For some reason, summer just brings out the colorful in me. From my outfits to my DIYs, something about the heat and the sun (well the hotter heat and sunnier sun ... this is seasonless Los Angeles we're talking about) makes me want to turn the temp up on my color palette too. Especially when it comes to nail art. I've done so many nail art tutorials over the last few years, I thought it would be fun to round up all the colorful ones into one menu de mani!
Get the tutorial for the hologram nail art here!
DIY Artist Paint Floral Nails
One of the best sources of natural color in summer is the multitude of flora that come out to play in the shining sun, so what better way to spruce up your nails for the season than with an homage to these happy plants?
What's fun about this tutorial is that the flowers themselves are painted in artists paint, not nail polish, bringing an art school vibe to your afternoon. Who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon painting flowers — and then getting a cool manicure out of it?
Yellow, Mint, and Glitter Nails
What is everyone's favorite summertime activity? Going to the beach! This manicure perfectly emulates the color palette of the sparkling blue water, golden sand, and iridescent beauty of the sun hitting the water. Ugh, even just typing that makes me want to pack up my things and head out to the shore!
I only used two sparkly shades in this manicure, but if you were feeling extra mermaid-like, try this color palette in all sparkly tones!
Strikes of Color Nails
6 colors of nail polish, negative space, and a matte top coat? What doesn't this nail art have?! Inspired by thunder and lightning storms (as you can see in the lightning bolt-shaped negative space between the colors), there's no need to rain check this super cute look!
The trick to achieving this lightning bolt shape is thin nail tape. Just cut three pieces — two longer and one short — and make the zig-zag shape across your nail before painting each section with a different color!
DIY Peace Nails
Feeling bohemian this summer? Bring those *peaceful*, yet playful vibes to your nails with some surprisingly easy DIY peace signs! You'll be one happy hippie for sure.
Want to know the secret to the perfectly round peace sign? A pencil eraser!! It makes the perfect stamp to get each of your peace signs round and uniform, every time. P.S. Hey, cutie Roxanne! She's so good for hand modeling shots!
DIY Pop Art Banana Nails
My most recent nail art expedition was directly inspired by summer, from the neon color to the in-season fruit choice! There's no look you could rock this summer that wouldn't be brightened up by this exuberant and delicious DIY manicure.
Unlike using an eraser to get perfect circles for the peace signs, the fun in this pop art look is that it's completely hand painted! Feel free to channel your inner Warhol to create bananas that look absolutely museum-worthy.
DIY Marble Nails
Okay so there are plenty of manicure ideas on this list for when you can't decide on just one nail polish color, but what happens when you can't even decide on one color palette? This two-handed DIY Marble Nails look, duh!
For these swirly tips, I chose gray as a color throughout to tie everything together, but if you're feeling funky you could substitute a gold glitter instead! Oh la la!
Happy nail painting, everybody!
