Nail arts have been dope for over two decades and have recently become a trend in social media among several fashion influencers. Back in those days, the only nail art we knew was painting nails with whatever nail color was available on the market. But look, how fashion has changed over time! Now we have a lot of elements that can embellish your nails depending on the occasion you are planning to attend. Nail art has moreover, become a way of conveying creativeness and a subculture among women’s fashion.
To begin with, a basic manicure is a must before trying on a unique and pretty nail design. Well, no one wants to get under the weather over a nail infection, right? Besides, you can continue to scroll down to see the 10 easy DIY cute nail art ideas you can design yourself!
Cute nail designs you can do yourself
Colorful splash
Things you need:
- Any shade of nail polish
- A paintbrush
- Cotton swabs
- White nail polish
How to do it?
Apply white nail polish as the base. Dip the paintbrush into any one of your favorite shades of nail polish. Using your thumb stroke the bristles of the brush gently over the nails. Now you will get a colorful splash of nail art.
Dual tone
Things you need:
- Cut stripes of scotch tape
- Two shades of nail polish(preferably black and gold)
- Clear top coat
How to do it?
Apply two coats of black nail polish as the base. Let it dry for a few minutes. Stick the stripes on the tip of the nails. Now apply the gold nail polish over the uncovered section. Remove the tape and apply the top coat.
Triangle
Things you need:
- A scotch tape
- Different shades and combinations of nail polish (preferably purple and lavender)
How to do it?
Apply the purple as the base and allow it to dry. Cut the tape into stripes and stick it from the center of the nail to one side of the tip. Use another strip to cover the other side of the tip. Now a triangle is formed in the uncovered area. And paint the triangle with lavender. Finish the art with a clear top coat.
Lacy
Things you need:
- White shade
- Clear nail polish
- Scotch tape
- Lace trimmings
How to do it?
Start with applying lacquer(clear nail polish) as the base followed by placing the lace trimmings on the nails. Apply the white nail polish over the lace patterns. Allow it to dry and remove the lace trimmings. Apply a top coat to complete the lacy nail art.
Shimmering tips
Things you need:
- The soak-off gel of any color
- glitters
- Brush
- Top coat
How to do it?
Apply a layer of non-color soak-off gel as the base, followed by any light color soak-off gel over the whole nail. Mix the glitter and a small portion of the soak-off gel and gently apply it over the tips. Let it dry and apply for the second layer. Embellish the art with the soak-off gel top coat.
Polka dots
Things you need:
- White and black nail polish
- A pencil
How to do it?
Apply black nail polish as the base. Dip the pencil into the white nail polish. Use it to make dots, and finally, paint the top coat.
Pastel mismatch
Things you need:
- Any two pastel nail polish
- A tape
- Top coat
How to do it?
First, stick the tape diagonally. Apply the first pastel nail polish, and let it dry for a minute. Now stick the tape diagonally over the painted side. And paint the latter pastel color over the other side, and leave it for drying. Bring everything to a close by applying the top coat.
A sleek swoop
Things you need:
- Five different Pastel shades or rainbow hues.
- Polish brush
- Acetone or any other alcohol.
How to do it?
A base coat is optional, if desired, apply a pastel shade. Use the paintbrush to draw a curve at the tip of each finger. Gently rub it off with acetone and you are all ready to go to the party!
Basic floral
Things you need:
- White nail polish
- A thin nail brush
- Two contrasting nail polishes.
How to do it?
Apply the white paint as the base, followed by drawing small flower designs using the nail brush. Paint with the other two contrasting colors to complete the floral designs.
Diagonal periwinkle
Things you need:
- Two nude nail polish
- A periwinkle color paint
How to do it?
Paint the nails diagonally with one of the nude paints. Dry it off and paint the next color over the stripped areas using a striping brush. Lock the nail art with a top coat.
Neon
Things you need:
- Neon nail paints; usually green and yellow are used.
- Brush
- Glitter to add extra spice to the art
- And soak-off gel if needed.
How to do it?
Apply the neon color juxtaposition to each other. And with the tip of the paintbrush, gently mix the two paints to create a wavy design. Let sprinkle glitters, and apply the tintless soak-off gel over the neon-painted nails. Let it dry for a few minutes. Lastly, dust it off using the brush.
Sunflower
Things you need:
- Acrylic paints or nail polish (namely, yellow, white, brown, and light orange)
- Top coat
- Paintbrush
How to do it?
Paint the base using a pastel color, say baby pink. Use a paintbrush and white acrylic paint or nail polish to create polka dots. Followed by brown paint to create the centers and light oranges for the petals of the sunflowers. Apply acrylic yellow in the empathy spaces between the brown and orange to make it look just like a sunflower. Polish it off with the top coat.
Gradient
Things you need:
- White nail polish
- Any two nail polishes
- A sponge
- Q-tip
How to do it?
Apply the white nail polish as the base as usual. Paint the two nail polish colors on the makeup sponge in a three-row pattern. Brush the sponge over the nails and let it dry. Afterward, apply a clear top coat over the gradient. Clean out the excess paint on the nails using Q-tips.
Chevron nail art
Things you need:
- Any three different color nail polishes (say black, red, and white).
- A tape
How to do it?
Use black as a base, and make use of the tape in such a way that it creates a chevron stencil design. Now paint the red color over. Let it dry for a minute. Tape near the cuticle, and paint the area white. Leave it for a minute before removing the tape and coating.
Galaxy
Things you need:
- Black nail polish
- Metallic nail polish (namely green, blue, and pink, as they give the effect of galaxy-like art)
- Makeup sponge
- Glitter top coat
How to do it?
Apply black polish as the base, and dab metallic green using the makeup sponge. And followed by a dabbing of pink and blue paint. Use glitter top coat to give the final touch.
All-Heart
Things you need:
- A toothpick
- Whit nail polish
- Red nail polish
- Clear nail polish
How to do it?
Apply the white nail polish as the base. With the toothpicks and red nail polish, draw small hearts on the nails. Draw it in such a way, that multiple hearts on the base and fewer on the tips. Let it dry and finish up with coating clear nail polish.
Amethyst
Things you need:
- Light and dark shades of purple nail polish (if possible get one more shade of purple)
- A plastic wrap
- Top coat
How to do it?
Base coat the nails with one shade of purple, followed by one coat of light purple. Allow it to dry. Now apply the other two shades of purple, thus dark shades. Layer the top coat and create random dots using a dark shade of purple. Place the plastic wrap over it again and again until you get a marble-effect art.
Rainbow
Things you need:
- Rainbow shades of polish (Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red)
- A bowl
- Water
- A paint brush
How to do it?
With water on the bowl, drop the colors in the water carefully. Use the tip of the brush to blend the colors. Now dip your fingers gently into the rainbow pattern on the water. Lift and allow it to dry for a few minutes. Remove the excess applique.
Watermelon
Things you need:
- Pink/red nail polish
- Black nail polish
- Green nail polish
- White nail polish
- Paintbrush
- Top coat
How to do it?
Paint the base with pink nail polish. Followed by painting the green nail polish over the borders with a paintbrush. Paint white between the green and pink, to create a watermelon-like shape. Paint the black as seeds. Finish this cute nail design with a top coat.
Stripes
Things you need:
- Any pastel nail polish (let’s say blue)
- Dark blue nail polish (trust me the contrast will always work!)
- A tape
How to do it?
Apply the pastel nail polish as the base. Let it dry for a minute. Cut the tape into small stripes and stick them to the fingers. And paint the latter color over the unstuck areas. Leave it to dry and later carefully remove the stripe-shaped tapes. Finish up the art with the top coat.
Conclusion
As you can see, extravagant nail arts have become an essential part of many women’s lives. Especially after the influence that social media platforms had on it, it has grown even more well-known. Starting from Jennifer Lopez to Dua Lipa, Lizzo, and yes, our very own Harry styles have inspired hundreds of nail art designs to try on. Coming up with new, DIY, and affordable nail designs with no time eventually nail art designs have enticed a large group of fashionistas. As such, women have taken this art as a vision to symbolize their personality or creativity. Well, in one way or another, nail artists are just like tattoo lovers. They are just expressing themselves through their art!
