41+ Best Bright Summer Nail Ideas to Try This Season

Naomi James's avatarBy Naomi James
41+ Best Bright Summer Nail Ideas to Try This Season

Summer is the season of bright colors, bold patterns, and playful designs, and what better way to embrace this carefree spirit than through your nail art? Whether you’re heading to the beach, attending a summer wedding, or simply looking to add some vibrancy to your everyday style, a fun and colorful manicure can be the perfect finishing touch to any outfit.


In this blog, we’ll explore 41 bright summer nails ideas that are sure to inspire you to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.

From bold neons to pastel shades, tropical prints to glittery accents, there’s a nail look for everyone to enjoy this season. So grab your favorite polish, and let’s dive in!


1. Sea-green nails:

What comes to mind when I mention summer? Beaches, right? Here is some inspiration to create on your nails this summer that reminds us of beautiful beach waves. For these short bright summer acrylic nails, you should start applying blue hues to alternative nails like the thumb and middle finger.

1. Sea-green nails:

Then, apply neon green to your little finger. The remaining two nails add both colors and give a wavy borderline with white nail polish to give the beach wave effects. 


2. Smiley-face nails:

This cute smiley-face nail idea is the best nail art you can try at home! All you need are black, white, and yellow nail polishes and nail art tools like thin brushes. If you have a little knowledge of how to do thin strokes, then there is no problem!

2. Smiley-face nails:

Just use white nail polish as the base on two fingers and a yellow shade on the other three fingers. In the white base, draw your smileys with yellow, add details with black, and use thin brushes. That’s it! You’ll get cute, bright summer nails.


3. Dark sage green nails:

This is a very easy way to create short bright summer nails that you can try at home if you have dark sage green nail paint.

Also, if you have natural short nails that you have grown with proper nail maintenance, like putting cuticle oil regularly, this idea is apt for you. Take a dark sage green nail color and paint it on your nails.

3. Dark sage green nails:

Give a second coat, and then take white nail polish and thin brushes and draw half-circles around the corners of the nails. Choose any corner of the nail. Trust me! It’s going to be so good on your fingertips. 


4. Half-white nails:

Have no money for a professional manicure? These short bright summer nails will give you an awesome look at your fingertips. This idea does not necessitate the use of any expensive nail tools.

4. Half-white nails:

Start with a base coat of clear polish, take a white polish, and apply it to half of your nail diagonally. This summer, you should maintain your natural nails by cleaning them and applying cuticle oil regularly to get healthy nails. 


5. Ink-blue nails:

This blue gel for bright summer nails will be pretty for your nails. Apply an ink-blue shade to your nails except for the ring finger. Take a white hue and draw wavy lines in the centers of the nails of two fingers.

5. Ink-blue nails:

For the ring finger, draw wavy lines with an ink shade color in the center. There you go! Simple, bright summer nails for you! 


6. Rainbow nails:

You need professional help to create these gorgeous, bright summer nails. To your sharp almond nails, Coat with any two shades of pink on the index and little fingers. Light blue can be used for the thumb.

6. Rainbow nails:

For the remaining two fingers, apply a base coat, start applying thin rainbow color lines, draw hearts and stars with white polish on top of it, and apply a top coat. The sharpness is achieved by shaping the nail with a filer tool.

6. Rainbow nails:

A nail file is a very important tool when it comes to doing nails. Because that tool will do wonders for your nails and make sure that if you poke anyone, they won’t get hurt. 


7. Star-Rainbow nails:

Rainbow designs can only be created with professional help. If you’re good with nail art, then you can try this at home. Coat off-white color as a base. Apply rainbow colors in thin strokes on half of the nails.

7. Star-Rainbow nails:

Take a glittery golden color and draw stars randomly on your nails, and don’t forget the top coat anytime. Voila! Beautiful, bright summer nail designs for you! 


8. Dreamy-Rainbow nails:

To achieve these amazingly beautiful nails, start with a nude hue as a base, draw rainbow lines around the corners, and cover only half of the nails.

8. Dreamy-Rainbow nails:

Draw random shiny stars and dots for these gel bright summer nails. The stars can now be darkened with any darkest shade of your choice. 


9. Ash-black geometric nails:

The geometric patterns are in style now. Why not try that pattern on nails? Here’s an idea: Depending on your preferences, randomly apply ash and black color to your nails. If it is a matte shade, then it’s great!

9. Ash-black geometric nails:

Draw a very thin line down the center of the nail horizontally. Choose colors alternately and go ahead. Draw a triangle on the top tips or bottom. This is a very bright summer nail designs for dark-color lovers. 


10. Blue flower nails:

I have a beautiful blue flower nail art design for your short nails this summer. Consider two blue shades: one pastel blue and one slightly darker blue pastel shade.

10. Blue flower nails:

Apply two colors to your nails alternately, and leave the middle finger’s nails with a transparent base. Draw cute flowers and a borderline on each nail with white nail paint. Ta-da! Short bright summer nails on your fingertips. 


11. Pastel multi-color gel nails:

Simple gel bright summer nails designs will give your nails a beautiful look. You can make these bright summer acrylic nails with the help of a professional.

11. Pastel multi-color gel nails:

They follow a proper step-by-step procedure to achieve acrylic nails. You can shape the acrylic nail into a square shape with a nail filer. Take five different shades of your favorite pastel shades and apply one to each nail. 


12. Sun Art nails:

A light pastel yellow hue and a blue dot on the center of the nails, with tiny, thin strokes around the dot like a sun, can give you the best bright summer nails. You can achieve this look if you have very short nails.

12. Sun Art nails:

Maintaining natural nails is not a tough task; as we discussed earlier, apply proper cuticle oil and keep your nails hydrated in this hot summer. You look cute with these short bright summer nails. 


13. Multi-color neon nails:

We can create tie-dye effects on the nails too. These bright summer acrylic nails will fail if you don’t have a professional’s help.

13. Multi-color neon nails:

In your index and ring fingers, apply all the neon colors you love, making sure that they are not fully mixed. Just mix the edges of each color to give a tie-dye effect. For the other three fingers, put dots on half of the nail with a different color from the top.

13. Multi-color neon nails:

Draw a cute little heart with black nail polish and write happy. For the middle finger, put dots in various sizes around the bottom of the nail. It is a very complex neon bright summer nails design that will require time and patience. 


14. Wavy multi-color neon nails:

To brighten up this summer, neon nails are the best choice. It will highlight your fingertips. Draw random wavy lines on your nails with a thin brush, and different neon colors should be used on each nail.

14. Wavy multi-color neon nails:

After that, fill any half of the nail with the same color you used for drawing thin lines. There it is! Simple neon bright summer nails for you to try at home 


15. Multi-nail art-themed nails:

For nail art, there will be a theme that an artist will follow to create the art. Here I give you different nail art themes for each nail that are united by the word “summer.”

15. Multi-nail art-themed nails:

So, you start with your transparent base color on each nail and line your nails with different color nail polishes from where your nails start to grow.

15. Multi-nail art-themed nails:

They used daisies, clouds, smileys, cherries, and cow prints on each nail to give you creative multi-nail art-themed nails. Go for it! If you love gel bright summer nails. 


16. Creative acrylics:

Who doesn’t love acrylics? The bright summer acrylic nails take your boring nails to another level. We’re going to mix every summer theme for these nails. As soon as your acrylic nails are nice and smooth, the next step is to paint your nails, say blue, light pink, yellow, white, and pink.

16. Creative acrylics:

It’s time for nail art! You can draw clouds over the blue color, a check in the light pink nail, a smiley in the yellow nail, cow prints in white, and a simple heart on the pink finger.

The goal is to achieve these creatively themed nails, and I’m sure you’ve got an idea for bright summer nails. 


17. Comics nails:

For all comic book lovers! I give you this comic nail idea to brighten your summer. You know how comic book art is done. They draw a black border around everything they draw.

17. Comics nails:

So, that’s the concept we are going to try in these bright summer nail designs. In this step, we will apply different neon colors to our nails and draw lines around the squared-shaped nail. To add more comic effect, you can draw white lines on the edges and end them with a dot.

17. Comics nails:

Take a slightly darker neon shade and give it some strokes at the bottom. These trendy neon bright summer nails gives an awesome look to your fingertips. 


18. Fruit-themed nails:

A big advantage of using acrylic nails is that you can choose your nail shape and length. To create these fruit-themed nails, start with a transparent base coat and paint your nails with the colors of the fruits that you are going to draw on the bottom.

18. Fruit-themed nails:

Like you are going to draw a watermelon, paint red on the tips, and draw the fruit on the bottom. Recreate the fruits exactly with different color polishes.

18. Fruit-themed nails:

You can draw any fruit of your preference; here, they drew lemon, kiwi, banana, orange, and watermelon. What are you waiting for? Try these gel bright summer nails now, and don’t forget to apply UV-blocking topcoats.


19. Neon yellow nails:

Bright yellow nail designs are best for summer days. Here’s the procedure to create these neon bright summer nails on your fingertips: Apply a neon yellow nail polish to your nails, leaving the index and ring fingers bare.

19. Neon yellow nails:

For the remaining fingers, apply white nail polish as a base and start dotting random areas with neon yellow color.

19. Neon yellow nails:

Then take black nail polish with a thin brush and draw leaves randomly and draw a borderline to your nail. These are bright summer acrylic nails that need professional help. 


20. Neon yellow French tip nails:

French tips are always in style. Why don’t we try French fries with bright neon colors this summer? Apply neon yellow acrylics to your thumb and small finger.

20. Neon yellow French tip nails:

Apply transparent acrylics to other fingers. On the ring finger, draw a vertical line with neon yellow and fill it. On top of that, draw leaves and enhance them.

20. Neon yellow French tip nails:

For the other two nails, draw French tips with neon color and sprinkle black polish on top of them. 


21. Acrylic neon nails:

Apply neon acrylics to the thumb and small finger and transparent acrylic to the other fingers. Take neon yellow and apply it on the corners of the nails, creating a half-French tip.

21. Acrylic neon nails:

Draw thin lines over the nails randomly. Top it off with UV-blocking topcoats to keep your nails healthy. Here are the neon bright summer nails. 


22. Mixed neon color nails:

For this bright summer nails design, take a very light shade of blue as a base and apply it to your nails. After that, pick any two or three consecutive nails for the nail art.

22. Mixed neon color nails:

The idea is to create a beautiful work of mixed art on your nails. For that, take any neon shade and drop it on half of the nails. Do not mix fully.

22. Mixed neon color nails:

Give very thin strokes randomly on the centers of the nails. Hurray! Gel bright summer nails for your pretty nails.


23. Swirl neon nails:

Do you know what else is trending, like French tips? Swirl nails. It is created by drawing random wavy lines and filling them. So, here’s how to make these lovely, bright, gel summer nails.

23. Swirl neon nails:

Take two neon shades for one nail, start drawing thin, wavy lines with both shades, and fill it. The neon orange and neon pink go well with each other.

Apply UV-blocking topcoats to it. That’s it! Wonderful neon bright summer nails are created. 


24. Electric nails:

Why go to a nail salon for your acrylic nails? I got you some beautiful, bright summer acrylic nails that you can try at home. Apply transparent acrylic nails to your natural nails.

24. Electric nails:

For that, you should have healthy nails treated with nail strengtheners, cuticle oil, and all. It is important to maintain natural nails before doing acrylics.

24. Electric nails:

After that, a simple electric heart in random places on your nails can give this beautiful effect. Neon yellow is preferred for this art. 


25. Bright yellow gel nails:

Summer-sun-yellow, you know how it’s connected! Why not try this theme on nails? Take a bright yellow hue and apply it to your nails as your base. On the middle finger, draw a cute tree with black nail polish.

25. Bright yellow gel nails:

Apply any glitter or shiny polish to your ring finger. Top it off with gel polish to make it more sparkling. These bright summer nail designs will go well with every outfit you wear! 


26. Cow print multi-color nails:

Have you heard of cow prints? I will give you an idea to elevate the basic black and white cow prints. First, apply white nail polish as a base, and for the cow print design, take different types of neon shades and draw cow prints on them.

26. Cow print multi-color nails:

Make a cute nail by combining three different shades. That’s it! Top it off with a gel top coat, and you have gel bright summer nails for your fingertips


27. French tip nails with a twist:

Another rainbow nail idea for you! Start with a transparent base. Take five different neon shades and create French tips.

27. French tip nails with a twist:

Draw a thin line from the right edge of the top and drag it to the bottom. Fill in the neon color. A perfect bright summer nail designs with a slight twist! 


28. Rainbow French tips:

The rainbow effect on French tip designs will give your nails a gorgeous look. As the rainbow is going to give you a bright look, a transparent gel base is enough.

28. Rainbow French tips:

Mix any two neon shades on the tips and create the French tip look. Apply UV-blocking top coats to maintain your nail’s health. 


29. Summer-themed nail art:

Mix-and-match nail art is popular right now! Next time when you go to the nail salon, you should try these short bright summer nails designs.

29. Summer-themed nail art:

So, create your nail design for every nail, say an apple, a starfish, a rainbow, and a moon. Try to elevate these simple designs with a twist.

For example, the rainbow is yellow, blue, and drawn like a flower. This will give you fabulous fingertips. 


30. Grass green cow prints:

30. Grass green cow prints:

After applying a transparent gel base, draw random cow prints on the corners of the nails with a grass-green shade. Simple, easy, and bright summer nail designs for those who love gel nails. 


31. Glittery water drop nails:

Here’s the best bright summer nail idea to elevate the water drop designs on the top of the nails.

31. Glittery water drop nails:

First, create a water drop effect on the top of your nails and fill it with your favorite glittery color nail polish. This way, you can achieve sparkling, short, bright summer nails. 


32. Royal matte nails:

This bright summer acrylic nails design is a must-try when you step into a nail salon next time. To achieve this, apply a dark bluish-green matte as a base.

32. Royal matte nails:

On the middle and ring fingers, apply a white gel-based acrylic and draw beautiful leaves with shimmery golden nail polish. That way, you can create these royal nails. 


33. Cream Brown Heart nails:

Apply the cream-colored nail polish to four nails on the one hand and the brown-colored nail polish to four nails on the other hand.

33. Cream Brown Heart nails:

For the remaining nail on each finger, apply the other colors; say, if you put cream, apply brown, and vice versa. Draw a cute heart on the finger with alternative colors. Herat lovers! A fabulous gel bright summer nails for you. 


34. Pastel ombre nails:

Ombre nails are a simple design that you can do at home. All you need is a sponge.

34. Pastel ombre nails:

Apply a very light transparent gel base, then apply pastel shades of different colors on half of the nails from the top. With the help of the sponge, dab it, apply top coats, and finish it! 


35. Checked cow prints:

35. Checked cow prints:

Draw cow prints and fill them with white polish; draw checked lines with black. For the remaining area, draw any art like a smiley or a rainbow flower to give you beautiful, bright summer nail designs


36. Tiny heart nails:

36. Tiny heart nails:

Start with a base coat; draw tiny hearts in different shades on each nail. Give the hearts a black borderline. A very simple yet cute, bright summer nails for you. 


37. Neon orange nails:

I have an idea for those who love bright, neon-bright summer nails!

37. Neon orange nails:

Apply an off-white base and French tips to any three of the nails in neon orange. On the other two nails, draw beach-wavy lines with a hint of neon pink and orange. 


38. Pastel-colored geometric nails:

38. Pastel-colored geometric nails:

Apply white nail polish as a base and take different shades of paste; apply them only on the edges, diagonally, to create a small triangle on the edges. Try these easy gel bright summer nails!


39. Red and white flower nails:

Firstly, apply red gel polish to three nails and transparent gel polish to the other two, say, the middle and ring fingers.

39. Red and white flower nails:

Draw cute flowers with white and dot the center with red. An uncomplicated, bright summer nail designs for you.


40. Black short nails:

40. Black short nails:

For your boring short nails, try this amazing black and bright summer nails idea. Apply black as a base and draw a thin line and dots with white polish randomly. That’s it! Perfectly done!


41. White wavy nails:

41. White wavy nails:

This is a very simple, bright summer nail designs that you can try at home. Start with a semi-transparent white base; draw thin, wavy lines with black. As simple as it looks.


Wrapping Up:

Summer nail trends include neon shades, pastels, and bold hues. Proper nail care is crucial during the summer, including protecting nails from sun damage and dehydration.

Wrapping Up:

Creating summer nail art requires the right tools and techniques, and nail care products such as strengtheners and cuticle oils can keep nails healthy.

Choosing the right nail polish brand and color depends on skin tone and personal preference, and understanding the pros and cons of different types of nail polish is important. With the right care and attention, anyone can achieve bright and beautiful summer nails.

Also Read: Try 15 Different Shades of Brown Nails: Be Creative

Also Read: Top 22 Classy Winter Nails Ideas That Will Glam Up Your Beauty