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If you want to think outside of the heart-shaped box this February, these Valentine’s Day nail ideas are for you. There are red and pink hearts, of course. But these trendy nail designs go beyond the tacky and the traditional.
We found nail art ideas full of simple hues, glitter polish, geometric designs, and candy hearts that we don’t recommend eating. Even the regular ones are questionable. Does anyone like those things?
Whether you’re having a date night with your favorite person or watching Love Is Blind for the first (ok, fourth) time, a love-themed manicure always makes the season a bit more fun. The possibilities are endless, even for the stony-hearted.
Scroll on for some Valentine’s Day manicure inspiration, and then bring it to your nail tech. It’s probably easier than getting a restaurant reservation, anyway.
1. Wavy Red and Pink
These pink and red waves are a fun and funky take on traditional stripes.
2. Red Diagonal
If at-home nail art isn’t in your skill set (hi, same), then you’ll love these press-on nails by Wonderlies. They combine a bold red polish with negative space to create a charming diagonal look.
3. Red French Tips
French manicures are back. Truth be told, we were so busy we didn’t realize they left. These low-maintenance nails are a bold Valentine’s twist on your classic French manicure.
4. Strawberry Nails
This fun and creative Valentine’s Day nail design includes hand-drawn, heart-shaped strawberries, a Powerpuff Girls-inspired heart, and glittery red polish. See a tutorial video for directions on how to re-create this delicious design. And then order some press-ons.
5. Love Manicure
Try your hand at hand-drawing these heart ornaments to spell out love or any other four-letter word you desire. Try to keep it PG.
6. Simple Hearts
Pair your favorite pale pink shade with a natural nail covered in heart stickers like these ones that you can find on Amazon.
7. Black Hearts
These simple black heart nails will let you celebrate Valentine’s Day while also celebrating your favorite color. Or while hating V-Day. Or both!
8. Glittery Valentine’s Nails
What says Valentine’s Day more than red, white, and pink shades mixed with glitter and hearts? This article, probably.
9. Bright Pink
Show your love for Valentine’s Day with these Elle Woods-level pink nails. Whether it’s easier to recreate these or get a law degree from Harvard is up for debate.
10. Tic-Tac-Toe
These fun nails will hopefully be the only game you’re playing this V-Day. Pair a detail brush and a heart stencil with a lot of patience to recreate this playful look. On second thought, anyone up for a round of Settlers of Catan?
11. Instagram Love
Double tap if your one true love is Instagram. Recreate this look by painting your nails with a light color. Then draw on a bubble using a detail brush, wait for it to dry, and use a stencil to draw the heart.
12. Pastel Rainbow
Give us conversation heart candy, but hold the conversation. These pastel heart nails hit the nail on the head.
13. White Heart Tips
This dainty design lets you to wear your heart on your nails. Just the tip, though.
14. Pink and Red Pinstripes
Grab all your different shades of reds, pinks, and nudes, some nail tape, and several hours because this design is probably going to take patience to allow each shade to properly dry. And a mimosa.
15. Red Lips
The second most popular Valentine’s Day symbol has to be red lips. Maybe you can get your Barbie to don some red lipstick to help you create this look.
16. Powerpuff Hearts
Invoke Buttercup, Bubbles, and Blossom with this bold heart design. Or, just paint your nails and watch old episodes if you’re not feeling quite as adventurous.
17. Red Glitter
Did you go a little crazy buying all the reds and glitter shades for your Christmas nails? Time to reduce, reuse, and recycle with a Valentine’s take on red glitter.
18. Candy Hearts
These nails take on everyone’s favorite Valentine’s candy that tastes like sidewalk chalk. No limits on what you can say – except space, of course.
19. 8-Bit Hearts
This retro nail design is good for beginners, because your lines don’t have to be straight, and it only requires two nail polish colors.
20. Rainbow Valentine
For a more unique take on holiday designs, these bright and cheerful nails feature a rainbow, glitter ombre, and some hot pink lips. Why choose one design when you can mash them all together?
21. Skittles Ombre
Recreate this look with an assortment of red, pink, and nude nail polish shades. Then, line your cuticles with a touch of gold polish for a reverse French tip effect.
22. Pink Clouds
Are you so in love you’re floating on cloud nine? These pink clouds are perfect for you. Also, teach us your ways.
23. Chrome Hearts
Bust out the chrome nail trend and make it festive with this simple red heart design. He loves me: he loves me not. He loves my nails. Of course, who wouldn’t?
24. Cupid in the Clouds
Don’t ask us how to do these incredible work of art nails, but please let us know if you figure it out. We’re staring at a lumpy blob of pink right now, and it’s not just the Valentine’s jello we ate for breakfast.
25. Pink Scooby Doo
Scooby Doo is the most relatable Valentine’s Day character: single, unbothered, and here for the snacks. These press-ons are available on Etsy.
$90 on Etsy
26. Heart French Tips
Creative French tips are some of our favorite nail trends of 2024. You can paint anything on your tips these days: hearts, flowers, a baguette, a bowl of mac and cheese. Can you tell we skipped lunch?
27. Conversation Hearts
Nail stickers are the easiest route to perfectly manicured fingers, especially if your hand-eye coordination is lacking. Knuckle stickers are cute, too!
$4.79 on Etsy
28. Dark Romance
Celebrate Valentine’s Day the Wednesday Addams way with these sexy black stiletto nails. Hopefully you don’t need your pinky to be able to detach from the rest of your fingers.
29. Groovy Hearts
This retro-inspired design brings back the best of the ’70s and leaves behind the rest. Much like the girls on TikTok.
$21.70 on Etsy
30. Pink and Red Strawberries
This design features heart-shaped strawberries on alternating backgrounds of pink and red. That’s right: they’re strawberries. Not hairy hearts. Unless you’re into that?
31. Chocolate Dipped
You might mistake these chocolate drip nails for the real deal when you wake up groggy and hungry in the middle of the night. Best to keep your bedside candy drawer fully stocked just in case.
32. Galentine’s Nails
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for celebrating romantic love. This is the perfect groovy and trendy manicure to wear to brunch with the gals on February 13.
33. Long Candy Hearts
How many different ways are there to feature conversation hearts on your nails, you ask? Come back to us for an answer once the sugar kicks in. For now, enjoy this super long version.
34. Fiery Hearts
Showcase your burning love with this flame nail design that capitalizes on the the French tip trend, but makes it way cooler with fire. Then avoid rainstorms like the plague.
35. Musical Love
If the number one thing you’re loving this Valentine’s Day is music, this black and pink set is for you. The chokehold Spotify Premium has on us…
36. Love Balloons
Quick, snap a picture before these balloon nails float away and start a forest fire or something.
37. Heartbreaker
Need some inspiration to dump the dud this Valentine’s Day? These purple brokenhearted nails will do just the trick. The varying colors and raised 3D texture add to the effect.
38. Red Kisses
Who says hint-dropping needs to be subtle? All you want for Valentine’s Day are some Hershey’s kisses. Say it loud and proud, baby.
39. 3D Lover Girl
Pinks, holographic silvers, and a sugared heart crystal adorn these 3D nails that can only be described as extra. Good thing we love extras. Extra fries, extra cheese, extra chocolate, you name it.
40. Pink Gummy Bears
Your nails don’t have to scream, “Valentine’s Day” to be on theme. Just add some candy pendants and pink sparkly polish. Our neighbors would prefer if our nails stopped screaming, anyway.
41. Red Pop Art
V-day is the perfect opportunity to try out the pop art nail trend with a red set like this one. Now if we can only figure out how to turn the rest of us into a cartoon, we can finally move onto our Animal Crossing island.
42. Naughty Nails
We may be made of sugar and spice, but no one said what kind of spice. These nails are spicy in the R-rated way, to rock them with caution.
43. Brown Valentine
The Powerpuff Girl-esque heart on these nails is hypnotizing, and the shiny and matte combo on the other nails is also trying to tell us something. Oh wait, that’s our stomach telling us to eat more chocolate.
44. Lovebirds
These lovebirds are hand painted and truly adorable, but we can’t tell if loving someone who looks exactly like you is ultimate self-love or egotistical. We’ll ask our other half the next time we’re in front of the mirror.
45. Lace Love
These Valentine nails paint a lace frame around a heart, which essentially makes them coasters. Now all we need are tiny teacups.
46. Love Letter
Now that we no longer have to deal with snail mail, we can spend our time sending Valentine memes and trying to recreate these nails.
47. Cupid’s Arrow
These cupid nails are going to look great wrapped around your Starbucks Valentine’s Day tumbler. And a red velvet cupcake.
48. Anti-Valentine’s Day Nails
We can’t tell if these long black and purple coffin nails are anti-Valentine’s or very pro-Valentine’s, but they work for all occasions. Except Easter brunch.
49. Glitter Hearts and Flames
When you’re so in love that your heart turns flammable, turn to these glittery pink flame names with hearts. But we do not suggest typing “heart on fire” into a WebMD search.
50. XOXO Pink and Gold
When you’re just not sure which pink and red nail design route to go, choose them all. Same goes for sampling that heart-shaped box of chocolate. You can throw out the cherry cordial one, though.
51. Powerpuff Girls
The fact that these “Drop Dead” gorgeous Buttercup nails are coffin-shaped just adds to the vibe.
52. Pizza My Heart
If your idea of throwing hints is more along the lines of “I want pizza” than “where’s my ring,” then these press-on pizza nails are your perfect Valentine’s Day nails.
$61.24 on Etsy
53. Pink with Red Trim
We thought scallop designs were about potatoes, but somehow these pale pink nails with a dainty red scalloped trim are even better. Than potatoes. Yup, we said it.
54. Kiss a Frog
If you’re single and have been kissing some real frogs lately, these regal Frog Prince nails are for you. Honestly, we’re good with just keeping him in frog form. He’s much less messy, and much more adorable.
55. Neon Pink Hearts
With these neon nails, we turned on our heart signal and we’re ready for love.
56. Purple and White Squiggles
If you’re sick of all the reds and pinks, let us bring you to the other color of love: purple. These abstract squiggles are the best addition to your Valentine’s nails arsenal.
57. Pastel Retro
Give this retro-esque design a pastel makeover to make them look more whimsical and romantic. They’re also great for some Lisa Frank role play.
58. Blue Heart Ombre
No need to feel trapped by conventional Valentine’s Day colors. These blue ombre heart designs are just as romantic. Especially if you’re a Smurf.
59. Eye Heart You
This design, featuring eyelashes and a glittery heart, works in case you need to spell it out for someone. Hopefully they speak in hieroglyphics, too.
60. Geometric Hearts
As we always say: the bolder, the better, and these brightly colored geometric heart nails are as bold as they come. Font choices matter when it comes to speaking our language of love. That’s why we always choose Comic Sans.
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Ashley Hubbard
Ashley Hubbard is a freelance writer and creator. As a Darcy Magazine contributor, she covers all things related to nails, entertainment news, pop culture trends, and more. Additionally, she regularly writes interview-based celebrity stories for Coping with Cancer magazine and has written for other publications, including Let's Eat Cake, Roadtrippers, Greatist, and Healthline. She has also been featured by Impact Travel Alliance as a creative who is transforming travel, and by Matador Network as a vegan travel blogger you should be following on Instagram.
Ashley is a Nashville unicorn (born, raised, and based), queer, vegan, and dedicated to leaving a positive impact through her life, work, and her website,Wild Hearted.
When she's not writing, she's traveling, reading a book, trying not to kill her houseplants, worshiping her dog, or having an existential crisis. Follow her onInstagram,TikTok,FacebookandTwitter, andLinkedIn
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