30 Summer-Ready Nail Designs Inspired by the Beach

If you’re ready to go all out with colors on your manicure, going for a fun and different design on every single nail is the way to go. Pick your color palette (it can include as few as three or as many as 10 colors), and all that’s left to do is decide which designs you’d like on each nail. Ice cream cones, turtles, seashells, citruses — anything that epitomizes beachy vibes for you is fair game!

If you’re not really into the idea of having a different design on each nail, you can accentuate your go-to manicure with a simple palm tree on one or two nails. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a palm tree — you can pick any design that you like as long as it makes you think of the beach. With a new beautiful manicure on your nails, you’ll be ready to read all of the best beach reads from Reese’s Book Club.

If you’re ready for a more intricate summer design, consider going for seashell-inspired nails. In fact, this manicure looks particularly great when done in a 3-D effect, as that can actually help your nails mimic seashells. As always, we suggest going for a variety of coordinated yet slightly different nail-art designs, as that makes it even more fun. Besides, ocean-inspired jewelry is an accessory trend that’s been popular for a while, and nails like these match it perfectly.

If going for a mermaid-inspired look is what you’re gravitating toward, consider adding pearls and fun embellishments to your nails as well as sticking to an aquamarine, gold, and pearlescent color palette. And if you want to match your hair to the look, don’t skip our hairstyle expert’s foolproof tips for long, flirty mermaid waves. The mermaid aesthetic trends every summer, so exploring it with a nail-art design is a must.

While we do love a bold and colorful statement, you can also have fun with your nails without going overboard with colors. In fact, something as simple as combining a white and beige color into a fun design is all it takes to spice up your everyday manicure. Furthermore, if you’re feeling a little extravagant, you can always add a pop of color with a fish design on your ring finger. 

Aquamarine nails are all the rage this summer, and we might have rising pop star Addison Rae (and her hit song of the same name) to thank for that. If you want something more special than a monochromatic look, you can opt for the illusion of water on your nails with some gold detailing around the edges. This style easily mimics water and sand while still being fun and unexpected.

Nothing screams summer like pastel nails, which look even better after your skin has gotten some of that healthy summer glow. Pink, blue, orange — everything is fair game as long as it’s in a pastel shade. You can simply opt for different colors on each nail, or you can make the look a bit more intricate by adding fun elements and even 3-D embellishments. Then, keep your summer glow all year long with our tips (and thank us later).

If classic beach-inspired nail designs aren’t really your cup of tea, these ones might just be. Sharks aren’t really that common of a motif, which is why rocking them as nail art is actually genius. If you love quirky looks, research the sharks you like, and pick one for each nail. If you ask us, these nails are definitely a conversation starter!

If you prefer a manicure that will look good even if it grows out a little, consider these wavy tips. Technically, they’re not French tips because they’re more intricate, but the wave is located only at the tip of your fingernail. This also means that as your nail grows out, you can still get away with rocking the design for a week or two. While clouds are optional, they do make the scenery even more whimsical.

A very simple yet impactful beach design creates the illusion of the surface of the water on your fingertips. Think of the way the water looks when the sun hits it directly — that’s the look we’re going for. All it takes to recreate it is a couple of shades of blue and a steady hand. The details don’t need to be symmetrical and perfect (after all, the pool and ocean’s surfaces never are), so don’t get too hung up on perfection. 

If you’re more of a floral person, consider adding tropical flowers as details to your nails. These instantly remind us of a tropical beach, and if you pair them with a pale-yellow French tip, the design will be even more summery. Accessorized with a flower clip in your hair and a cocktail at the beach, this makes the perfect summer aesthetic.

Blue manicures will always be a popular beach-inspired option, and they will look especially great if you or your manicurist add 3-D designs that look like water. You can keep the manicure simple with just shades of blue and nude, or you can add some extra elements like a starfish and palm trees to make the set even more beachy.

Another minimalist nail design that is great for the summer is starfish nails. Start with a classic nude base, and then add gold starfish on the top of each nail (ensuring the design is always positioned slightly differently). While you can go for any color, gold is what makes this set particularly elegant and delicate, so we recommend sticking to it if that’s what you want the end result to be. If gold isn’t your color, you can swap it with silver.

Pastel yellow is a great choice for the summertime, and using it as a base color for your nails will always give a beachy and tropical vibe. You can stick to just regular pastel-yellow nails, but adding fun elements like fish or the sun to some (or all) of them will take your nails to the next level.

If you prefer sticking to just one color and playing around with the texture of your nails, this water-droplet design is the perfect option. Pick a base color that you like — while it can be a neutral, you can also go for a bolder color like blue or pink — and then have your manicurist add drops of clear gel to create that water-droplet effect. The design itself is very simple, yet the end result looks intricate and bold.

Most people think that fun and quirky beach nails have to have a bright base, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, creating a fun aquatic design that resembles underwater life is as simple as adding a variety of motifs to a clear base. After all, the ocean is technically clear, so we don’t always have to reach for blue.

A blue ombré is always an instant reminder of water, so embracing that in a manicure is a great way to add a beachy element to your everyday look. If you want to make it a bit more dramatic and mermaid-like, opt for a pearlescent finish and have the blue melt into a pearly shade.

Creating a coral-inspired design on your nails is a fun and unexpected way to embrace a summer manicure. You can add corals to a statement nail or the entire set, depending on how bold you want the look to be. And while any color is acceptable, the design looks particularly great when the corals are pink or orange.

If you’ve already experimented with fun and bright colors this year, an easy way to make your go-to colorful manicure more summer and beach-appropriate is to simply add a cute fish design to one or multiple nails. In fact, this is one of those easy nail-art options that you can actually do yourself at home, especially as simplistic fish in one color look amazing.

We’ve already established that mermaid nails are the perfect beach-inspired manicure, and an easy way to create them is to go for a holographic finish. It’s up to you whether you want all of your nails to look the same or you want a variety of different designs, but at the end of the day, the finish is what will catch the light in a perfect way, making your manicure a statement piece.

Blue and orange are a great combination for a summer manicure, and when you add beige and white to the mix, you have the perfect palette for a beach-inspired design. Whether you copy this design and add koi fish to your nails or replace them with another kind that you like is entirely up to you. However, a clownfish might just make this manicure even more summery and beach-appropriate.

While the majority of beach-inspired designs tend to be super colorful or very soft and pastel, we do understand that there are people out there who prefer an edgier and darker look. If you’re one of them, octopus nails might just be your new favorite summer manicure. The best part about this nail design is that it can be black, adding plenty of unexpected boldness to any set of nails. You can opt to do individual designs on each nail or have one octopus design that’s connected throughout your nails to create an even more intricate look.

Greece is known as a beautiful summer destination, which is why we had to include a design inspired by the classic aesthetic of the country’s stunning beaches. The intricate white-and-blue design resembles the beautiful architecture found in the seaside villages, while the lemon-yellow pop of color adds the perfect contrast, creating a fun and unexpected manicure. Regardless of whether Greece is your vacation spot or not, rocking this nail design will definitely make you feel like you’re on a summer getaway.

While a lot of beach-inspired designs tend to be more intricate, an easy way to create a summer look on your nails without having to spend a lot of time and money on it is to simply reach for a sand-toned glitter nail polish. A couple of layers of it will instantly create the illusion of sand on your nails, as the glitter particles easily mimic tiny pebbles. Who said that beach-inspired nails need to be complicated?

If rocking simple, striped nails is a little too simple for your taste, a fun way to spice up the design is to add a red lobster to a couple of your fingers. While you can go for any background you like, pale yellow and baby blue create the perfect contrast to the lobster’s red tones.

A nude base with white and gold details on top is a perfect choice for a summer manicure. Seashells, starfish, and gold dots create a fun pattern, and having a base color would simply take away from the intricacy of the design. The best part of this nail design is that it’s maximalist without being too colorful and bold, making it an easy manicure to incorporate into your everyday style.

Even though you might not necessarily think of beach towels when you see a striped nail design, beach towels are often striped, meaning that this manicure is actually a perfect summer choice. Of course, colors play a major role in this one, so opting for bright and fun shades is a must, as they replicate the towels the best.

By now, it’s clear that replicating the look of water on your nails is a summer classic. However, if you want to take it up a notch further, consider adding a whale tail to one of your nails and making it appear as if the whale has been spotted on the horizon. Doing this with one statement finger is all it takes to elevate a simple water manicure.

Color-shifting chrome nails have been the anti-minimalist manicure trend we’ve seen everywhere these past couple of years, and it certainly doesn’t seem like they’re going anywhere anytime soon. This summer, you can explore a beach-inspired manicure by simply opting for a blue or aquamarine chrome powder that will mimic the various shades of the ocean with every move your hands make.

We know that turtles need to be protected at all costs, and adding a fun turtle design to your summer nails is an easy way to make a statement and showcase your love for these animals. Pick any base color you like, and add an intricate turtle design to one or a couple of your nails. If you’re recreating this at home and are worried about drawing little turtles, consider opting for nail-art stickers instead. Now, if you want your nails to be even trendier, make sure you check out the outdated nail trends that should stay in the past so you can avoid making any big mistakes.