People used to think that black nails were a dirty way to look good. Now we can see how pretty and stylish they can be. The end result is always eye-catching when you mix and match polish colors with trendy designs like French manicures and swirls, or when you change the polish with unexpected finishes.
We gathered 30 black nail designs for the end of winter and beyond to prove it. Scroll down for a lot of ideas.
01 out of 30
Minimalist Black and Silver: simple floral and French black nail designs
A glossy micro French manicure with floral accent nails is a good option if you like simpler nail art. This is a nail look that is easy to do yourself. Half-moon guide stickers can help you make perfectly crisp French tips, and dotting tools can help you paint flowers more easily than ever.
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Matte Black Leopard: Almond-shaped nails with matte leopard print. Follow.
Many people like animal print nails, and they look even better with color-blocking and a black matte finish. The best part is that this kind of nail art is easy to do yourself. You don’t have to be very neat when you dot your nails. After that, use a fine-lining nail art brush to outline the edges of the spots. Add a matte topcoat to finish, and there you go!
03 out of 30
Black Mix-and-Match Nails: black mix and match stiletto nails
These black-and-white mix-and-match nails are so much fun! They are stylish in more than one way, with French tips, aura accents, and sparkling rhinestones.
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Lightning Bolts in Black and Gold:
Choose black and gold colors for a rocker chic manicure. If you don’t have a steady hand, you might want to hire a professional nail artist to do this nail art for you. Another choice? Use nail stickers; Etsy has a lot of them.
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Nails with a black and white pastel gradient grid:
Grid nails were popular earlier this year, so if you want to keep the trend going, a black base is a good choice. If you like color, you can also add a gradient stripe here and there for a fun, ’90s-style pop.
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Black Jelly:
When you think of black nail polish, you probably think of a dark, inky color. This black jelly nail polish, on the other hand, is soft and see-through. The second one is a fashionable way to wear black nails, and it’s much more subtle and easy to wear if you don’t usually wear dark colors. But when you add black hand-painted graphics and piercings, it becomes a grungy work of art.
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Black Cherries:
Hand-painted red and green cherries come to life on shiny black nail polish. This design would look good on nails of any length, as long as you put a shiny top coat on top.
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Black and Blue Auras:
Aura nails are a great way to add color to your nails. If you use a black base, the color you choose for the airbrush design will stand out on its own. This black-and-blue version is the best example.
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Black French Tips with Two Finishes:
No matter what color you use to make them, dual-finish French manicures are beautiful. You can see that going darker doesn’t make the nails look worse; it makes them look better.
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Black and yellow smiley face nails:
These black nails look like a chalkboard. We promise that the happy smiley faces will make your day better.
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Nails with a black glitter swirl:
People always ask for swirl nails. If you choose black swirls, think about adding some glitter to make them look even better.
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Black and white zebra print French tips nails:
Zebra print French tips are a new take on the classic style, and they use black in a fun, trendy, and Y2K way. The details of the design show up better on longer nails, like the square shape shown. The manicure feels both easy and fun at the same time.
13 of 30
Black Opal Hearts: have clear nails with pink and black hearts on them.
You don’t always need black bases for black nail art. A sheer, shimmery base with black nail art is the way to go sometimes. For example? These nails with pretty hearts on them.
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Black Heart Nails that are see-through: nails that are see-through black with black hearts
This jelly mani is cute, moody, and romantic all at the same time (the perfect gothic Valentine’s Day look).
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Black Star Nails: clear nail polish with black stars
If you don’t like hearts, you can also choose glossy black stars. We also love that these have shiny rhinestones all over them.
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French tips in a mod style: mod black French tip nails
These black French tips have swirls and other negative space designs that give them a mod look. It’s very stylish and not at all tubular.
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Black Moon and Star Nails: Black stiletto nails with an astrology design.
These long, almond-shaped nails look even more magical with their black base and white astrology nail art. Brittney Boyce, a nail artist, made them for Megan Fox.
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Scratches in Matte Black and White: Brownluxenails on Instagram has abstract matte black coffin tips.
Want to do your own nails? You should try this idea for a scratch nail in matte black and white. Just put on solid coats of black polish, and then add color swatches to your neutral nails as you like.
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Black Glitch Checkered:
These black and white checker nails are so cool! We have to refocus just by looking at them, so we think you might want to make an appointment to get your nails done to bring these tips to life.
20 of 30
Black and White Auras:
Aura nails are still one of the most popular nail styles on social media. You can see what black and white aura nails look like here. Get it? You can get the same look by using a black base with a white center.
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Black Grids:
You don’t need a solid base for grid nails. The black lines can look like fishnets when there is a clear base. Adding rhinestones makes it even sexier.
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Black and Silver Disco:
Black and silver sequins are carefully put on the nail to make this disco print that looks like a hologram. This sparkly design on one nail is by famous nail artist @iramshelton. The design is so detailed that it looks great as an accent nail with shiny black polish.
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Black and Silver Cateye:
A magnet turns on the black and silver cat eye nail polish to make the two-tone, split design. This cat eye version of black nail polish is a lot more interesting than just black nail polish.
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Cross Cross:
A black jelly base with solid black criss-cross stripes on top makes for a manicure that looks like a present. To do it yourself, you’ll need a steady hand and a fine-lining nail art brush. You can also use thin nail tape to help you make each stripe.
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Black and gold short nails:
These black and gold nails are so shiny that they will stop people in their tracks. Using a top coat with a lot of shine is the key to getting such a great finish.
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Black Grunge Ombre:
This black grunge ombre manicure is simple but beautiful, which is why we love it. You only need a sponge, black polish, a sheer neutral base, and a glossy top coat to make it again. You might also want a touch-up brush to clean up the edges of your nails for a picture-perfect finish.
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Black and white colorblock nails:
Black and white color-block nails make a bold statement that catches your eye right away. A small detailed brush and a steady hand made the smooth lines, so you might want to make an appointment with your nail tech if you want to copy the look.
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Give It a Spin:
You can still use color even if you have a black base. You can use as many colors as you want, as this swirl mani shows.
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Level of Acid:
Or just use one color for a fun base and let the black get all over the place. How cool are you?
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Tips with a checkered pattern:
You can keep the pattern simple by using a French tip on top of a milky base coat.
