14 pastel nail ideas you’ll want to wear year round
No matter the time of year, pastel nail ideas provide inspo well beyond spring and summer. With manicure trends like soap nails and milk bath nails taking over the past year—plus colours like lavender milk and butter yellow reigning supreme in recent months with stars like Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber—wearing pastel nails isn’t just chic, it’s a celeb-approved trend.
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Pastel nails are a great way to ease into colour. If you aren’t into brighter shades, trying a more muted, milky, pastel version lets you experiment without committing to a neon, highlighter-like manicure.
Whether you want to play around with a pastel floral nail design or an ombré pastel manicure, there are plenty of ways to wear the trend. And the best part? These designs and colours can be worn on short or long nails. Talk about versatile.
What are popular pastel nail colours?
Milky shades like lavender or lilac, baby pink, butter yellow, mint green, baby blue, and peachy coral are popular for Spring 2026 but choose a colour that you love and that complements your skin tone nicely. If you have a cooler skin tone, consider wearing cooler pastel shades like pink and lilac. Warmer skin tones can lean into peach or apricot shades.
How to achieve pastel gradient nails
Good news: Creating ombré or gradient nails can be done either professionally or at home. If you’re heading to the salon, your nail artist will likely create the ombré design using an airbrush machine, gently spraying and blending the darker colour atop the lighter one. DIY fans, a beginner-friendly way to create this look is by painting the gradient of colours onto a nail sponge, then turning it over and gently stamping it onto your nail. No matter what, make sure to finish with a glossy or matte topcoat to keep the mani looking sharp longer.
How to mix pastel nail polish colours
If you have a bright nail polish colour that you want to turn into a pastel at home, simply paint some of the colour onto a metal mixing palette or silicone mat, add some white polish to that, and mix it together for a more muted, milkier shade.
Pastel nail inspiration
Ahead, our 14 favourite pastel nail ideas to give you some major inspo for your next nail appointment:
Pastel tips
A modern twist on the classic French manicure, pastel tips add just a touch of colour on the tips of each nail, keeping things simple and versatile.
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Cotton candy art
Reminisce on the sweet sugar-spun summer treat with pink and purple nail art. Dress things up with 3D floral and chrome accents across each nail.
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Easter egg nails
Not ready to pick just one pastel colour? Instead, pick a selection of your favourites for an Easter egg-like take on the trend.
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Lavender Milk Florals
Love the lavender milk nail trend but want to dress it up even more? Add a floral design to two of the nails for extra visual interest.
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Lilac Lemon Drop
Bring together two of the hottest shades this summer, lavender and lemon drop yellow, with one manicure.
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Sorbet Blush
Using an airbrush technique will create this sorbet-like effect that blends together seamlessly. These work on any nail length and shape, though we love this almond-shaped nail look.
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Butter Yellow
Butter yellow has been everywhere lately, right down to our nails. Our favourite way to wear the colour? With some chrome powder on top for a glazed-donut look.
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Pastel Ombré
Ombré nails don’t just have to be pink and white. This simple nail art can be created using pastel colours as well for a brighter gradient look.
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Pink Lemonade
Stripes are a type of beginner-friendly nail art. All you need is a nail-art brush and a steady hand. Use your two favourite pastel colours to get this look, and paint the stripes on using the opposite colour on each hand.
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Simple Nail Art
Want to change up your French manicure? Add colour to both the nail bed and the tips of each nail.
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Stiletto Mix-N-Match
Go big or go home with this mix-n-match nail design. The long stiletto nails give plenty of room to create the out-of-the-box pastel design of your dreams.
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Electric Daisies
Combine two pastel-coloured trends into one with multicoloured daisies on two nails and French tips on the rest.
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Hints of Fruit
Wondering what kind of nail art you can do beyond the go-to pastel-coloured French tips? Take things a step further by adding some of your favourite fruits and berries on the top corner of each nail.
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Mismatched Baby Blue
Sky blue is the perfect powdery pastel if you aren’t into pinks and purples. It’s a neutral shade and can be paired with all kinds of nail art, from florals to the snakeskin patterns seen here.
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This article originally appeared on Glamour US.
