designs, but there are those that only a professional can make.
You must have healthy nails to have pretty nails. You should clean your nails daily, keep them moisturized, and use good products on them. Whenever you buy nail paints, read the ingredients carefully or ask the salesperson about the ingredients. Avoid getting those nail paints that would harm your hands and nails.
You should also use easy tools on your nails. Using hard ones may cause your nails to break. Most importantly, you should also cut your nails at regular intervals.
When you keep your nails fresh and clean, you can design them with any colour and design that you want.
