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Are you on the hunt for some inspiration for classy short nail designs? Well, look no further, we’ve got you covered.
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Every good artist knows that the beauty of the masterpiece does not depend on the size of the canvas.
We apply this same philosophy to nails. Short nails, often given the cold shoulder by nail enthusiasts, are a blank slate on which to create art. Their small size makes their designs all the more impactful and poignant, which is probably why they’re stealing the hearts on the beauty scene worldwide.
So, to celebrate short neat nails, we’ve collected classy short nail inspiration from far and wide and collected it all here for short-nailed gals to fall ever more in love with their compact canvases!
Stay tuned till the end for an exclusive interview with our favorite nail artist who is spilling the tea on all her best tips, tricks and favorite nail products to create the perfect manicure from home, plus a tutorial on how to achieve one of the hottest nail trends around right now – the micro french mani.
1. Creme de la Creme
Zendaya and Kylie Jenner are loving this minimalist nail trend and so should you. The opaque, creamy look creates a uniform vibe that shines with class and elegance.
2. Squared French Tips
Nails too short to pull off a classic french manicure? Try micro french. It’s just as understatedly refined and stylish. The neutral base topped with a barely-there stroke of color along the edges of your nails makes for a perfect ‘less is more look.
3. Shimmer and Blush
Soft, girly nail designs for short nails, and flawlessly feminine nails are hot right now. And while these gorgeous nails are all of those things – they’re also utterly iridescent! The gleam with subtle shifts in illumination that catch the light and sparkle as you move.
4. Glazed Donut Nails
Glazed donut nails have taken the nail scene by storm and are one of the easiest beginner nail designs for short nails. Popularized by Hailey Bieber, who initially declared glazed skin, you can identify glazed donut nails by their milky-nude, slightly pearlescent finish that’s just begging to grace your nails any moment now!
5. Pretty Nail Designs For Short Nails: Cinderella
These fairytale nails are elegance incarnate. They’re the right amount of glitz & glam thanks to the stunning sparkly French tips that are anchored by a sleek natural nude for a stunning overall nail look.
6. Pink Donut Glazed Nails
Pink Glazed Donut nails offer a more feminine, soft, and fun take on the trendsetting Glazed Donut Nails. So, if you’re craving something a little different, this 2 tone nail designs are uniquely good enough to eat! We’re simply drooling over their delicious blush nude that shines brighter than a donut shop’s open sign!
7. Pastel Grey
Tired of the ‘pastels are predictable’ claims? Prove them wrong with this futuristic and sure-to-be trendy very soon soft-metallic nail design.
8. Matte Nude Nails
After natural nail ideas? Matte nude nails are white T-shirts and jeans of manicures — they never go out of style. Some people call them tinted moisturizer for your nails, while others prefer the term ‘natural canvas.’ The understated yet “I put effort into these” look is perfect for those mellow, minimalist moods. It’s one of our go-to simple short nail designs for a daytime look that will see you through all occasions.
9. Picasso
If you’re on the hunt for beautiful nail art designs for short nails, look no further! Your nails are your natural canvas, so why not make the most of them? This nail design is where nail art meets chic. By working off a deep black, glossy canvas, you can let your imagination run wild with some artsy layered brush strokes in gold, grey, sage and silver. Or, you can make things a little easier on yourself and take this expert nail design to your nail tech (who are the pros in creative nail designs for short nails!) for a fully accurate remake.
10. Lovingly Lilac
As seen in Vogue – this season’s IT nails. Lilac nails are ticking every box on the trendy soft-girl aesthetic list. Soft, gentle nail shades have been lining everyone’s social feeds, with lilac nails making regular appearances, claiming their rightful crown as the nail polish color of the year. Cute small nail designs have never looked cuter!
11. Zen Nails
It’s not often that white nails look warm, inviting, and soothing – but here we are! There’s a gentle aura to these cute short nails that’s only enhanced by an adorable accent heart nail that speaks of love, peace, and complete zen with a large helping of good vibes. Cute love nails for the win!
12. Classic French Manicure
You already know this one and its one of our favorite pretty short nail designs of the lot. It’s timeless, classic, chic, and looks wonderful on all nail shapes and sizes. The French manicure never loses. It draws on the timeless style know-how of the French that whispers rather than roars.
13. Pure White
If effortlessly eye-catching and breezily striking is your aesthetic – these are the pretty short nails you’ve been searching for. Claim them by hunting down the brightest shade of white nail polish you can find and double coating your nails. White is one of the most beautiful nail designs for short nails you can opt for and always looks classy!
14. Black French Manicure
Black French tips are the edgy alternative to the classic French manicure. The moody Black-tipped look exudes dark feminine energy. Want to give it a go? Grab your blackest nail polish and follow the usual French mani steps. Who says simple nail designs for short nails can’t look cool?
15. Skinny Sparkle French Manicure
If you’re looking for manicure ideas for short nails, make a classic French manicure instantly more classy with a shimmer tip. This short nail design can create the illusion of length while exuding elegance and that little bit of flash that makes them go “wow.”
16. Half Moons & French Tips
Get a double dose of the timeless French mani! The half-moon trend is a great way to add definition and intrigue to your nail while staying firmly within the ‘natural nail’ category.
17. Fresh Green Nails
In search of short nail ideas for summer? Green nails are still going strong for summer 2023 and promise to hang around into Fall and beyond. Green nails have become the modern update to the classically classy nail. Maybe that’s because they thrive in Winter, or simply due to their popularity among royalty – who knows – all we know is that this short nail look is trendy, classy, and very you!
18. Go Red Or Go Home
A little bit of glamour and a lot of class – you can’t go wrong with reds. You don’t need elaborate manicures when your colors do the talking.
19. French Hailey Bieber Nails
20. Classy Short Nail Designs: Neutrals
One accent nail not enough? But a hand of wildly different nails is just too much? You’re in for a sophisticated treat with these Instagram-worthy stunning nails. From pinky to thumb, the polish color darkens in shade, moving from a milky white to a stark black with a team of blushes and nudes in-between.
21. Playful Pastels
Want a softer version of the multi-color manicure? Dip your claws in different shades of pastel color to achieve an ombre effect across your nails. If you’re looking for beautiful nail designs for short nails, this nail design is simply satisfying. It feeds into our need for light, playful pastels with an added feminine, candy-like touch.
22. Reverse French Manicure
23. 5 Shades Of Blue French Manicure
This cute short nail design is a beautiful breath of fresh air. Perfect for the lady who wants classy nails that won’t bore or eat into her busy schedule. This nail design is delightfully easy to recreate. Simply follow the usual French tip routine with three dark blue nails and two light blue – voila!
24. Classy Autumn Nails
Excited for Fall? So are these autumn-inspired nails! Splash the colors of the gorgeous outdoors onto your nails with this soul-warming classy nail design to celebrate the changing of the season!
25. Classy Short Nail Designs Red
26. Yellow French Tip Nails
What says cute short nail ideas better than this? Welcome some sunshine into your life and spread it around in style! These classy nails perfect the light-hearted cute, cheerful look that adds a pop of color to any day. Bright and happy short nails designs for the win!
27. Teal Corner Tips
Want to stand out in subtle style? We’ve never seen nails quite like this before – and the likelihood is that no one else has either. With two slight slicks of a shimmery blue varnish on top of a milky-nude base, you create a classy creation like no other (and that you’ll never want to wipe off!).
28. Classy Multi-Colored French Tip Manicure
Craving a splash of fun color without having to paint the rainbow across your nails? Meet the multi-colored French Tip manicure. As summer’s breakout minimalist manicure trend, the fun look is here to stay. The best part? It looks like effort but feels effortless – give it a go!
29. Monochrome
30. Classy Short Nails: Skinny Denim
This cute manicure proves that you don’t have to follow the beauty manual to achieve stunningly short beautiful nails. If you’re tired of classic white tips, why not go denim blue for a one-of-a-kind look that sparkles with confident style.
We conducted an exclusive interview with professional nail artist and clean girl manicure extraordinaire, Mateja Novakovic to get the lowdown on how to achieve the perfect manicure from home in 5 easy steps. Mateja obtained artist residency at DryBy London and also runs online masterclasses for studio74.co for nail artists and beauty pros. Mateja has been featured and acknowledged in Vogue, SheerLuxe and Glamour (to name a few) and we’re now honoured to share her work and valuable insight on Haul of Fame.
Mateja has shared her favorite go-to products that she uses and loves for herself as well as her clients below, so get ready to channel your inner nail artist and get beautiful nails from the comfort of your own home and on a budget!
Preparation
At home manicures are all about preparation. If you are planning on giving yourself a mani, hydrate your hands, cuticles and nails throughout that day or the day before.
Use a hand cream that absorbs easily, and then keep reapplying when needed. Lately I’m loving Byredo hand creams, they leave skin incredibly soft and hydrated and come in a variety of scents, so there’s that perfect one for everyone.
I combine it with my Manucurist cuticle oil Huile Verte which is scent free, so it doesn’t clash with the hand cream. Again I reapply multiple times all over my cuticles, the surface of my nails, side walls, and under the nail.
Step 1
Once you are ready for your mani, use a cuticle softener like Manucurist’s Émollient eficace which you massage into the cuticles and leave a couple of minutes to soften them.
Step 2
Lightly push cuticles back with a basic orange stick (disposable wooden sticks can be found in most drugstores). There is no need to cut cuticles for an at home mani, rather try gently pushing them back more often, and they will eventually naturally become cleaner.
Step 3
You can cut cuticles if necessary but only cut the dry cuticle you have pushed off the surface of the nail, not your proximal nail fold (the part of the skin that folds slightly over your nail at the base and always handle sharp nail tools with care.
Step 4
When filing, it’s best to stick to the shape of your natural nail bed. Use a fine grit nail file (200 grit).
Step 5
To make your manicure last longer, prior to applying polish, wipe your nails with acetone to remove any oils. Always use a protective base that suits your nail type or condition, especially if applying red or dark polish to prevent staining. I love the OPI Nail Envy strengthener applied in 2 coats, and simply topped with their Infinite Shine top coat.
When your polish is thoroughly dry, apply cuticle oil and hand cream again.
Mateja recommends the Tweezerman Rescue Kit as a great budget friendly manicure kit (which we love too!).
Micro french nails are trending like crazy right now and we can see why! With more women switching their lifestyle to showcase the clean girl aesthetic that everyone knows and loves, manicures are no an exception. French manicures are the definition of classy nails but the micro french manicure in particular is just perfect for short nails.
Here’s a how-to video from our favorite nail artist showing you exactly how you can achieve this incredibly classy skinny french manicure from home!
