February is here and Valentine's Day is in full swing. That means it's time to rock cute and romantic manicures. It's time for "the ultimate girly manicure, and it's personally my favorite time of year," shares nail artist Rachel Joseph. She says there are lots of ways to achieve this vibe. "Valentine's Day nails are usually filled with hearts, glitters, reds, pinks, and white," she says. "There are a ton of different looks you can do to achieve v-day nails, either by going all out with a themed look or keeping it simple with a chic pink or red French manicure."
Meet Our Expert
Rachel Joseph is a nail artist who works with Nailing Hollywood.
Tara Haye is a nail artist who works with Nailing Hollywood.
Eunice Park is nail artist and a research and development manager at Aprés Nail.
To inspire your next look, browse 50 gorgeous Valentine's Day nail ideas below.
Lipgloss Hearts
Take your lip gloss mani and make it even sweeter by painting white hearts at the tip before applying your final coat of jelly polish. This gives the hearts a bit of that lip gloss haze.
Heart Gradient
"If you're like me and you absolutely love pink, try different variations of heart manicures," sys Joseph. "Have fun by choosing a few of your favorite pink shades and switch them up on each nail."
Red-Pink Ombré
I created this look by painting my nails with two polishes from Aprés. I painted Soulful Ginger ($15), a bold red, to the tips and Electric Flamingo ($15), a hot pink to the rest of my nails. Before curing the gel, I used a makeup sponge to blur the line between the two polishes for a gradient effect.
Checkers
Hot pink and fiery red are the stars of this vibrant design. A few nails are solid colors, while the others are a mix of checkerboard and graphic hearts.
Tic Tac Toe
"People love to connect chocolate with Valentine’s Day," says Haye. "A dark chocolate brown polish is a unique option for the month of love nail looks. Dark brown used with the colors pink or red creates a beautiful harmony for Valentine’s Day."
Coquette
Go coquette with a mix of pink bows on a milky white base. A little crystal in the middle of one of the bows adds a little hint of glam.
Pink Bikini
This simple pink mani features a few coats of Pink Bikini ($10) from Kathleen and Co. It's a nice and creamy pink with subtle blue undertones.
Brightest Red
Go red with this shade that's so fiery it's nearly orange.
Dainty Florals
This dainty floral manicure is perfect for Valentine's Day. It uses two shades of pink with half of the nails featuring a light base with dark florals and vice versa. For even more interest, some of the nails concentrate the florals around the tip while the others are focused around the base of the nail.
Glitter Hearts
"On ourInstagram page, we have several nail looks created by some very talented nail artists using our newValentine's Day Palettes," says Park. "The looks are super easy to create as the colors are very creamy and opaque, making them easy to apply and create nail art with. And with 16 colors in each palette, the Valentine's Day nail art combinations are endless!"
Wild Pink
This gorgeous look features a hot pink polish infused with finely milled blue shimmer to create a bold and reflective finish.
Tea Time
This pretty look was created with three coats of DND Gel's Tea Time ($9), a sheer, milky pink polish. Note that because it is a gel shade it requires the proper base and top coat as well as a UV or LED light for curing.
Valentine’s Skittles
Make your Skittles mani on theme with shades of red and pink. This look uses a mix of regular and shimmer polishes to add even more dimension.
Heart Tips
With an almond-shaped nail, you can create a pretty minimal design with a range of heart outlines in place of a traditional French tip. The base of the heart perfectly mimics the shape of the nail.
Be Mine
This design features a mix of sparkly red tops, a heart-centric tic-tac-toe board, and a love letter. Although there's a lot going on, the artist kept the base neutral to simplify the look.
Love’s Journey
This super cute manicure features red, coral, and pink wavy stripes going down the middle of each nail like a winding road, while little white hearts and dots dance down the line. A few of the nails feature a solid red polish to anchor the look.
Raven Red
Raven Red ($6) from Eternal Cosmetics is a stunning true red polish because it doesn't lean too blue or too orange.
Heart Tips
This look features a nude base with a collection of hearts at the tip of each nail. The layout of the hearts remains consistent across the nails, yielding a super cohesive look.
Hot Pink Hearts
This nail look deviated from the classic saccharine pinks associated with Valentine's Day and uses a cool-toned berry shade. One nail per hand got pretty little hearts in the same shade.
Coquette Tips
The black French tip manicure features pink and red bow stickers to create cute coquette vibes.
Hidden Hearts
I love the peek-a-boo effect of this heart design. Four shades of pink and white were used to create this look. Each nail features a small heart painted in one of the shades most similar to its base, creating a pretty tonal look.
Bubblegum Jelly
This bubblegum jelly polish adds a was of color to the nails while allowing the natural nail's half moons and smile lines to show through.
Simple Hearts
This nude manicure keeps it simple with a small maroon heart painted at the base of each nail.
Love Is in the Air
Red dominated this nail look that features two fingers per hand with a nude base and red and white hearts.
Black Heart
Get in on the Valentine's Day nail fun without using a touch of pink with this design. It features a milky white base and black polka dots with one black heart per nail.
Candy Hearts
Lean into candy hearts with this cute design. The middle and ring fingers feature graphic candy hearts on a nude base while the other fingers have a few coats of a shimmery bubblegum pink.
Pink Geometric
If you're more into clean lines than hearts, go the geometric route and keep the look flirty with the use of pink polishes.
Milky Heart
This design features a milky white base and one big red heart per nail. It's simple and to the point.
Ombré Tips
This sweet design features a nude base with a sparkly pink ombré tip and a single white heart per nail. The pink polish has a golden shimmer that adds warmth to the overall look.
Peach Fuzz Love
Forgo pinks and reds and lean into Peach Fuzz, the Pantone color of the year instead. This look features a milky white base with a peachy polish coating the pink nail and a few peach hearts on the ring finger.
Razzle Dazzle
Mãi Mãi ($17) from Cirque Colors was used to create this dazzling nail look. Although the design — inverted triangle tips on a nude base — is quite simple, the bold polish makes this look super interesting.
Glitter Skittles
This Skittle look uses a blend of pink and purple polishes in both satin and glitter finishes for a fun and dynamic manicure.
Dainty Hearts
Tiny red hearts sit atop a baby pink base to create this sweet look. It's finished off with a light coat of silver glitter
Dots and Hearts
Pink hearts and white dots on a nude base are the stars of this nail look. These nails are surrounded by a pretty pink shimmery pink.
V-Day Mix ‘n Match
For a super festive mix-and-match style, incorporate tons of hearts, dots, swirls, and stars using shades of pink, red, and white. Finish it off with a shimmery top coat for a super cute effect.
Mauve Lip Gloss
Simple and pretty, this look features a few coats of milky mauve polish to create this nude lipgloss effect.
Sketched Hearts
This look keeps things colorful, employing electric shades of pink, green, blue, red, and orange to create hearts. Each heart has a little black outline of a heart inside of it, creating cute sketched vibes.
Paper Airplane Nails
This milky matte look features an adorable paper airplane design, with the plane seemingly flying from one nail to the other flying in a path that creates a heart.
Valentine’s French
This square nail design features a super sheer base, baby pink French tips, and deep red hearts.
Unforgettable
A few coats of this berry pink polish is more than enough for a solid Valentine's Day nail look. This look was done with the shade Unforgettable ($16) from Static Nails.
Reflective Red
Celebrity manicurist Julie Kandalec created this look using two polishes from The Gel Bottle Inc. Glass Red ($19), a true red, as a base, and then a coat of Doll ($19), a reflective shimmery pink, on top.
Squiggle Tips
Go abstract with this squiggle design. It features a nude, sheer base with pink tips with hot pink squiggles. The base of each tip and the design of the squiggles are different on each nail to keep the look interesting.
Pink and Red
Pair pink and red with this simple design. It's anchored with fuchsia polish on most of the nails and a nude, sheer base with pink and red hearts as the accent nails.
Outlined Frenchie
This bubble gum pink French tip design is accented by red lines along the smile lines as well as hearts.
Bad Romance
This clean design features simple red French tips. It was painted with the shade Bad Romance ($17) from Luxa Polish.
Keep It Simple
For a minimal design, paint all of your nails a pale pink and add a tiny pink glitter heart to the base of one nail.
Baby Pink
This clean look comprises just a few coats of polished pale pink. A healthy dose of cuticle oil makes the nails really shine.
Pearls and Hearts
This look features pearl decals settled among bright pink hearts on a milky base.
Patterns That Pop
This pretty mix-and-match design features checkerboard print, hearts, and smiley faces using shades of pink for the designs and a mix of nude and white as the bases.
Muted Mix ‘n Match
This design uses a muted mix of baby pink, mauve, beige, and tan to create florals and checkerboard print.
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Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert and enthusiast, I have personal experiences or expertise, but I can provide information based on search results. Here is some information related to the concepts used in this article:
Nail Artists and Experts:
- Rachel Joseph is a nail artist who works with Nailing Hollywood.
- Tara Haye is a nail artist who also works with Nailing Hollywood.
- Eunice Park is a nail artist and a research and development manager at Aprés Nail.
Valentine's Day Nail Ideas:
The article mentions various Valentine's Day nail ideas. Here are some of them:
- Lipgloss Hearts: Apply white hearts at the tip of the nails before applying the final coat of jelly polish to create a lip gloss haze effect.
- Heart Gradient: Use different variations of heart manicures with your favorite pink shades on each nail.
- Red-Pink Ombré: Paint the tips of the nails with a bold red polish and the rest with a hot pink polish. Use a makeup sponge to blur the line between the two colors for a gradient effect.
- Checkers: Create a vibrant design using hot pink and fiery red colors. Some nails can be solid colors, while others can have a mix of checkerboard and graphic hearts.
- Tic Tac Toe: Use a dark chocolate brown polish with pink or red colors to create a beautiful harmony for Valentine's Day.
- Coquette: Create a mix of pink bows on a milky white base, adding a crystal in the middle of one of the bows for a hint of glam.
- Pink Bikini: Apply a few coats of a creamy pink polish for a simple and elegant look.
- Brightest Red: Use a fiery red shade that is almost orange for a bold and vibrant look.
- Dainty Florals: Create a dainty floral manicure using two shades of pink, with half of the nails featuring a light base with dark florals and vice versa.
- Glitter Hearts: Use creamy and opaque colors from Valentine's Day palettes to create various nail art combinations with glitter hearts.
- Wild Pink: Apply a hot pink polish with finely milled blue shimmer for a bold and reflective finish.
- Tea Time: Use a sheer, milky pink polish for a pretty and delicate look.
- Valentine's Skittles: Create a mix-and-match manicure using shades of red and pink, incorporating hearts and dots.
- Heart Tips: Instead of a traditional French tip, create a minimal design with heart outlines that mimic the shape of the nail.
- Be Mine: Combine sparkly red tops, a heart-centric tic-tac-toe board, and a love letter on a neutral base for a cute and detailed design.
- Love's Journey: Create red, coral, and pink wavy stripes down the middle of each nail, with white hearts and dots dancing along the line.
- Raven Red: Use a stunning true red polish for a classic and elegant look.
- Hidden Hearts: Paint small hearts in shades similar to the base color on each nail for a tonal and peek-a-boo effect.
- Bubblegum Jelly: Apply a bubblegum jelly polish for a colorful and translucent look that allows the natural nail to show through.
- Simple Hearts: Keep it simple with a nude manicure and a small maroon heart painted at the base of each nail.
- Love Is in the Air: Create a nail look dominated by red, with two fingers per hand having a nude base and red and white hearts.
- Black Heart: Create a design without using pink, featuring a milky white base, black polka dots, and one black heart per nail.
- Candy Hearts: Embrace candy hearts with a cute design featuring graphic hearts on a nude base and a shimmery bubblegum pink on other fingers.
- Pink Geometric: Opt for clean lines and geometric shapes using pink polishes for a flirty look.
- Milky Heart: Apply a milky white base with one big red heart per nail for a simple and impactful design.
- Ombré Tips: Create a nude base with a sparkly pink ombré tip and a single white heart per nail for a sweet and elegant look.
- Peach Fuzz Love: Instead of pinks and reds, use peachy shades for a trendy look, featuring a milky white base and peach hearts.
- Razzle Dazzle: Use a bold polish to create a dazzling look, such as inverted triangle tips on a nude base.
- Glitter Skittles: Create a fun and dynamic manicure using a blend of pink and purple polishes in satin and glitter finishes.
- Dainty Hearts: Paint tiny red hearts on a baby pink base for a sweet and delicate look.
- Dots and Hearts: Combine pink hearts and white dots on a nude base for a charming design.
- V-Day Mix 'n Match: Incorporate hearts, dots, swirls, and stars using shades of pink, red, and white for a festive and cute mix-and-match style.
- Mauve Lip Gloss: Apply a few coats of milky mauve polish for a simple and pretty nude lip gloss effect.
- Sketched Hearts: Use electric shades of pink, green, blue, red, and orange to create sketched hearts with black outlines.
- Paper Airplane Nails: Create a milky matte look with an adorable paper airplane design, forming a heart-shaped path from one nail to another.
- Valentine's French: Opt for a square nail design with a sheer base, baby pink French tips, and deep red hearts.
- Unforgettable: Use a berry pink polish for a solid Valentine's Day nail look.
- Reflective Red: Create a look using a true red base and a reflective shimmery pink coat on top.
- Squiggle Tips: Go abstract with a nude, sheer base, pink tips, and hot pink squiggles for a unique and playful design.
- Pink and Red: Pair fuchsia polish with a nude base and add pink and red hearts as accent nails.
- Outlined Frenchie: Create a bubble gum pink French tip design with red lines along the smile lines and hearts.
- Bad Romance: Paint simple red French tips for a clean and elegant look.
- Keep It Simple: Apply a pale pink color to all nails and add a tiny pink glitter heart to the base of one nail.
- Baby Pink: Keep it clean with a few coats of polished pale pink, adding cuticle oil for a shiny finish.
- Pearls and Hearts: Use pearl decals among bright pink hearts on a milky base for a sophisticated look.
- Patterns That Pop: Mix and match checkerboard print, hearts, and smiley faces using shades of pink, nude, and white.
- Muted Mix 'n Match: Create a muted mix of baby pink, mauve, beige, and tan for florals and checkerboard print.
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