14 Heart Nail Designs That’ll Be Love at First Sight

When you think of hearts, Valentine’s Day nails likely come to mind, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear these little symbols of love during the other 11 months of the year. The biggest nail trends of 2024 are predicted to feature a range of bold designs that’ll make your fingertips stand out and classic artwork that will never go out of style, including heart nail art. While your first thought may be of cherry reds and baby pinks, heart nail designs don’t have to be limited to any particular colors and themes. Whether you’re looking for a simple french manicure or prefer to add a touch of chrome, there are endless opportunities to experiment.

To help inspire you, we asked two manicurists to share what they consider to be the coolest heart nail ideas worth trying, as well as tips on how to recreate them. According to Julie Kandalec, a celebrity nail artist and founder of Julie K Nail Academy, you can’t go wrong with the basics, such as classic, hand-painted hearts. “And they don’t need to be perfect,” she tells POPSUGAR. “A simple outline, solid hearts, or tonal shades will be prettiest.”

If you’re willing to get crafty, celebrity manicurist Mei Kawajiri loves 3D heart nails for some extra texture. “It will look like little candies or chocolates, depending on how you paint them,” Kawajiri says. Your manicure will undoubtedly spark conversations and endless compliments.

That’s just a sampling of what you can do — ahead, we’ve rounded up even more heart nail designs that will make you feel love at first sight.

Metallic Heart Nails

This metallic heart nail design will have all eyes on you. Chrome adds some shine to your design without the need for glitter polish and feels a tad more sophisticated. You can customize the look with a different colored base and even a french tip.

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Magnetic Heart Nails

Magnetic nail polish gives your nails a mesmerizing velvet effect and looks great when paired with heart nail art. To get the look, Kandalec says you can use a V-shaped magnet. If you don’t have one of those, there’s a DIY hack. “People have discovered that if you take a paperclip and attach it to the end of a magnet, it creates the heart shape in the gel,” she says. “Gotta love science.”

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3D Heart Nails

The 3D heart nail art that Kawajiri mentioned is a little more advanced but worth the effort in the end. To get the look, “Put clear builder gel into small silicone heart molds made for nail art,” she says. “Cure with LED light, then carefully remove from the silicone mold, [and] paint with a gel polish of your choice.”

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Sparkly Heart Nails

If you’re not much of an artist, Kandalec recommends creating a heart nail design with some decals and glitter polish. “You can buy heart-shaped sequins and apply them to the nail in between layers of gel for that perfectly smooth finish,” she says.

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Gold Heart Nails

While traditionally hearts are usually red, using gold creates a glamorous look. This heart nail design uses a french manicure as a base with three mini hearts on each finger for a clean, elegant finish.

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Coquette Heart Nails

Kandalec says coquette nails are super trendy right now, and a great way to experiment with heart nail art. The design usually consists of bows and pearls for the ultimate girly set.

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Cupid-Inspired Heart Nails

Elevate your plain heart nail design with some arrows. You can stick with one color of hearts or use varying shades of pink and red for added style.

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Airbrushed Heart Nails

Your heart nail art will look out of this world if you utilize some airbrushing. The base of this manicure mixes ombré colors with a shimmer finish, resulting in a hypnotic piece of art your friends won’t be able to stop admiring.

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Asymmetrical French Tip Heart Nails

Put a modern twist on your french manicure with an asymmetrical tip. You can then add a single mini heart nail design to each fingernail for more personality.

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Swirly Heart Nails

There are no rules when it comes to crafting your heart nail art. This look features solid red nails on every other finger, while the remaining digits contain swirly lines of pink, red, and white, finished with a tiny white heart.

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Two-Tone Heart Nails

Mixing similar nail polish shades results in a vibrant tonal finish. This two-tone heart manicure involves interchanging between pink and red french tips and using the opposite color to draw a heart in the middle.

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French Heart Nails

Trade your classic white french tip for a smile line made out of tiny pink hearts. Start with a nude base, then draw hearts along the edge of your nail to complete the look.

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Red Heart Nails

There are multiple ways to execute a classic heart nail design.”You could either paint [hearts] on with a tiny paintbrush from the art supply store or use an orangewood stick that’s been filed into the shape of a teardrop,” Kandalec says. “Dip it in polish and use it as a stamp straight down onto the nail — once for either side of the heart.”

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White Hearts Manicure

Minimalists can enjoy a fresh and simple heart nail design using white hearts on a neutral base.

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