If long nails are like the Regina George of high school, short nails are that one girl who gets overlooked through the entire semester only to make a jaw-dropping entrance at prom with her ~makeover~. The glasses come off, the frizzy curls settle down and everyone realises that plain jane was beautiful all along. With the clean girl aesthetic taking over 2022—giving great PR to short nails—looks like prom night has finally arrived. From micro french to the Italian manicure, nail art designs for short nails are here to let you pair pretty with practical, check it out:
Nail Art Designs For Short Nails
1. Micro French
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Don’t have as much nail length to pull off a classic french manicure? Try micro french. The neutral base topped with a barely-there stroke of colour along the edges of your nails makes for a perfect ‘less is more’ look. Want to move away from the classic white? Opt for metallics and neon colours to make a statement.
2. Italian Manicure
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The Italian manicure is a nail-painting technique going viral on social media for making short nails appear longer. The trick is to leave just a little bit of space between each side of the nail and the polish while painting your nails which creates the illusion of elongated nail beds.
3. Skittles
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If one accent nail isn’t adventurous enough for you, paint each nail a different colour to bring out your playful side.
4. Monochrome Ombre
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Want a softer version of the multi-colour manicure? Dip your claws in different shades of one particular colour to achieve an ombre effect across your nails.
5. Flower Power
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If the surface area isn’t enough to accommodate hand-painted floral designs, opt for intricate pressed real flowers instead!
6. 3D Gel
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Take the embellished euphoria nails a step ahead with some 3D gel art for a one-of-a-kind look.
7. Half Moons
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Play around with negative space by painting on some colourful diagonal crescent moons.
8. Simple Lines
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Keep it simple yet stunning with clean lines on the sides of a nude base.
9. Glazed Donut
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Long nails or short, the glazed donut trend suits all! Get the glow by applying a coat of soft white polish topped with chrome dust for that frosted finish. You can also opt for other subtle colours like baby pink, periwinkle or butter yellow.
10. Check It Out
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One of the easiest nail art designs to pull off on short nails is checks! But who said it has to be only black and white? Hop on the trend bandwagon and indulge in some Barbiecore pink.
11. Mismatched Maximalism
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If the minimalist clean girl aesthetic isn’t your vibe, take the more flamboyant route by incorporating some colourful mismatched nail art.
Also read about 10 Celebrity Nail Art Designs That Will Inspire You To Ditch The Mundane Manicures
