Summer Nail Designs for a Bold and Bright Manicure

Summertime is the best time to go wild with your nails! All of the sunny, bright colours can finally come out and shine.

Here are some of my favourite nail designs for this season — from 80’s neons to retro colour palettes and everything in between!

Brightly Coloured Digits

This summer is all about those BOLD and bright colours, and this design perfectly showcases a huge variety of creativity! Decorating each nail with a different colour combo and design is a sure way to stand out in the sun!

These nails would be perfect for a beach vacay and the added texture really makes the shell designs come to life. Touches of gold add a bit of elegance and magic!

Summer Doodles Manicure

So simple, but effective and FUN! With just two colours, these nails are ready for some summer joy! Whimsical doodles can be hand drawn with a brush… just remember to add smiley faces wherever you can.

Funky Fruit Nail Art

I love a good fruit nail design. This one is so fun with the addition of wavy borders and stars in coordinating colours. Would you rock it?

For a retro look, these classic smiley faces sit on top of some bold stripes, painted in classic retro colours that would be perfect for a pool party!

Nautical Blue Nails

The artwork on these nails is fabulous. Some classic blue shades are all you need to create a cohesive nautical themed manicure. Each nail showcases a different piece of mini-art, hand drawn with a fine brush. So talented!

Pastel Daisy Nails

If long tips are your thing, try a design like this! Pastel rainbow shades compliment each nail and little handpainted daisies set the summer vibe.

Porcelain and Lemons

These textured lemons stand out against the classic Delft Blue porcelain style artwork and make me want to transport to Greece for a day in the sun with some fresh lemonade!

Cobalt Blue Icon Designs

Another pottery-inspired look, this time using a classic cobalt blue and bone white to create summer inspired hand-drawn icons on each finger. Love this idea!

Mermaid Scale Nail Art

Scaley nails will surely bring out the mermaid in you! The mix of complimenting colours helps to add interest and breaks up the pattern in such a unique and nice way.

Summer Artwork Manicure

Drawing a tiny piece of artwork on each nail is probably one of my favourite types of nail designs. You can get so creative with whatever you choose to paint. The artist here used the same style borders around each object to create a cohesive look. So cute!

Hibiscus Skies

What a beautiful, bold colour combo! This blue makes the perfect backdrop for firey red flowers and makes me want to hop on a plane to Hawaii.

Textured Wave Nail Art

This 3D effect works really well for summer “waves” and even scales. The alternating gradients in neon shades are just gorgeous for bright, sunny days ahead.

Bright Pink Nail Art

This pink must be a staple this summer, because I see it everywhere! And for good reason! It’s the perfect shade for summertime fun and can match well with many other bright colours. From waves, to stripes, to leopard print, this manicure has it all.

Retro Summer Nails

Finally, these nails stole my heart! These classic 70’s colours and retro designs look so cool painted on a medium pink background. Hand-painted artwork creates a groovy nail design that is super fresh and screams summertime!