29 Cute Butterfly Nails Design Ideas and Nail Art Inspo We Love
Prepare for your heart to flutter, because today we’re rounding up our favorite butterfly nails and design ideas! Whimsical and dreamy, butterfly nail art has been having a serious moment lately — and if you’re anything like us, then it’s the style that’s currently dominating your nail inspo boards. Whether you want to add a Y2K flair to your look, show off your favorite album (where are our “Debut” girlies at?!), or embrace all things fairycore, butterfly nails are here for you.
Keep scrolling for the butterfly nail inspo we can’t stop dreaming about, plus a step-by-step tutorial with ideas and advice to create your favorite design at home!
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FAQs for Creating the Dreamiest Butterfly Nail Art
If you’ve been playing it safe with your nail art recently, butterfly nail ideas are the perfect way to break out of your cocoon and rock a bright and bold manicure. And the best part? You can DIY the dreamy designs at home!
Whether you’re a nail novice or a DIY pro, we’re breaking down everything you need to know to create the most whimsical butterfly nail design ideas at home. Keep scrolling for a few must-know nail art FAQs — including our complete step-by-step tutorial to help you achieve your dreamiest manicure yet!
How hard is it to DIY your own butterfly nails at home?
While butterfly nails may not be the simplest design to DIY, there are plenty of ways to recreate the look at home — even without expert nail art skills! Sure, the intricate wings and shimmery glazes may take a little finesse to pull off (we’ve included a full tutorial down below to help!), but don’t let that scare you off. If you’re still a nail newbie, you can easily DIY many of these butterfly nail ideas using cute nail stickers, dreamy decals, and simple stencils.
And since these nails are currently trending, there are tons of reusable nail kits that make it SO easy to achieve a gorgeous butterfly manicure at home. Keep scrolling for more of our DIY tips!
Essential Items You’ll Need to Create Your Butterfly Nail Design
When it comes to DIYing butterfly nail art, you don’t want to wing it (pun intended!). To create a dreamy design worthy of all your nail selfies, you first need the right tools. So in addition to your favorite nail polish, here are all the essential items you need to DIY a trendy butterfly nail design!
- Nail art brushes: Small nail art brushes are a lifesaver for drawing thin lines and dainty designs — perfect for your butterfly wing outlines!
- Dotting tools: No butterfly nail art is complete without a sprinkling of tiny white dots in the corner of each wing. And with nail art dotting tools, you can get the perfect round dot every time.
- Nail stickers: Don’t want to draw out your butterfly designs? No prob — butterfly nail stickers will give you the whimsical inspo look, minus the effort (or nail art skills).
- A nail sponge: Many of our favorite butterfly nail ideas feature ombre wings for an extra dreamy and ethereal look, and a nail sponge is the best way to achieve that multicolored design at home.
- A clear top coat: As with any nail design, a clear top coat is essential to seal your polish and help your nail art last as long as possible. Opt for a super glossy polish or shimmery top coat to recreate those enchanting butterfly vibes!
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Do Butterfly Nail Art
Grab your polish and brushes, because we’ve created a complete step-by-step tutorial to help you create stunning butterfly nail art at home! While there’s no one way to DIY a butterfly manicure (the design ideas are truly endless!), these are the basic steps for achieving a simple and trendy design. Feel free to make it your own with different colors, accents, and design elements — the more whimsical the better!
- Apply your base coat: This could be any nail polish color you choose, from a classic nude to a shimmery pink. If you’re DIYing a trendy butterfly wing design, your base coat will also double as the color of the wings — so choose an iridescent glitter or bright color to get the ~butterfly effect~.
- Color your wings: If your butterfly wings don’t take up your entire nail, this is the time to add the shimmery wing color. On top of your dry base coat, use a small nail art brush to paint on your nail polish in the shape of a fluttery wing. While you want your butterfly wings to be as consistent as possible, don’t stress too much about making them perfect…that’s where the outline comes in!
- Draw an outline: Now for the most important step! Using an extra thin nail art brush, draw the outline of the butterfly on top of your dry nail design. While most butterfly designs use a black outline for a realistic look, you can choose any color you’d like. We even love the sparkly gold outline on the example above!
P.S. Creating your butterfly outline is actually way simpler than it looks! You can use the ideas on this list as inspo for your lines — and we also love this nail artist’s butterfly nail tutorial for a full step-by-step guide.
- Add some dots: The secret to making your butterfly design look more realistic? Those little white dots in the corner of the wings. For an easy DIY, use a small dotting tool and white nail polish to add dainty dots in the corners of your butterfly wing outline.
- Finish with a top coat: Seal the deal with a clear top coat and a few drops of nourishing cuticle oil, and you’re good to go!
The Butterfly Nails Design Ideas and Nail Art Making Our Hearts Flutter
It’s officially butterfly season, and we’re celebrating with these swoon-worthy nail design ideas! There’s a lot to love about butterfly nail art — it represents new seasons, it symbolizes fresh starts, and it instantly elevates any outfit. So if you’ve been wanting to breathe some life and color into your beauty routine, scroll on for the best butterfly nail art and design ideas to use as inspo for your next mani!
1. Shimmery Light Blue Butterfly Nails
photo: The Gel Club | @thegelclubstamford
These shimmery blue butterfly nails have us dreaming about warm weather and sunny afternoons. Swoon! Whether you’re celebrating the start of a new season or just want to brighten up your current look, this is the perfect manicure for the job.
Pro tip: Add a little extra magic to your butterfly manicure by using metallic polish to create the outline. We love how they catch the light!
If you’re looking for more dreamy nail inspo for spring, we’ve got you covered with this complete seasonal nail guide!
2. Fairycore Butterfly Nail Design
photo: @anna_szlembarsak_nails
We’ve been obsessed with this butterfly wing design since it first fluttered across our social media feeds! A whimsical take on butterfly nail art, this pink ombre design transforms your nails into dreamy butterfly wings. Complete with an iridescent top coat, it’s giving us allllll the fairycore vibes.
3. Nostalgic 3D Butterfly Nail Art
photo: @overglowedit
It’s official: butterfly hair clips are making a comeback, and we couldn’t be more on board! If you’re not ready to relive the nostalgic hairstyle just yet, add a little Y2K flair to your nails instead with this cute butterfly nail inspo.
Featuring 3D butterfly charms and pastel nail polish, this design captures the fun and maximalist energy of the era. Best paired with your favorite Britney Spears song!
4. Short + Sweet Butterfly Manicure
photo: @m.o.n.a.j
Keep your butterfly nails short and sweet with this dreamy blue watercolor-inspired design. It’s a whimsical upgrade to the milky nail trend we’ve been seeing everywhere lately, and we are in LOVE.
For butterfly nail art that looks like it’s floating across your nails, opt for sheer blue polish instead of a fully opaque color. This will give you that whimsical watercolor look!
5. Cute Cuticle Monarch Butterfly Nail Design
gel nail strips: ManiMe
Pay homage to the most famous (and one of the most beautiful!) butterfly species with this cute monarch nail inspo. The bright orange hue is instantly recognizable, even with such a simple design. If you’re looking for minimalist nail art that stands out from the crowd, this is the manicure for you.
And the best part? You can buy these gel nail strips to get this dreamy look at home — no nail art skills necessary!
6. Shimmery Monarch Butterfly Nails
photo: @v.nailedit_
Speaking of monarch butterfly nail ideas, this is another one of our favorite orange-tinted designs. We love how the shimmery finish gives this manicure a dreamy and ethereal look. Pure magic!
To recreate that iridescent shine, finish your butterfly design with pearlescent powder or this shimmery top coat from Olive & June (aptly named The Sparkle Fairy Effect!).
7. Glimmering Gold Butterfly French Tip Nail Inspo
photo: @thehotblend
If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a fairy goddess living in an enchanted forest (because same!), then these are the nails for you. They look straight out of a fantasy world, with glimmering gold accents and a regal butterfly design. Perfect for adding a dose of magic to your day-to-day look!
P.S. We found a super similar nail set on Etsy, so you don’t need to book a salon appointment to achieve this gorgeous design. Brb, adding to the cart as we speak!
8. Lavender Purple Butterfly Manicure
photo: @em.nails.ma
Lavender nails have been EVERYWHERE lately, and this butterfly design is here to take the trend to the next level. For a manicure that will have everyone in a lavender haze, add your butterfly wing outlines on top of shimmery purple nail polish. SO dreamy.
9. Trendy Mismatched Butterfly Nail Art
photo: @nailsbyjanine.x
If you’ve never met a nail art design that you didn’t love, then these are the nails for you. They combine all of the cutest nail designs, from dainty daisies to groovy swirls to rad flames. We also love how the butterfly accent looks like the butterfly emoji — perfect for your manicure IG post!
Pro tip: When you’re combining this many designs in a single mani, we suggest sticking to a monochromatic or muted + simple color palette to keep it cohesive. This blue and black combo is super chic!
10. Super Square French Tip Butterfly Nail Design
photo: @nailzkatkat
For the French manicure loyalists, this nail art inspo is a cute way to rock the butterfly trend, without straying too far from your go-to design. Make your classic mani pop with these bright butterfly stickers — they’ll add a hint of color to your traditional manicure, while still being versatile enough to wear every day!
11. Fluttery Blue Butterfly French Manicure
photo: @nailsbylaurissa
How rad is this butterfly nail art?! For a unique twist on a butterfly manicure, spread your wing designs across two nails instead of one. It gives the nail art a whimsical and ethereal look that flutters every time you move your hands.
Balance the bold butterfly design with simple white French tips (which you can easily DIY with these sticker guides), and you have the perfect show-stopping mani!
12. Glazed Butterfly Wing Nail Inspo
photo: @_gelcoco
If you’re a fan of the glazed donut nail trend, then prepare to fall in love with this shimmery butterfly design! Because a shiny glaze makes everything better, amiright?! To DIY the trendy look, use this glazed nail kit on top of your black wing outline — or check out our full chrome nail tutorial here!
