If you have finally got your acrylic nails done, you might want to get inspired to try different acrylic nail designs at the salon or on your own. Below, you’ll find 51 inspiration photos of acrylic nail ideas, from the most wearable, minimalist looks to the most intricate designs.
1. Fishnet Lace Acrylic Nails
The matte effect works beautifully well with the fishnet lace-painted acrylic nail design, while the glittering gold pinky nail and shiny and gold stud-enhanced manicured nail all work together for a cohesive, elegant look.
2. Corseted Acrylic Nail Design
The combination of neutral nails with a shiny appearance works with the detailed pinstriped corset painted on the matte ring finger nail.
3. Marble and Metal Acrylic Nails
A shining manicure full of metalwork and sparkle is done with the simplicity of marbling and a touch of well-placed bling for this particular acrylic nail art design.
4. Gold and Matte Acrylic Nail Design
Natural color edged in taupe and the beautiful placement of sparkling stones are framed with intense gold glitter for an incredibly gilded ‘Golden’ look.
5. Nail Art Over Nude Acrylic Nails
Hand painted nail art and stone placements are well-known and beloved embellishments for their beauty, but a less used trend is pierced acrylic nails as shown here.
6. Glittering Almond Acrylics
The cute placement of an arrow is accented by the sparkle of glitter nails framed by shining neutral nails on either side. The almond shape of these acrylic nails is beautiful and feminine.
7. Free Form Design
The shades of blue are accented with swirls and curls of glittering lines that emphasize the flow of the acrylic nails. The design is interesting on its own, but takes on a real life on the blue tinted almond shaped nails.
8. Shiny Square Manicure
The square nail shape is flattering, but the interesting and warm shade of nail polish gives the perfect background for the white acrylic nail design and shaded stones.
9. Natural and Blue
The natural appearance of the acrylic nails looks amazing against the matte neutral with blue painted flowers. The sparkling, glitter tipped blue nails are also a nice and unexpectedly beautiful touch.
10. Pink and Gold Floral Set
These very spring-themed acrylic nails show off a lot of art from studs to beads, hand-painted flowers and smatterings of gold over soft and deep pink.
11. Mani Another Way
Squared oval or ‘squoval’ tipped acrylics with an interesting take on the traditional manicure are interesting and different in a very good way.
12. Spring Pink with 3D flowers
The soft and spring-like shade of pink on this acrylic nail set boasts an incredible design of textured flowers and silver studs to accentuate the length and shape.
13. Matte and Dusty Rose Glitter
Mountain nails are always impressive – the shape calls attention from every angle. The dusty rose-colored glitter on the pinky nail is cool against the matte tipped in black, the stones at the base and the marble with copper bands.
14. Bright Pink and Glittering Acrylic Nails
The combination of matte and sparkles will always be amazing visually, but the added texture of the stones and metal work arrows are also aesthetically pleasing.
15. Different Sheens
Shiny nails, matte nails, glitter-coated nails, hand-painted with a pearl embellishment and French-tipped all in one manicure make a stunning final collection of acrylic nail designs.
16. Exquisite in Pink
The styles of acrylic nails in this intricate manicure are two faced pink, a gel polish, the lollipop leaf, glitter polis and an acrylic and matte top. The manicure collectively is still cohesive, but any of the options would work individually as well.
17. Warm Spring Acrylic Nails
Soft yellow manicures mixed with gold sparkles and mini painted flowers with gold centers look stunning over shiny gel coats.
18. Unicorn Pink Acrylic Nails
A hand-painted unicorn and softly glittered shiny stiletto acrylic nails work in an adorable manicure. The profile view of the purple haired unicorn is completely endearing.
19. Pop of Glitter
Manicures that feature a single color and a pop of glitter on a single nail are fun and chic with a simplicity that cannot be denied as stylish.
20. Burgundy, Black and Gold
The combination of rich burgundy nail polish with black ombre on stiletto acrylic nails is stunning alone, especially with the sheen of the burgundy, though the style is matte. The gold and copper featured on the spotlight nails is an incredible and unexpected luxe touch.
21. Royal Blue and Hand Painted Too
The shimmering shade of this matte royal blue is accented beautifully by the hand-painted art on the third nails. The white acrylic nails look interesting in contrast.
22. Hand-Painted Floral Acrylic Nail Art
Flowers in shades of pink on a shiny white nail polish stand out even more with the careful placement of pearls in the center. The other nails in soft light matte pink are impeccably done.
23. Detailed Tulips
Nail art is always spectacular, and here the presence of the tulips, realistically highlighted against a blue green glittering background over neutral acrylic nails is nothing short of cool.
24. Winter Wonder Acrylic Nails
Celebrate the winter aesthetic whenever you want with an acrylic nail design similar to this nearly transparent white and blue ombre dusted with blue glitter and featuring hand-painted snowflakes and ornaments. Even a three-dimensional snowflake is pressed on as a feature.
25. Three-Dimensional Flower
The placement of the flower is sure to garner attention, but the detail of the vine extending to the next nail is a beautiful addition to the level of art on this set of square acrylic nails.
26. Sparkling Hunter Green Rose
Flowers are not a new concept in nail art, but done like this they are not only beautiful and intricate but wholly interesting and intriguing as well. The plainer acrylic nails surrounding it only serve to further enhance the overall appear of the flower nail design.
27. Gilded White Acrylic Nails
White painted acrylic nails are elevated with a gilded appearance of gold brushed throughout. The gold studs and sparkling stones work beautifully well alongside it without blending in.
28. Wickedly Iridescent Acrylic Nails
The acrylic nail art on this set is so amazing that it is hard to know where to begin. The painted lips on the matte nude are eye-catching at the very least, the image popping clearly off the nail. The iridescent tips of the other coffin shaped acrylic nails are an additionally unexpected treat, and the addition of stones is a finale that must be appreciated.
29. Updated Natural Looks
The shape and style of these acrylic nails lend a beautiful canvas to the pink base and the white tips of the nail design, but the touch of silver glitter really enhances the pink, and the detailed placement of stones is a top-notch touch.
30. Hand Painted Lips and Gold Glitter Acrylic Nails
Hand-painted and embellished with gold, these acrylic nails are standouts from all angles. Placed on a white background, each of the painted lips is easily identifiable from every angle.
31. Teddy Bear Tribute
A hand-painted teddy bear and arrow nail decals on a neutral background are beautifully and intricately set to work together beautifully.
32. Sparkle Dusted Strawberry Cheesecake Pink
The vivid shade of light pink is boosted with a dusting of sparkling glitter. The textured appearance is reminiscent of sugar-dusted strawberry cheesecake.
33. Soft Textures and Stones
Light colors, stone accents, champagne sparkling nail polish and soft textured designs make for an interesting acrylic manicure that will keep people talking. The concept is beautiful and the light colors keep the style approachable.
34. Neutral Tones with Ice and Snow
The light mauve and taupe polish shows off three-dimensional and flat hand-painted and airbrushed embellishments and work beautifully with the gold painted pinky acrylic nails. The placement of the stones for the custom look is beautiful on both hands.
35. Textured White Roses
The raised white roses on the acrylic nail design are a textured design bonus that looks beautiful on the shiny light pink nail polish. The inclusion of the round glitter on the adjacent nails is a cool detail as well, coated well so that the glitter will not come off with regular wear.
36. Rich Ornamented Chocolate Acrylic Nails
The richness of the brown matte on the coffin shaped acrylic nails is so beautifully complemented by the jeweled stones and metallic chain embellishments. The addition of tiny black stones as accents is also amazing.
37. White Stilettos with Gold and Stones
White stiletto acrylic nails are the perfect base for the streaks of gold and the coating of stones on some of the pinky nails. The way the stones fit so well together encrusted on the nails is perfection.
38. Shades of Violet
Every nail is artistically enhanced from ombre to stones and glitter. The overall look is amazingly cohesive melding together tonally with impeccable precision.
39. Embellished, Marbled and Matte Acrylic Nails
Marbled with a shining silver line is beautiful enough but the matte soft pink and crystals with beading really add another dimension to this acrylic nail design.
40. Crystals and Beadings!
Keeping the acrylic nail designs fresh and inspiring is a skill most nail techs have in spades. Here the coffin shaped acrylic nails are treated to sparkling crystals and pearls with gem bow accents on the ring finger. Micro pearl beads in champagne give a stunning three-dimensional texture to the nails as well.
41. Decorated Mountain Acrylic Nails
One of the very popular acrylic nail designs is to mimic the multifaceted quality of a gem in the nail design. It’s always stunning, and placed on the ring finger here between two solid color-painted nails really puts the design on display. The shape on these is mountain nails.
42. Dramatically Monochromatic Acrylic Nail Design
Black nails can be done any number of ways, here presented through a textured sparkling glitter-packed finish next to a marbled gray middle nail. The index fingernail features matte gray nails and a stunning embellishment right at the base of the nail.
43. Gold Foil and Marbling
Going for that luxe look? Incorporate gold foil and matte polish. The difference between the two will always make a statement on any nail shape. The theme here is shiny over matte, with the gold leaf working beautifully over the grey marbling and strategically placed over the black matte.
44. Pretty Pink Acrylic Nails
Every show of nail art is dreamy, speaking to the technique and skill of the technician. Here the use of the glitter, hand-painted hearts and words and cotton candy pink keeps these acrylic nails a step apart from a standard color or glitter set.
45. Mottled Metallic Rainbow
These acrylic nails are stunning and will always make an outfit. Though the embellishment is only seen on the ring finger, the quality and design of the paint are so stunning it can only be considered art.
46. Matte Mauve with Gem Art
Matte nail polish is always beautiful, creating the appearance of softly textured nails. The golden embellishments really stand out against the softness of the mauve background.
47. Blinged and Sparkled Ballerina Acrylic Nails
The inclusion of well-placed stones and confetti style glitter work beautifully well together, alternated on the long ballerina nail shape. The acrylic nails are shiny, but feature the sparkling options rather than polish, and the look is amazing.
48. Matte Teal and Stunning Jewels
The intricate style on the ring fingers reaches from the base of the nail to the tip of the coffin shaped acrylic nails. The colors complement each other beautifully, from the stone to the metalwork laid on the matte teal color.
49. Stunning Stiletto Acrylic Nails
The nail art here is outstanding – a sparkle or metal embellishment on every nail and just the right amount to keep it interesting. This look is the perfect combination of marbled, glittered and metal worked stiletto acrylic nails.
50. Rose Pink and Champagne Acrylic Nails
The softness of the champagne and pink glitter on the acrylic nails is understated and glorious, giving the confetti-styled metallic rose pink glitter the opportunity to shine as the highlighted nails.
51. Rich and Bright
Every nail is done differently showing the versatility of imagination with nail art. The ombre from gold to pink, the richness of the deep violet with the mirror-like shine, the matte purple and the glitter dusted acrylic nails all look beautiful with the hand-painted over clear options as well.
Photos via Instagram
