@brushedbyb_
After months of holiday-specific nail art inspo (think: New Years nails, Valentines Day manicures, and St. Patricks Day nail art ideas), April offers more room for interpretation. If you celebrate Easter or Ramadan, you may want to adopt a manicure designed with fitting colors. However, if you simply want to embrace the fresh feel of spring, opting for a softer, more pastel palette is a great place to start. From there, you can determine if youre craving all-over color, classic French tips, or a trendy negative space design. While youre at it, you may consider incorporating elements from other 2023 nail trends, such as retro-inspired swirls or emoji accents. And in April, flowers are always welcome. The point is: There are so many ways to paint your nails in April. Ahead, youll find over two dozen ways to do so.
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Viva Magenta Florals
@bahnannanails
The Pantone color of the year is Viva Magenta—which means this floral manicure is especially perfect for April. Nail Artist Anna Bahn used Holo Taco Nail Polish ($12) in the shades What Do You Pink?, High Tea Hibiscus, Not Milky White, Laven-Duh, and Work Bestie to create the look.
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April Showers
@peachinails
Blue is a popular April color, thanks to the bright blue skies and frequent rain showers that fill the month. Consider copying this graphic two-tone blue, mirrored color block nail art idea to embrace the hue.
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Breezy Blooms
@heygreatnails
Flowers begin to bloom in April, even if its still a bit chilly out. We love how this iridescent nail art idea captures that concept with cool-toned shimmer and cornflower blue blooms. While nail artist Aistė Haas kindly shared all the products and tools she used to create this look, considering the intricacy of this design, youll likely want to bring the picture as inspo and let your nail artist do the painting.
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Monochrome Lines
@peachinails
Prefer all-over color on your nails? We love the look of this multi-color monochrome mani. Each finger sticks to one color family and highlights a spring-friendly contrast.
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Spring Houndstooth
@nails_and_soul
How fun is this colorful houndstooth mani? Created with a mix of bold and pastel colors, its a cheerful nail look that works well for April and the other warmer months of the year.
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Pastel Lava Lamp Nails
@peachinails
Here we have another vivid April-friendly nail art idea. Crafted with pastel neons, this nail look has a retro lava lamp vibe that we cant get enough of.
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Dainty Florals
@nails_and_soul
Prefer a more intricate, minimalist nail look? This periwinkle blue French manicure with floral accents is a beautiful option.
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Pastel Ombré Nails
@peachinails
Heres another example of how pastel neons can work as a spring nail art idea.
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Funky Florals
@peachinails
Shades of green are popular in April, which means this funky floral nail look is a great idea for the month. Believe it or not, its actually pretty easy to recreate, too. All youll need is a dotting tool to create the flowers. Simply dab five dots in pale pink with a hot pink dot layered on top. Seal it all in with a top coat.
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Springtime Blues
@sassnailartistry
We love how easily DIY flowers transform any nail art idea into an April-ready mani. While the flowers and checkers of this nail look are relatively simple to recreate, the swirls take a bit more precision. Give it a try by using a fine-lining nail art brush, like those found in the Beetles Nail Art Liner Brush 5-Piece Kit ($10).
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Studded Blooms
@gelpolish_bar
Easily one of our favorite April nail art ideas, this manicure features studded flowers, French tips, and swirls—checking multiple 2023 nail art trend boxes.
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Chartreuse Art Deco Nails
@nailsbylindseylu
This tricolor green nail art idea perfectly captures the freshness of growing grass and blooming flowers in April.
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Floral Doodles
@nailsbylindseylu
Remember: You can never go wrong with floral nail art accents in April. This particular design is quite intricate, so youll likely need a pros help to recreate it.
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Pastel Negative Space Nails
@peachinails
A pastel swirl mani with white outlines and negative space feels preppy and retro, making it totally perfect for spring.
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Butterfly Accents
@heygreatnails
These shimmery pastel butterfly nails are so whimsical. (And we love the velvet nail details, too.)
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Yellow Squiggles
@peachinails
While many swirly nail art ideas require the precision of a pro artist, these purple and pale yellow nails might just be DIY-friendly. To recreate the look, choose similar purple and yellow polishes and use a fine-lining brush to create the swirls. Finish with a top coat.
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Pastel Groove
@brushedbyb_
We dont know about you, but were so glad retro nail art is in this year. These multicolor pastel swirl nails are simply too cute to pass up.
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Lavender Watercolor
@heygreatnails
For a daintier April nail art look, consider copying this lavender watercolor manicure. Haas kindly shared every product she used to create this mani here; however, given the intricate nature of the floral design, you may want to book a nail appointment for a perfect recreation.
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Mix-and-Match French
@brushedbyb_
Two-tone French manicures are having a major moment in 2023, which means this pastel nail art idea is especially on-trend for April. For this look, the artist used Lights Lacquer Nail Polish ($11) in the shades Order Up!, Easy as Pie, ‘52 Chevy, Juke Box Baby, Frenchy, and Banana Split.
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Two-Tone Purple French Tips
@nails_and_soul
Another way to get in on the two-tone French mani trend is with multicolor tips. Here, you can see how pretty contrasting purple shades look.
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Spring Mashup
@amyle.nails
We love mismatched nail designs, so this flower, squiggle, and yin-yang mani is a must in our book.
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Spring Mix-and-Match
@brushedbyb_
Speaking of mismatch manis, heres another mix-and-match design were swooning over. The cloud nail, the checkers, the smiley French tip—were swooning.
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Emoji Checker Nails
@sassnailartistry
While theres a lot going on with this pastel mani, its actually pretty easy to DIY. To perfect the French tips, use the Orly Half Moon Nail Guides ($6); to recreate the flowers, use dotting tools and fine-lining brushes, like those found in the FULINJOY 5-Piece Dotting Pen and Brush Set ($6).
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Coral Contrast
@brushedbyb_
Bright orange shades are very popular in 2023, which means this coral and baby blue contrast nail art idea is perfect for April.
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Happy Mushroom Nails
@yo_keshh
Hey, hi, hello, heres more mismatched mani inspo. That smiley mushroom? One-of-a-kind.
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Pastel Gradient
@brushedbyb_
As you know, squiggle frames have been popular for years. But squiggle frames over a pastel gradient base? Now thats one nail art idea were copying ASAP this April.
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Spring Abstract
@disseynails
If you love the idea of framing your nails in color but want to leave your base blank, this negative space idea is for you. Nail artist Dayanna Sapiens created the look using DND Gel ($12) in the shades U Shine I Shine, Sweet Yam, Voodoo, Pastel Orange, Blue River, Velvet, Pink Bubblegum, Sheer in the City, and Sunset Suede.
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Spring Swirl
@brushedbyb_
A colorful wavy manicure is another way to style pastel colors on your nails. Here, nail artist Brittney Ellen used Lights Lacquer Nail Polish ($11) in the shade Strawberry Frosting, Harmon Polish Nail Polish ($12) in the shade Be Calm, OPI Nail Lacquer ($12) in the shade You’re Such A BudaPest, and Essie Nail Polish ($10) in the shade All Fun