With spring now officially here, now is a great time to start planning ahead before summer arrives. Need ideas for your next nail colours? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered.
For now, while we wait for the summer heat to (hopefully) arrive, there are plenty of directions you can go in for the interim season. Think everything from strawberry nail designs to striped nails – upcoming trends that are both cute and colourful and usher in a new direction for your manicure.
Keep reading to find out the nail colours that are in and out for the fast-approaching summer season and will look stunning in the sunshine.
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After being a go-to all throughout spring, pastels of all shades are going back on the shelf in favour of bolder and brighter colours that come alive in the sun. If you loved cute cornflower blue nails for spring, ocean blue nails will be your obsession for summer. Much like the inky depths, which can be recreated with deep blue nail polish like Manucurist Green Natural Nail Polish – Ultramarine or Chanel Le Vernis – 127 Fugueuse, choose shimmery or sheer jelly finishes to give the illusion of sparkling waves under the sun.
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There’s nothing quite like an ice-cold can of Diet Coke to cool you down on a hot summer day. Seemingly looking to recreate this feeling in the form of a manicure, Diet Coke nails have already begun to pop up all over the FYP. Dark brown and black cat-eye nail polishes are the perfect way to imitate the signature cola shade, while water droplets – to mimic the fresh out of the fridge look – are the cherry on top.
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Are you team cat-eye nails or team chrome nails? Well, why not both! The eye-catching manicure finishes have been top choices for the past few years and look like they’re not going anywhere any time soon. For summer 2026 though, we’re seeing the next evolution: cat-eye & chrome combos. Shimmering magnetic polish meets a technicolour metallic finish to create an opalescent manicure that changes colour with every movement.
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Pink shades will always work for summer. Last year saw juicy guava nails as the breakout shade, but 2026 welcomes raspberry nails. A versatile nail colour, it covers everything from bright pink to more muted berry tones and we can’t get enough of it.
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Last year, butter yellow reigned supreme in both fashion and beauty. While we’ll inevitably see some hangover from the cute colour in 2026, if you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve then get familiar with lemon yellow nails. A brighter, punchier shade of yellow, if this zesty manicure colour doesn’t get you in the summer mood, we don’t know what else will.
