19 Pool-Ready Summer Nail Designs to Try in 2021 (2024)

We made to summer, hot girls! Things are getting so hot that we desperately need to find a giant container of something cold, be that pool water or hard seltzer. Start by cooling off your nails with splashes of these summer nail designs. That’s how that works, right?

When it comes to summer nail colors, think seasonal hues like neon orange and bright yellow, sky and ocean blues, and minty green and lavender. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, break out the iridescent colors. And if you’re feeling super duper adventurous, paint them while bungee jumping.

From pink flamingos to psychedelic tie-dye, we’ve captured all the hottest summer looks to inspire some nail ideas for a DIY home manicure or a trip to the salon if you also have the dexterity of a five year old.

19 Hot Summer Nail Designs

1. Ice Cream Nails

Ali Dangel transformed the best summer treat into these delicious nail design, complete with waffle cone tips. If they start melting down your hands, you’ve made them too realistic.

2. Swimming Pools Nails

Nail artist Wendy Gray is making a splash with these swimming nails. They’re going to look really great wrapped around our poolside drink. Speaking of…how do we get another one of those?

3. Picnic Nails

Actual ants at a picnic? Not the best. Cute ants on nails? Great. Flik from A Bug’s Life? Innovating, inspiring, and…we digress.

4. Tie-Dye Nails

Cover yourself in 2020’s hottest pattern from head to toe – literally! Just like with tie-dying clothes, there are a million ways to do a tie-dye nail design, and somehow it’s actually easier to do than remembering to water all our plants.

5. Watermelon Nails

Pros of this Beardyboy Creative-inspired watermelon design by Maria: it’s a mating call for Harry Styles. Cons: you don’t get to do a seed spitting contest.

6. S’mores Summer Nails

We don’t need to be melodramatic, but we need these cartoon s’mores nails more than we need a fruit and veggie platter at a potluck. OK that’s not a high bar, but still.

7. Trippy Press-On Nails

Grab a set of these hand-painted press-on nails for a quick and easy manicure. And yes, this is what our face looks like after we swipe through too many guys with quotes fromThe Office on their dating profile.

8. Sunflower Nails

Victoria Santana Haddock created these summer floral nails inspired by the OG flower of summer using CND in Warm Pink and OPI in Do You Take Lei Away. Growing sunflowers on your fingers is what the mean by having a green thumb, right?

9. Strawberry Nails

We’re taking our cottagecore vibes to a whole new level this summer. You can too with some red, green, and white polish and a nail brush. Or by going and living in an actual cottage.

10. Yellow French Manicure

This is for when you want to make people wonder if you actually did your nails, or just spent too much time squeezing lemons for your lemonade stand. Using yellow polish and a little nail tape, you can create this same sunny look.

11. Clementine Nails

These nails by Alicia Torello are cute and retro. If clementines aren’t your thing, pick a fruit, any fruit. Except honeydew. Don’t be that person.

12. Neon Green Nails

Sorry, this is what they mean by having a green thumb. Recreate this lime green look by Betina Goldsteinusing two base coats of Blanc and a top coat of Stencil Me In. Bonus: they can can double as a flashlight!

13. Mix & Match Summer Nails

This summer nail design by Liz Henson is perfect for when you regret your choices 50% of the way through a project.

14. Gone Camping Nails

All of our future camping trips will include this nail design by nail artist Stephanie. And by future camping trips, we mean drinking wine on our porch.

15. Rainbow Outlines

When French tips are so nice, you do it twice. Not unlike our approach to eating dessert!

16. Cloud Nails

Elena shares video instructions for this cloudy nail art. For a different version, add meatballs.

17. Yellow Hearts

Negative space nails are our favorite kind of nails, and it’s not just because we’re constantly low on our nail polish supply. Kim Truong created this look using OPI’s I Just Can’t Cope-acabana. Additional feathers encouraged, obviously.

18. Firefly Nails

Let’s be clear: we mean lightening bugs, not the show. Shan created this magical summertime look by using, quite honestly, a lot of products that you can find in her IG post.

19. Flamingo Nails

These are going to go quite well with that pool float we just ordered. Lizzy Wade created this freehand design using Bio Sculpture in Jinkie Pink and French White. You know you’ve had enough White Claws when the flamingo starts moving.