If you’re like me and are constantly checking Pinterest for the latest and greatest nail trends, you’ll appreciate what I’m about to share with you. Whether I need to find the right coral polish for my skin tone or just want to easily re-create my favourite nail art designs (yes, I keep busy), I turn to my trusty inspo board to keep it all in one place. Now, there’s also another realm of the nail design universe that I haven’t fully explored yet: pastel nail ideas.
I’ve always loved pastel hues, but rarely think to create new nail looks with the shades—weird, I know. But now that I’ve created a whole new board dedicated solely to changing this, I called in an expert to share some of her favourite looks using these soft-toned hues. Celebrity nail artist and Nails of LA founder, Brittney Boyce, had a few cool ideas to clue me in on. Keep scrolling for her ultra-chic pastel picks, a few of my own, and how you can achieve each look.
“Everyone does flowers for spring, but that’s not really my aesthetic. I like doing minimal abstract takes on looks mixed with French tips. A deconstructed floral in a warm pastel blue or even purple is somewhat different.”
“Mix and match French tips are such a classic design. For pastel colors, I like the tip to be a bit thicker so you see a lot of the color. You can also do a half-French tip with a white outline to really play up the pastel shade.”
“Ombré French tips in a monochrome look is another fun way to play with pastel.”
“Painting geometric shapes with metallic accents is another fun way to play up pastel colours and make it more modern.”
I’ll fully admit this is not an easy design and might require a professional nail tech, but it’s so dreamy I couldn’t leave it off the inspo board. If you do want to try it yourself, it would look stunning with a subtle pop of pastel purple to create the look of a sky.
This design looks a bit more complicated than it is. You can actually DIY your own gradient-style designs by placing your desired colours on a sponge and lightly dabbing them on your nails until you achieve the desired hue.
We love a good simple design that’s still fun and eye-catching. Paint your nails the (pastel) colours of the rainbow on each hand.
As far as pastel polishes go, this is one of Boyce’s favorites. “Sometimes pastel greens can look very Easter. This pistachio green is a bit more elevated with an earthy tone to it.”
“Periwinkle is so big this year,” Boyce says.
Sure, this design takes extra commitment, but if you can execute it, it’ll be 100% worth it. You’ll definitely want to use a super thin brush for a look like this to get the best results.
If you’re wanting a softer blue-toned look, try these pastel hues with subtle whites and greys to really make it pop.
Before you hit me with a Devil Wears Prada quote, just look at how cute this little floral design looks atop a lilac nail shade!? You really can’t argue with that.
For something a little different than a French tip or fully painted nail, try this fun design instead and paint half.
