Nail Design Ideas for Girls

Nail designs are a fun way to experiment with nails. Regardless of what your style is, the designs can be applied and removed in mere minutes, so there's no heavy commitment involved. Remember to take the color of your nails into account when choosing a nail design. Use a nail pen, which distributes polish in a very thin manner, making it easy to create these designs.

1. Designs for Short Nails

   • Short nails are limited in the types of designs they can sport, but there are still plenty to choose from. Because there isn't much surface to work with, focus on true designs or a touch of sparkle to add personality to nails. Paint nails a neutral shade like soft pink, gold or nude and apply a spark design, using a contrasting color nail pen. Start at the left hand corner of the nail and draw three lines shooting diagonally across the nail. To add depth, use a metallic nail pen to trace over the contrast lines or to add lines in between. A glitter polish that works as an overlay can also add sparkle to the entire nail. Small adhesive stones can be purchased at the beauty supply or drugstore and applied to the center of each nail for a glittering look that is easy to apply. Silver stones look great on true red, hot pink or neon nails.

   Designs for Long Nails

   • Long nails have more room for experimenting with nail designs. Adhesive stones look great on long nails, as they can be applied at the tip of the nail, either at the center or in one corner. Spark designs work on long nails too, and allow you to utilize more colors. Stripes at a diagonal also work, and this can be worn in conjunction with stones. If you find colored adhesive stones in a bright pink, paint nails a pink color that is a shade or two lighter for a great play on dimension.

   Holiday Nail Designs

   • Play with holiday colors. Stripes can always be used in theme colors such as black and orange for Halloween or pink and red for Valentine's Day. You can also do a French tip with thematic colors for each holiday. For Christmas, small wreaths are easy to pull off as is a candy cane. For Valentine's Day try a small heart design. Other good options are a broken heart, or a heart with an arrow through it.