62 Summer Nail Designs You Need To Try

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It’s summer, and do you know what that means?

Long sunny days, pool hangouts, tropical drinks, and vacations to different summer destinations.

As the warmer months get closer, everyone gets excited and begins to plan their perfect summer — from clothes to music to makeup to summer nail designs too!

After all, summer is a great time to break away from the more muted or light colors of the previous seasons. It’s the season to enjoy bright, vibrant hues and a cheerful aesthetic.

And what better way to display your summer style than with a beautiful manicure?

That’s why we’ve put together the best summer nail designs to give you the inspiration you need to create stunning summer nails.

We’ve broken them down into three style categories to help you choose the type of summer mani you want.

Table of Contents

1 Vibrant, Artistic, and Embellished Summer Nail Designs
2 Fabulous Floral and Leaf Design Nails
3 A Bright Play of Colors
4 Frequently Asked Questions
5 Get Your Perfect Summer Nails

Vibrant, Artistic, and Embellished Summer Nail Designs

Colorful nail art ideas like nails with bright embellishments are always a good choice for a standout summer manicure. Check out these summer nail design ideas for fun nail inspo.

Funky and Bright Patterns

A woman's fingernails with magenta, teal, scarlet, and lime nails in a sea-inspired manicure that has stems, corals, flowers, swirls and black dots nail designs — Image courtesy of @nailsby_avril

Combine vibrant nail colors like magenta, teal, scarlet, and lime to create a beautiful sea-inspired mani that showcases patterns like stems, corals, flowers, and swirls. Add black dots on white splotches for a stark contrast.

Confetti and Smiley Faces

A closeup of a woman's nails with colorful confetti in different shapes and light green glitter nails that has yellow-and-purple 3D flowers with smiley faces — Image courtesy of @speakeasynails_

Get cute summer nails with this playful mani! This nail set combines clear polish with colorful and purposefully placed confetti in different shapes and light green glitter nails with yellow-and-purple 3D flowers with smiley faces.

Adding one glittery light green accent nail without adornments keeps the design from going over the top!

Colorful Swirly and Reverse French Tips

A closeup of a woman's nails with nude nail polish that has pink and purple, blue and purple, orange and pink, and yellow and orange swirls — Image courtesy of @speakeasynails_

Put a spin on the beloved French manicure by painting French tips on most of the nails and reverse French tips on the accent nails.

Use a lively combination of swirls in striking color combinations like pink and purple, blue and purple, orange and pink, and yellow and orange.

Happy Floral Nails in Perfect Pastels

A closeup of a woman's nails with nude nail polish base that has different pastel colors with swirls, flowers, and smiley face designs — Image courtesy of @speakeasynails_

If you want flirty and feminine nails, try this manicure! It features glossy clear nails painted in different pastel colors with swirls, flowers, and smiley face designs that give a delicate and fun look.

Freestyle Fab Coffin Nails

A woman's nails with nude nail polish that has sun, palm trees, dolphins, and cocktails French tips — Image courtesy of @kikinails_ebeauty

Express your individuality by painting freestyle nail art — like this coffin nail manicure that features unique French tips decorated with various summer elements like the sun, palm trees, dolphins, and cocktails.

Spilled Colorful French Tips

A woman's nails with nude nail polish that has lighter and darker pastel color combinations for the tips in a a spilled-paint look — Image courtesy of @rachelsbeauty_

The colorful French tip manicure is timeless and perfect for every season! Give a unique spin to this classic design by using lighter and darker pastel color combinations for the tips and adding a playful twist by giving them a spilled-paint look.

Eye See Abstract Art

A closeup of a woman's nails with nude nail polish base that has colorful round evil eyes near the cuticles, evil eye nail art, and abstract patterns and swirls — Image courtesy of @rachelsbeauty_

This antic manicure features nude nails as a canvas for enchanting nail art, such as rows of colorful round evil eyes near the cuticles, evil eye nail art, and abstract patterns and swirls.

Groovy Pink and Orange Nails

A woman's nails with checkers, flowers, checkered French tips, hearts, and swirls in a vibrant bright orange-and-pink palette — Image courtesy of @mynailgirlness

Love funky summer nail designs? Go for this fun ’70s-inspired mani decorated with nail art like checkers, flowers, checkered French tips, hearts, and swirls in a vibrant bright orange-and-pink palette.

Fruity Fabulous Nails

A closeup of a woman's nails with fuschia pink, bright yellow, and red, combined with accent nails that has strawberries, raspberries, and lemon and orange slices — Image courtesy of @natalie_thedollshouse

Go for a refreshing look with these nails painted in bright and fruity colors like fuchsia pink, bright yellow, and red, combined with accent nails that feature nail art of strawberries, raspberries, and lemon and orange slices!

Beautiful Summer Splashes

A closeup of a woman's nails with white nail polish that has blue, yellow, pink, and purple streaks with black splatters — Image courtesy of @natalie_thedollshouse

Elevate your white manicure with fun streaks of summer colors like blue, yellow, pink, and purple, with black splatters for a beautiful contrast. The result is a pretty summer nail design reminiscent of abstract art.

Pink and Orange Marble

A woman's nails with a mix of pink and orange nail polish in a marble design — Image courtesy of @holliebedsbeauty

Pink nail designs for summer are always fun! Pair pink with orange to create a fabulous color combination. Add oomph to this manicure by decorating your nails with a beautiful marble design.

Pick ’N’ Mix

A closeup of a woman's nails with bright nails that has fruits, stars, evil eyes, animal prints, multicolored swirls, and striking croc prints nail designs — Image courtesy of @holliebedsbeauty

Mixing and matching bold, bright nails with eye-catching nail art is perfect for summer. These stunning nails feature fruits, stars, evil eyes, animal prints, multicolored swirls, and striking croc prints.

Fab Festival Nails

A closeup of a woman's clear nails with orange, turquoise, yellow, and white colors that has smileys, flowers, dots, and swirls nail designs — Image courtesy of @bysarahnailartist

Heading to a summer music festival? Get a manicure to match the event by combining summery colors like orange, turquoise, yellow, and white. Then add fun smileys, flowers, dots, and swirls to different nails for a festival-ready look.

Pretty Pink and Blue

A woman's nude nails with a pink, blue, orange, and white palette that has flowers, evil eyes, swirls, heart French tips, and multicolored tips — Image courtesy of @polishedbykiah

Create a stunning summer manicure using a pink, blue, orange, and white palette. Then decorate each nail with stunning art like flowers, evil eyes, swirls, heart French tips, and multicolored tips on a nude-colored base.

Keep ’Em Guessing

A closeup of a woman's nails with blue, pink, and purple colors that has patterned French tips, smileys, abstract lines, and color-block designs — Image courtesy of @polishedbykiah

Painting your nails with different colors is a fun choice for a summer manicure. This one combines blue, pink, and purple colors in soft and sweet shades.

It highlights each nail with unique nail art, such as patterned French tips, smileys, abstract lines, and color-block designs.

Dainty Dots

Instantly elevate your multicolored manicure by adding a pretty and unique touch, like outlining each nail with dainty dots in different colors.

All-Out Nails

A woman's nude nails with different colors in varied patterns like animal prints, multicolored lines and dots, summer fruits, and multicolored V shapes on each nail — Image courtesy of @mad.nice.mani

Not all chaos is bad; this gorgeous manicure proves it!

Use different colors and combine them with varied patterns like animal prints, multicolored lines and dots, summer fruits, and multicolored V shapes on each nail to achieve the perfect summer mani!

Glitz and Glam

A woman's nails with a colorful pastel nail polish that has jewels and rhinestones designs — Image courtesy of @dips_drinks_diamonds

A colorful summery pastel palette can quickly become glamorous by adding beautiful jewels and rhinestones. Use them to embellish your nails in diverse arrangements for a colorful and fancy summer nail design.

Fiery and Fun

A woman's nails with yellow nail polish that has fire, sun, and lighting bolt designs in yellow and red nails — Image courtesy of @anges.nails

Summer nails don’t always mean smiley faces and flowers. If you want to be more adventurous, try these red and yellow nails featuring fire, sun, and lighting bolt designs for an electrifying look!

Cool vs. Warm

A woman's nails with warm tones on the nails on one hand and cool tones on the other that has French tips and heart, checkered, floral, and cherry nail art — Image courtesy of @kuypernailart

Create cute contrasting nails by using warm tones on the nails on one hand and cool tones on the other!

Highlight these color palettes further by creating French tips and heart, checkered, floral, and cherry nail art to showcase the different hues.

Wonderful Watermelon

A woman's nails with pink and light green nail polish that has black dots on pink nails that looks like watermelon and light green French tips

Summer is perfect for fruit elements, and nothing matches the season better than watermelons!

Pay homage to this delicious fruit by creating a light, quirky mani with watermelon-colored nails and watermelon-themed designs with French tips on the accent nails.

Nautical Nail Art

A woman's nails with red, white, and blue nail polish that has stripes, dots, and anchors nail designs

A nautical mani matches your vacation, whether you’re out for summer sailing or at the Hamptons! Take inspiration from these red, white, and blue nails decorated with stripes, dots, and anchors.

Fabulous Floral and Leaf Design Nails

Florals for summer? Yes, please! There are so many ways you can create gorgeous summer flower nail designs and leafy manis that are perfect for the season.

Check out some of our fave floral nail designs for the summer!

Shimmery and Sweet Floral Nails

A closeup of a woman's nails with shimmery pink base that has deep pink, purple, white, and yellow floral designs — Image courtesy of @nailsby_avril

Create pretty floral designs using deep pink, purple, white, and yellow on a shimmery pink base. It’s a great way to add feminine flair to your manicure and ensure your flower designs stand out.

Lovely Neon Flowers

A closeup of a woman's nails with white nail polish that has tiny neon flowers in pink, yellow, orange, and blue — Image courtesy of @nailsbycarhendy

A great way to showcase your floral mani is to use a simple base for your designs to pop. These tiny neon flowers in pink, yellow, orange, and blue look fabulous against glazed white nails.

Dainty Daffodils

A closeup of a woman's nails with nude and yellow nail polish base that has daffodil accent nails on nude nails — Image courtesy of @spellbound.nailartistry

Yellow is a gorgeous color for summer! Paint your nails with sunny yellow polish and add beautiful daffodil accent nails to create a sweet and serene manicure for the season.

Fab Floral Oval Nails

A closeup of a woman's nude nails that has white daisies, swirls, and French tips in pink, blue, and purple color palette — Image courtesy of @spellbound.nailartistry

These glossy oval nails are the perfect summer mani makeover! Using a pink, blue, and purple color palette, each nail is decorated uniquely with white daisies, swirls, and French tips that give a feminine yet fab appeal.

Orange You Glad You Chose Floral

A woman's nails with nude nail polish base that has pink and yellow summer swirls with white peek-a-boo daisies nail designs — Image courtesy of @rachelsbeauty_

If you want to wear a refreshing nail color for summer, try orange nails and amp it up by adding pink and yellow summer swirls with subtle white peek-a-boo daisies placed on the tips and cuticles.

Sunny Summer Florals

A woman's nude colored nails that has floral designs in multiple colors on each nail — Image courtesy of @rachelsbeauty_

Go all-floral with this stunning manicure decorated with floral designs on a nude-colored base. It features a vibrant mix of various flowers in a sunny summer palette!

Neon Florals

A closeup of a woman's nails with nude-colored manicure that has dainty flowers using bright colors — Image courtesy of @mynailgirlness

Make use of the negative space of your nude-colored mani by painting it with dainty flowers using bright colors to exude a flowery summer vibe.

Leafy Orange Blossom

A closeup of a woman's coffin nails with sky blue nail polish base that has sweet oranges, leaves, and white flowers nail designs — Image courtesy of @nailsby_avril

This manicure creates a unique blend of nature-inspired art that brings a lively zest to each nail. It features sky-blue coffin nails decorated with sweet oranges, leaves, and white flowers.

Neon Green Flowers and Tips

A woman's short nails with nude nail polish base that has flower nail art and chic French tips in neon green — Image courtesy of @nailsby_harieva

When you picture a floral mani, you don’t expect it to be entirely green. But this mani proves that using neon green looks as stunning as other colorful floral manicures with its minimalist flower nail art and chic French tips.

Subtle Summer Style

A woman's long nails with nude nail polish base that has pastel-colored French tips with tiny accents like flowers, leaves, clouds, sparkles, strawberries, and swirls — Image courtesy of @speakeasynails_

If you prefer an understated style for your floral manicure, you can get inspiration from this simple summer nail design!

It combines pastel-colored French tips decorated with tiny accents like flowers, leaves, clouds, sparkles, strawberries, and swirls.

Red, White, and Green

A closeup of a woman's long nails with red and nude nail polish base that has floral accent nails on nude nails — Image courtesy of @nailsby_harieva

Glam up your floral mani by selecting rich hues for your color palette, like vibrant red, deep green, and white. Embellish it with floral accent nails on fully painted glossy nails for a sophisticated appeal.

Where the Pink Fern Grows

A closeup of a woman's short nails with hot pink and nude nail polish base that has fern designs in pink, white, and green on glossy nude nails — Image courtesy of @_racquelsnails

Not all leaf designs have to be restricted to green. Paint your nails hot pink and paint fern designs in pink, white, and green on glossy accent nails.

Iced Pink and Blue

A closeup of a woman's long nails with a lovely abstract pattern combining white, pastel pink, and blue nail polish that has leaf designs in white and metallic silver — Image courtesy of @bysarahnailartist

Create an aesthetic canvas by painting a lovely abstract pattern combining white, pastel pink, and blue. Then draw beautiful leaf designs in white and metallic silver for a floral touch.

Super Sweet Square Nails

A woman's short nails with orange and nude nail polish base that has flowery patterns on nude nails — Image courtesy of @polishedbykiah

Short square nails don’t have to miss out on the floral trend. In fact, they look super cute in flowery patterns, such as these coral nails enhanced with pastel-colored floral accents.

Tips, Swirls, and Floral Accents

A closeup of a woman's long nails with nude nail polish base that has hot pink, salmon, and lime green swirls, French tips and floral accent nails — Image courtesy of @leannehaycock_

Create a fun manicure using three colors, like hot pink, salmon, and lime green. Decorate each nail with swirls, French tips, and floral accent nails for a delightful look.

Tropical Sunrise

A woman's nails with an ombré orange-and-yellow base that has tropical flowers in white on select nails — Image courtesy of @kuypernailart

Get nails that scream summer paradise with this manicure that borrows sunrise colors to create an ombré orange-and-yellow base. Then paint tropical flowers with bold and beautiful white polish on the accent nails for a tropical vibe.

Peek-A-Boo Florals and Drip Nails

A woman's short nails with bright and colorful nail polish base that has drip designs and flower details — Image courtesy of @mynailgirlness

If you like florals but don’t want a traditional design, opt for something more avant-garde, like these bright, colorful nails with unique drip designs and flower details.

A Bright Play of Colors

Do you love bright and colorful nails as much as we do? Summer is the best time to showcase all the colors of the rainbow!

And if you’re intimidated by complex or intricate nail art, keep it simple by playing with colors in fun designs. Check out some of our favorite colorful summer nail designs.

Shocking Neon French Tips

A closeup of a woman's long nails with nude nail polish base that has ombré French tips in hot pink and orange on the nails of one hand and lime green and yellow on the other with white swirls — Image courtesy of @nailsby_avril

Neon nail designs on long coffin nails look super fab!

Painting ombré French tips in hot pink and orange on the nails of one hand and lime green and yellow on the other and decorating them with white swirls can make your manicure stand out even more.

Beautiful Bright Nails

A woman's short nails with multicolored nail polish base — Image courtesy of @rachelsbeauty_

You don’t have to go full neon to achieve a bold, bright nail design. Choose delightful candy colors and paint each nail a different color for a simple yet charming manicure.

Popping Colors

A woman's short nails with yellow, pink, red, and white manicure that has swirls, negative space nail art, and French tips — Image courtesy of @1999houseofnailsnz

Add yellow, pink, red, and white to your manicure with this easy summer nail design. Explore your creativity and decorate your nails with different patterns, like swirls, negative space nail art, and French tips for a vibrant, festive-looking mani.

Neon Swirl Patterns

A closeup of a woman's short stiletto nails with white nail polish base that has pink, orange, and yellow ombré swirls on one hand and blue, lime green, and purple ombré swirls on the other — Image courtesy of @nailsby_avril

Pigment powder can help you achieve the brightest neons for your mani, like these short stiletto nails that feature pink, orange, and yellow ombré swirls on one hand and blue, lime green, and purple ombré swirls on the other.

Colorful Circular Aura Nails

A closeup of a woman's short nails with multicolored nails and French tips that has gradient circular designs at the center and little gems — Image courtesy of @mynailgirlness

Aura nails consist of creating gradient circles with an airbrush finish on your nails, like this manicure that features multicolored nails and French tips with gradient circular designs at the center.

Make it even more appealing by randomly adding little gems to each nail.

Rainbow Swirl

Go for a sweet, colorful look by painting the bottom half of your nails near the cuticles clear and the upper half near the tips nude.

Separate them by painting a rainbow swirl in the middle, and make them look more special with white sparkles!

Squiggles and Square Nails

A closeup of a woman's short nails with a glossy nude nail polish that has pink and orange squiggles highlighted by delicate white outlines — Image courtesy of @natalie_thedollshouse

Make your square nails stand out by painting them with nude polish, then introduce a playful aesthetic by embellishing them with pink and orange squiggles highlighted by delicate white outlines.

Matte Colors and Animal Prints

A closeup of a woman's short nails with a matte Barbie pink and spring green nail polish that has animal print accent nails — Image courtesy of @natalie_thedollshouse

A matte finish is a good choice for wearing bright colors like Barbie pink and spring green. Combine fully painted nails in these colors with beautiful animal print accent nails for a summer manicure that looks feminine, fun, and fierce.

Imperfectly Perfect Neon Tips

A closeup of a woman's nails with nude nail polish base that has different neon colors French tips outlined with metallic polish — Image courtesy of @holliebedsbeauty

Try a colorful and chic French tip mani! Use different neon colors to create irregular French tips outlined with metallic polish.

Multicolored ’70s Swirl

A closeup of a woman's short nails with psychedelic swirls in multiple colors that has glitter outlines — Image courtesy of @holliebedsbeauty

Designing your nails with psychedelic swirls is a fantastic way to show off bright and vibrant colors. Add glitter outlines for extra glam. With all the swaths of colors, this may take some time, but the result is absolutely worth it.

Cute Coral and Yellow

A closeup of a woman's short nails with coral and sunny yellow nail polish that has swirl accents — Image courtesy of @_racquelsnails

Get inspired by this pretty manicure that uses a super summery color combination like coral and sunny yellow. Combine these two colors to create stunning swirl accents, and paint the rest of your nails with glossy coral polish.

Multicolored Glossy Swirls

A closeup of a woman's short nails with clear nails that has different patterns of crisscrossing, waving, and dripping rainbow swirls in multiple colors — Image courtesy of @_racquelsnails

There are many ways to play with color. If you want bright and eye-catching nails, try this manicure that features different patterns of crisscrossing, waving, and dripping rainbow swirls.

Hand-Painted Rainbow French Tips

A closeup of a woman's long nails with nude nail polish base that has candy-colored starburst French tips — Image courtesy of @nails.bylynsey

These candy-colored starburst French tips were hand-painted on a natural-colored base. They look fun, flirty, and super fab!

The Quintessential Neon French Tip

A closeup of a woman's long nails with nude nail polish base that has multicolored French tips — Image courtesy of @nails.bylynsey

If you’re intrigued by multicolored French tips but intimidated by the thought of creating multiple patterns to achieve them, take one step at a time and use one solid neon color for each tip.

The result is a standout style ready for all your summer events.

Bright and Bold

A closeup of a woman's short nails with teal and pink nail polish that has swirls painted at the center on select nails — Image courtesy of @curedbybeth

Sometimes you just need a fun combination of vivid colors to create the perfect summer mani like these teal and pink nails. Introduce a playful aesthetic by decorating accent nails with swirls painted at the center of pink and teal-colored nails.

Sexy Summer Swirls

A closeup of a woman's long nails with a nude nail polish base that has multicolored swirls nail designs — Image courtesy of @bysarahnailartist

Swirls are a fun way to play with colors and create your perfect summer nails. This manicure uses a nude base to create sleek and sexy swirls using bold colors.

Airbrushed Aura Nails

A woman's short nails with multicolored nail polish in an an airbrushed aura look that has jewels — Image courtesy of @mad.nice.mani

You can have so much fun with aura nails. This bejeweled manicure combines a diverse range of colors on each nail to make an airbrushed aura look, resulting in a shiny explosion of color on each nail.

Here Comes the Sun

A closeup of a woman's short nails with yellow and white swirls nail polish — Image courtesy of @bysarahnailartist

Yellow nails are a summer staple. Use two shades of this color to create swirl patterns on your nails. Add a bit of white polish to lighten the set and break the monotony.

Juicy Fruit Nails

A closeup of a woman's short nails with neon nails in juicy colors that has a chunky glitter accent nail — Image courtesy of @nailsby__tessa

Neon nails in juicy colors are one of our favorite short nail designs for summer. Add a bit of oomph to this look by including a chunky glitter accent nail.

Pastel Pop Nails

A closeup of a woman's oval nails with a nude-colored base that has pastel-colored gel polish swirl designs — Image courtesy of @bysarahnailartist

These pretty oval nails are elevated using pastel-colored gel polish for a long-lasting style. Each nail is creatively decorated with swirl designs on a nude-colored base.

Metallic Glitter Accents

A closeup of a woman's short nails with orange, purple and salmon pink nail polish base that has metallic glitter on pink nails — Image courtesy of @nailsby__tessa

Sweet summer colors like orange and purple look beautiful, especially when you pair them with salmon-pink nails decorated with metallic glitter.

Summer Tips and Swirls

A woman's long nails with nude nail polish base that has French tips with swirls in orange, red, purple, and teal colors — Image courtesy of @kuypernailart

Pair French tips with swirls on the sides of each nail in vivid colors like orange, red, purple, and teal to create a cheerful yet sophisticated manicure.

Holographic Rainbow Nails

A woman's long nails with mix and match swirls in purple and blue, green and yellow, and yellow and orange nail polish colors that has holographic polish — Image courtesy of @kuypernailart

Mix and match swirls in different nail polish colors like purple and blue, green and yellow, and yellow and orange to create a dreamy summer manicure, then top off your nails with holographic polish for that subtle shimmer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Best Nail Polish Colors for Summer?

Every year fashion forecasts and shows predict which colors will take center stage for the season. This year’s trends are tangerine, lavender, peach, and pink.

While these can serve as a guide, they aren’t always the definitive end-all and be-all. You can still play around with the bright colors you love to create the perfect summer nail designs.

Are White Nails Good for Summer?

Despite colorful designs being a summer mainstay, white is always still a good choice. Long white nails look beautiful during the summer and all year round.

Get Your Perfect Summer Nails

With the summer season fast approaching, we know you’re excited to flaunt your lovely summer attires, accessories, and manicures!

We’ve put together both subtly fun and super fun summer nail designs for you. These are perfect whether you’re going to a music festival, relaxing by the pool, or enjoying a tropical drink with an umbrella this summer.

So feel free to recreate these summer nail ideas, mix and match elements you love, try new colors and combinations, and achieve the summer manicure of your dreams!

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Author

Michelle Alejandro
Michelle has had a lifelong love affair with makeup. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Communications /Journalism, she began an illustrious career as a writer. Michelle penned a beauty and lifestyle national newspaper column for over a decade and became the Beauty Editor for Chalk Magazine and Editor-in-Chief for Metro Weddings for over nine years, working with some of the biggest makeup artists and trusted beauty brands in the business. During this time, she also completed a course in Creative Artistic Makeup Design and worked as a freelance makeup artist, beauty editor, and writer.
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