32 Nail Ideas for April That Put a Fresh Twist on Spring Manicures

Close up of a coral and blue mix and match mani

After months of holiday-specific nail art inspo (think: New Year’s nails, Valentine’s Day manicures, and St. Patrick’s Day nail art ideas), April offers more room for interpretation. If you celebrate Easter or Ramadan, you may want to adopt a manicure designed with fitting colors. However, if you simply want to embrace the fresh feel of spring, opting for a softer, more pastel palette is a great place to start. From there, you can determine if you’re craving all-over color, classic French tips, or a trendy negative space design. While you’re at it, you may consider incorporating elements from other 2023 nail trends, such as retro-inspired swirls or emoji accents. And in April, flowers are always welcome. The point is: There are so many ways to paint your nails in April. Ahead, you’ll find over two dozen ways to do so.

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Viva Magenta Florals

Viva Magenta Floral manicure on one hand

The Pantone color of the year is Viva Magenta—which means this floral manicure is especially perfect for April. Nail Artist Anna Bahn used Holo Taco Nail Polish ($12) in the shades What Do You Pink?, High Tea Hibiscus, Not Milky White, Laven-Duh, and Work Bestie to create the look.

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April Showers

Two hands featuring a two-tone blue manicure

Blue is a popular April color, thanks to the bright blue skies and frequent rain showers that fill the month. Consider copying this graphic two-tone blue, mirrored color block nail art idea to embrace the hue.

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Breezy Blooms

A manicure with blue flowers and a shiny base bolish

Flowers begin to bloom in April, even if it’s still a bit chilly out. We love how this iridescent nail art idea captures that concept with cool-toned shimmer and cornflower blue blooms. While nail artist Aistė Haas kindly shared all the products and tools she used to create this look, considering the intricacy of this design, you’ll likely want to bring the picture as inspo and let your nail artist do the painting.

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Monochrome Lines

Two hands with pastel-colored nail polishes

Prefer all-over color on your nails? We love the look of this multi-color monochrome mani. Each finger sticks to one color family and highlights a spring-friendly contrast.

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Spring Houndstooth

One hand with colorful houndstooth nail polish

How fun is this colorful houndstooth mani? Created with a mix of bold and pastel colors, it’s a cheerful nail look that works well for April and the other warmer months of the year.

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Pastel Lava Lamp Nails

Here we have another vivid April-friendly nail art idea. Crafted with pastel neons, this nail look has a retro lava lamp vibe that we can’t get enough of.

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Dainty Florals

A dainty floral french manicure close up

Prefer a more intricate, minimalist nail look? This periwinkle blue French manicure with floral accents is a beautiful option.

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Pastel Ombré Nails

Here’s another example of how pastel neons can work as a spring nail art idea.

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Funky Florals

Close up of a manicure with green base polish and pink flowers

Shades of green are popular in April, which means this funky floral nail look is a great idea for the month. Believe it or not, it’s actually pretty easy to recreate, too. All you’ll need is a dotting tool to create the flowers. Simply dab five dots in pale pink with a H๏τ pink dot layered on top. Seal it all in with a top coat.

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Springtime Blues

A manicure with a mix of blue designs and a neutral base coat

We love how easily DIY flowers transform any nail art idea into an April-ready mani. While the flowers and checkers of this nail look are relatively simple to recreate, the swirls take a bit more precision. Give it a try by using a fine-lining nail art brush, like those found in the Beetles Nail Art Liner Brush 5-Piece Kit ($10).

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Studded Blooms

Easily one of our favorite April nail art ideas, this manicure features studded flowers, French tips, and swirls—checking multiple 2023 nail art trend boxes.

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Chartreuse Art Deco Nails

This tricolor green nail art idea perfectly captures the freshness of growing grᴀss and blooming flowers in April.

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Floral Doodles

Remember: You can never go wrong with floral nail art accents in April. This particular design is quite intricate, so you’ll likely need a pro’s help to recreate it.

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Pastel Negative Space Nails

A manicure with pastel shapes and negative space

A pastel swirl mani with white outlines and negative space feels preppy and retro, making it totally perfect for spring.

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ʙuттerfly Accents

These shimmery pastel ʙuттerfly nails are so whimsical. (And we love the velvet nail details, too.)

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Yellow Squiggles

While many swirly nail art ideas require the precision of a pro artist, these purple and pale yellow nails might just be DIY-friendly. To recreate the look, choose similar purple and yellow polishes and use a fine-lining brush to create the swirls. Finish with a top coat.

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Pastel Groove

@brushedbyb_
We don’t know about you, but we’re so glad retro nail art is in this year. These multicolor pastel swirl nails are simply too cute to pᴀss up.

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Lavender Watercolor

@heygreatnails
For a daintier April nail art look, consider copying this lavender watercolor manicure. Haas kindly shared every product she used to create this mani here; however, given the intricate nature of the floral design, you may want to book a nail appointment for a perfect recreation.

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Mix-and-Match French

A French manicure with mix and match pastel colors

@brushedbyb_
Two-tone French manicures are having a major moment in 2023, which means this pastel nail art idea is especially on-trend for April. For this look, the artist used Lights Lacquer Nail Polish ($11) in the shades Order Up!, Easy as Pie, ‘52 Chevy, Juke Box Baby, Frenchy, and Banana Split.

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Two-Tone Purple French Tips

@nails_and_soul
Another way to get in on the two-tone French mani trend is with multicolor tips. Here, you can see how pretty contrasting purple shades look.

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Spring Mashup

A manicure featuring florals, squiggles, and a yin-yang symbol

@amyle.nails
We love mismatched nail designs, so this flower, squiggle, and yin-yang mani is a must in our book.

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Spring Mix-and-Match

A spring mix-n-match mani with many different playful designs

@brushedbyb_
Speaking of mismatch manis, here’s another mix-and-match design we’re swooning over. The cloud nail, the checkers, the smiley French tip—we’re swooning.

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Emoji Checker Nails

A manicure with smily emoji and checkerboard motifs

@sᴀssnailartistry
While there’s a lot going on with this pastel mani, it’s actually pretty easy to DIY. To perfect the French tips, use the Orly Half Moon Nail Guides ($6); to recreate the flowers, use dotting tools and fine-lining brushes, like those found in the FULINJOY 5-Piece Dotting Pen and Brush Set ($6).

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Coral Contrast

A coral and blue manicure with florals, French tips, swirls, and a checkerboard motif

@brushedbyb_
Bright orange shades are very popular in 2023, which means this coral and baby blue contrast nail art idea is perfect for April.

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Happy Mushroom Nails

A manicure with a variety of playful designs in pastel colors

@yo_keshh
Hey, hi, hello, here’s more mismatched mani inspo. That smiley mushroom? One-of-a-kind.

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Pastel Gradient

@brushedbyb_
As you know, squiggle frames have been popular for years. But squiggle frames over a pastel gradient base? Now that’s one nail art idea we’re copying ASAP this April.

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Spring Abstract

A manicure with abstract designs in pastel colors

@disseynails
If you love the idea of framing your nails in color but want to leave your base blank, this negative space idea is for you. Nail artist Dayanna Sapiens created the look using DND Gel ($12) in the shades U Shine I Shine, Sweet Yam, Voodoo, Pastel Orange, Blue River, Velvet, Pink Bubblegum, Sheer in the City, and Sunset Suede.

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Spring Swirl

@brushedbyb_
A colorful wavy manicure is another way to style pastel colors on your nails. Here, nail artist Brittney Ellen used Lights Lacquer Nail Polish ($11) in the shade Strawberry Frosting, Harmon Polish Nail Polish ($12) in the shade Be Calm, OPI Nail Lacquer ($12) in the shade You’re Such A BudaPest, and Essie Nail Polish ($10) in the shade All Fun & Games.

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Flower Power

A simply French manicure with floral designs

@disseynails
By now you should realize just how popular florals are for April nail looks—not to mention how easy they are to recreate. We love how they look over this classic white French mani.

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Cornflower Blooms

A French manicure with blue tips and floral designs

@pop_polished
Of course, little flowers look even prettier with gemstone centers (not to mention dotted over the dantiest blue French tips).

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Negative Space French Mani

A negative space top and bottom French manicure

@brushedbyb_
If you love the idea of a two-tone French mani but prefer to let your natural nail shine through, this look by Ellen will fit your fancy. She used Mooncat Nail Polish ($13) in the shades Eternal Sunshine, Euphoric, Sweet Nightmare, Neverland, and Sinking Feeling to create the look.

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ʙuттerfly Blush

Last but not least, we have the trending blush nail art trend, featuring ʙuттerfly stencils surrounded by gems. This technique requires careful precision, so your best bet is to bring this picture as inspo for your pro nail artist.