- How you do your birthday nails is just as important as your outfit.
- Depending on your taste, your manicure can range from minimalistic to over the top [1].
- We rounded up the best birthday nail ideas, from celestial to zodiac and more.
Whether you're into big celebrations or not, your birthday is arguably the most important holiday of the year. Ahead of your big day, you might be thinking about everything from your outfit to your hair, but you don't want to forget the finishing touch: your manicure [2].
There are a host of nail-art ideas [3] that could serve as inspiration for your birthday. On the celebrity front, you could consider re-creating Simone Biles's milk-bath manicure [4] or Blake Lively's reverse french nail art [5]. Or you could play up the day by making a nod to your zodiac sign. At the end of the day, the options are endless. Feeling celestial nails? "Gold against matte, as well as gold against light and baby blue, translates the best in order to give you that starry-night effect," manicurist Elle Gerstein [6] previously told POPSUGAR [7]. Want to be seasonally appropriate? Lavender nails [8] are trending again for spring, and there are countless ways to incorporate the colour into your manicure. Need all eyes on you? Maximalist nails feature "decals, metallic foils, nail stickers, gold cuffs, chains, spikes, and even 3D shapes," celebrity nail artist Brittney Boyce [9] previously told POPSUGAR [10].
To make sure your manicure is as ready as you are to celebrate your latest trip around the sun, ahead we rounded up the best birthday nails for anyone celebrating.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Celestial Nails
What better way to emphasise your starlet status on your big night than to have literal stars on your nails? Have some fun with your celestial nail art by also adding additional designs like the snake and textured french tips seen here.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Minimalist Celestial Nails
For celestial nails that are a bit more understated, try adding the nail art in a simple gold colour over a single colour base.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Black-and-White Celestial Nails
These black-and-white nails are anything but safe. Play up the quintessential design by using each colour on a different hand and then creating the nail art in the opposite colour.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Zodiac Nails
Walking around with your zodiac sign for all to see is a surefire way to catch people's attention. Go for glam by spelling out your zodiac sign on an accent nail and adding more nail-art details like a french tip, glitter, and charms.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Zodiac Nails
For a bit more subtlety with your zodiac birthday nails, get your zodiac sign on an accent finger in an accent colour to make it stand out, but keep the base uniform throughout the manicure.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Zodiac Nails
Want a bit more personality added to your zodiac birthday nails? Add some unique individual touches, like your favourite animal-print pattern, alongside your sign and birthday.
Birthday Nails Ideas: Glitter Nails
One of the easiest ways to make sure you command attention is to sparkle with glitter nails. Get your birthday glitter nails in subtle tones, like the Champagne-coloured crystals seen here, to look like you're sparkling from within.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Holographic Glitter Nails
If you want to sparkle but also love colour, get glitter nails in holographic finishes that reflect different colours in the light. Not only do they catch the eye, but holographic colours are surprisingly flattering across various skin tones.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Glitter French Manicures
One of this year's biggest nail trends remains the french tips [11], and what better way to keep your birthday manicure on trend than to combine french tips and glitter? These nails are perfect to get you through the night as well as any birthday holidays you may also have planned.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Minimalist Nails
If minimalist nail designs are more your speed, step up your normal single-colour manicure by playing around with additional elements like lines and negative space.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Colourful Minimalist Nails
If you don't want kawaii-level [12] nail designs but still want your manicure to catch attention, incorporate some colour alongside a minimalist design. Bold colours like this orange shade flatter a range of skin tones, and the side-tip french [13] adds an additional "wow" factor.
Birthday Nail Ideas: Supermodel Celestial Nails
Supermodel manicures [14] have been seen all over Hollywood recently and are the perfect minimalist nail design to celebrate your birthday. Step your supermodel manicure up a notch by adding nail decals in your favourite shapes.