21 Amazing Sparkly Nails
Glitter was made for special occasions. That’s what we think anyway, and when you start to look at the vast array of easy and sparkly nails, you’ll soon find that there is literally a nail for every occasion. Whether you like them long, short, square, pointed, or something completely different entirely, easy and cute sparkly nails are the way forward.
Just in case you don’t believe us, we’ve found some real delights that we think you’re going to want to sit up and take notice of. Go and make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and make yourself comfortable on the couch. It’s time to start thinking creative.
1 – Sparkly Nails with White + Gold Triangles
If you want to start with something super simple and super quick, this isn’t a bad way to go. The design itself is minimal, but packs a pretty impressive impact, and you could customise the look by changing colours or shades.
We’d start by painting your nails with your base shade, in this case – white. When that has dried COMPLETELY, use tape to create the shapes – triangles, chevron, etc. Finish everything off with a clear top coat, let it dry, and you’re good to go. Customisable, simple, quick, and suitable for every occasion.
2 – Nude Sparkly Nails
These nails are perfect for any occasion – weddings, birthdays, for when you just want your hands to look pretty when you’re in the office. They’re super simple too – a subtle way of incorporating some sparkle into your life.
You could pick just one nail to add this stunning sparkle effect on to if more than one is a little too much for you. Just remember to add a good top coat, and wait for it to dry entirely. These nails need to be perfectly smooth and stunningly finished.
3 – Black + Silver Sparkly Nails
And for when you need a little more sparkle in your life, these black and silver sparkle nails are just perfect. We’re just dying to be invited somewhere so we can rock impressive talons like these easy and sparkly nail designs.
The one design we are obsessed with in this easy and sparkly nails is the white to black glitter ombre look. It’s easier than you’d think to recreate, and you can do it all with the help of a makeup sponge and your regular black and white glitter polish. Add your black base, then add your white tip, and use the for each colour over the top. Use a sponge to layer up the white over the black to give it that proper gradient effect.
4 – Nude & Gold Sparkly Nails
These are simply beautiful sparkly nails – sophisticated, glam, and great for any occasions. You could easily wear nude nails to work, adding an overlay of that gold shimmer and sparkle for nighttime wear – great for taking you from office day to party night!
We love the way only half the nails have been glittered-up by adding a golden glitter tip. It’s such a simple change, but it gives you a very different cute and glittery look.
5 – Super Shiny Easy Sparkly Nails
Wow – these are super shiny and super sparkly! You’ve got a few different components in these nails, bringing together a wonderfully jazzy look that’s perfect for a special occasion.
Within the gold sparkly nails, golden foils have been used to make them really shiny. When you layer up glitter and gold shimmer in this way, it almost gives the nails are more three-dimensional look. And let’s face it … there’s no such thing as too much sparkle. Is there?
6 – Purple and Silver Stiletto Sparkly Nails
If you wanted to inject some colour into your easy and sparkly nails, we think you could do a whole load worse than these purple beauties. They’re very different – isolating the glitter design to a triangle in the centre of the pointed nail shape, but it’s one that could be customised to suit every shade and colour.
Once you’ve painted your nails with the colour you’re going for, in this case different shades of violet, lilac and lavender, wait for them to dry and then use nail tape to mark off that triangle shape. Pile on the glitter, wait for it to dry again, add your top coat and you’re done. They’re much easier than you first may have thought, right?
7 – Sparkly Nails with Broken Glass Effect
Glitter nail polishes are renowned for being super hard to get rid of, but there are some tips and tricks that you can use to make life a little easier. A sparkly nail is always a good idea, but when you’re desperately trying to get rid of all traces of it before you head to work on Monday morning, you’ll wish you hadn’t bothered.
One beauty blogger started using old tights to remove the glitter nail polish, rather than nail varnish remover on cotton wool balls or pads. Soak cut-up strips of your tights, soak them in the remover, and then place on your nails. You can even wrap them around if you find that easier. After a few minutes, simply wipe away and the glitter should come off. Oh, and opaque tights are apparently better than the sheer varieties. Now you know!
8 – Sparkly Nails with Silver Shimmer Tips
If you want super smooth and perfectly finished sparkly nails like these, you’ll need to get your routine sorted. Sadly it won’t be a case of slapping on some polish and hoping for the best. In fact, this is one of the worst things that you can do.
You’ll need to prep your nails for your new sparkly talons, and you should start by shaping and buffing the nails if you are at home. Get rid of any leftover polish, give your nails a good clean, make sure they’re the right shape and size, and then use a base coat. Doing this will ensure that your nails look great, but they’ll also last longer before they start to chip and look ruined.
9 – Sparkly Nails with Rainbow Glitter Tips
If you already have a nude base nail, a great last minute tip to jazz your hands right up is to use a rainbow mix of glitter, and a sponge to apply it. That’s right, we’re leaving the nail polish brush behind.
If you don’t have nail polish glitter in differing shades, you can make your own with makeup glitter, or even craft glitter. Pout some clear top coat in a dish, mix in a variety of glitter shades and sizes, and then use your sponge to dab the glitter right on the tips. Use your regular non-glittery top coat and wait to dry and you have easy and sparkly nails that everyone will love.
10 – Green + Silver Sparkly Nails
The worst part about trying to recreate these easy and sparkly nails is waiting around for them to dry. You need to wait for your clear base coat to dry, then your base shade, and then your glitter.
Ideally you should be leaving your nails to dry for at least ten minutes between layers, and you can speed this up by soaking them in ice cold water. Just make sure they’re not still slightly tacky otherwise you’ll smudge them.
If you want to recreate this stunning look, have a look at the tutorial video below!
11 – Different Sized Sparkly Nails
For when you want something that really stands out, don’t settle for using just one glitter type. As you can see from these adorable sparkly nails, different sizes of glitter pieces can make for a very interesting (and super sparkly) finish.
Again, you might find using a sponge makes this much easier and quicker to complete than using a brush to dab the glitter on. In fact, while we’re on the subject, you’re meant to dab glitter, not brush it with the brush you’re given with the pot. This just smears it across, whereas dabbing will perfectly plop the sparkle where you need it.
12 – Pretty in Pink Sparkly Nails
The products you’re using on your nails are just as important as your technique, and one of the best products we’ve found is by Nails Inc – a great brand to check out if you’ve never heard of them.
Nails Inc offer a Superfood Base Coat with extracts of kale, lemon, ginseng, Aloe Vera, grape and pomegranate. There are many benefits to using this – you’ll prevent your nails from splitting and also breaking, and you’re also providing your nails with much-needed nourishment. Do you know how much better your nails will look if you show them a little TLC?
13 – Sparkly Nails with Silver Gradient
How’s this for a unique way to have cute nail tips? It’s so simple, and we would never have thought of adding that miniature glitter gradient to the silver tips, but it adds just the right amount of a little something, don’t you think?
If you don’t have time for a salon appointment, you could add this silver sparkle to a mani that’s a couple of weeks old. Saving money and time – what a winning design?!
14 – Silver Sliver + Black Matte Sparkly Nails
Another stupidly simple way of doing your own nails at home, how’s this matte black look take your fancy? It’s another of the cute and easy sparkly nails, and one that mixes matte with shiny. It’s the contrast that makes it so stunning.
It’s a lot easier to recreate at home than you first may have thought, and if you have a steady hand, you won’t even need nail tape to create that arch shape. With a thin enough nail brush you should be able to apply the glitter just fine. There you want it to ‘stand out’, giving it that three-dimensional look you can see here, the nail tape will make it easier to ‘layer’. Just make sure that the matte black layer underneath (or whatever shade you have gone with) has had the time to completely dry. Otherwise the nail tape will create marks that will ruin the smooth lines of this look.
15 – Pink and White Sparkly Nails
How do you feel about pink glitter? We love it (obviously), and we think these long sparkly nails are a really pretty design. Different shades and sizes of glitter can be used on different coloured nails, giving you numerous ways to wear the simple design. If you liked just one of the looks you can see here, just have one of the looks. Or have them all – it’s entirely down to you.
You could even switch the colours up if you wanted to. Pink, blue, red, green – go with whatever matches your outfit, that’s what we say.
Like this look? Then, you’ll love our post about White Nails with Rhinestones.
16 – Sparkly Nails with Negative Space
Negative space nails are really beautiful nails, called as such because they are quite literally a negative space. You leave the nail nude, rather than painting the entire length of it. In this case, the blue glitter tips have been used, leaving the rest of the nail nude and just with a beautiful glossy top coat.
We love the rich blue shade here, and we also love the way that silver glitter has been used to create an ombre gradient effect on the middle finger. At least it’s pretty for when you want to flip it to someone.
17 – Sparkly Nails with White Base + Gold Glitter
These nails are so much easier to recreate than you first may have thought. With a white base, you can then go ahead to use nail tape to mark off those sections you don’t want to cover in glitter. Then, we’re going to tell you about an amazing nail hack you probably wouldn’t have thought of.
Rather than using your regular nail polish brush to apply your glitter, scrap it. Grab a makeup sponge instead – a clean one, and preferably one you don’t mind covering in nail polish … because you know how much of a bitch it will be to get off. Rather than brushing or slicking glitter over your nails, apply some petroleum jelly or latex around the edges of your nails (to stop any mess getting on your skin) and then dab the glitter on with the sponge instead. The finish will be much more even all-over, and you’ll be able to concentrate the glitter to the areas you actually want.
18 – Mermaid Pink + Blue Sparkly Nails
They’re two colours you probably wouldn’t have been able to put together before you see this picture, but it offers a really exotic finish that we can’t help but fall in love with.
Another very simple idea and design – the two colours are easily added together, using that sponge-dabbing action to create a soft gradient rather than a sharp line. They’re so pretty, incredibly simple, and very effective.
19 – Mermaid Green + Gold Sparkly Nails
How do you feel about these almost mermaid-like sparkly nails? It’s a simple idea – using the beautiful ocean-green-blue as the backdrop, adding holographic gold glitter pieces to really bring the look to life.
That’s one of the first things you should remember when looking at these easy and sparkly nails – start simple. You’ll often find that the simplest of changes and additions to a basic nail shade can often make the biggest impact.
20 – Sparkly Nails with Gold Glitter Tips
These gold glitter tips are a classic example of something very simple, yet very effective. If you’re having a hard time trying to find something to pull inspiration from, take a peek at Youtube. We always get carried away watching tutorials for hours, but you’ll always find something you’ll love enough to recreate.
You’ll also pick up some great nail hacks. We’ve learned so much from these videos, and those tips have definitely made home-manicures much easier for us!
21 – Pink Confetti Sparkly Nails
Confetti nails are so beautiful, we can’t help but want them for ourselves. The tiniest addition of coloured sprinkles have completely transformed these otherwise plain-pink nails.
They look a little bit like ice cream, or the cutest doughnut we’ve seen. Now we want doughnuts and ice cream. You too?
These sparkly nails can easily be mixed up with different shades to bring you a beautiful combination of looks and designs, and you can easily change the entire look with the help of different sized glitter too.
We can’t wait to see what you lovely lot come up with. If you feel creative make sure you come back and show us. Send us in your beautiful designs. We want to feature you.
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