Claudia WilliamsFor mystical creatures, unicorns sure are getting a lot of face time these days. From unicorn cupcakes and Frappuccinos to unicorn…pizza? It is officially a thing, and we think cute nails are just the right place for all those rainbows (and lots of glitters). Believe it or not, we have whipped up 50 ethereal nail art looks are unicorn nail design ideas for you to try.
50 Rainbow Bright Unicorn Nail Design Ideas
If you are feeling a little *ahem* mature for these looks do not let that stop you! That just means it is time to recruit a younger sister/cousin/friend’s child and get to work. You can also try one of the more subtle pastel nail art looks for a gentle nod to the dreamy, fairy-tale beings we all love.
So break out the rainbow palette, the pastels, the iridescent top coats, and the micro glitter. It’s time to make unicorn nail design a part of your life.
1. Pink/purple With Iridescent Horn Design
Shades of pink and purple are highlighted in this cool design. Unicorn nail polish in a pink iridescent swirl decorates the sculpted horns. The fairy dust nails are bedazzled with jewels. The nails have a base layer of swirling marble. These are overlaid with swirls of silver.
2. Pastel Watercolor Rainbow With Unicorn Art
This easy nail art design combines the fresh beauty of a watercolor nail with an adorable unicorn. It would look great on natural nails. This design would not be difficult to accomplish at home, though the watercolor might take some practice to get right. The unicorn design itself would be simple to paint.
3. Squoval With Pastel Rainbow Gradient
This subtle and classy nail idea features a simple but elegant pastel rainbow gradient. Shading from pink at the nail bed down to violet at the tips, these nails would complement any unicorn’s look. Since they are not embellished, they would be great for any unicorn who has to work with their hands during the day.
4. Bright Rainbow And Unicorn Nail Art
This adorable unicorn nail design features the best of hand-painted nail art. Done in vivid pastels, this design is accented by stars in gold glitter polish. The sweetest feature of this unique design is the unicorn face with the closed eyes and blushing cheeks. This design would be great for a child, a teen, or anyone with a youthful sense of style.
5. Glittery Vibrant Rainbow Watercolor
These nails take the rainbow watercolor concept and kick it up a notch with shimmering glitter. First, the rainbow effect is applied to the nails. The perfect swirls of color make this design magical. Then a coat of glitter is applied to these fairy dust nails. The look is completed with a top coat to seal the glitter on.
6. Baby Pink With Unicorn Accent Nail
This sweetly natural nail design would look great on anyone. The nails are done in a soft, glossy baby pink. On one white accent nail, an adorable unicorn face is painted in pink, black, and gold nail glitter. These nails are a subtle and classy way to show your unicorn love without being too elaborate to wear every day.
7. Blue/purple Design, Glitter, And Horn Swirl
These awesome nails have a creative combination of manicure types. Some of the nails are done in a soft pastel ombré with lavender and blue. Two of these nails have silvery gems glued on. Two of the nails are done in a fantastic glittery design with various sizes of sparkles. The unicorn horns are silver metallic nails.
8. Silver French Tip Nails With Unicorn Art
This short nail design is an adorable take on a French manicure. Painted in an allover blush pink, the nails are accented at the tips with silver chrome polish. Two of the nails have a soft coat of pink glitter. Finally, there are two precious unicorn portraits on two of the nails. These feature cute eyelashes, a swirling mane, and an adorably accented horn and ears.
9. Pastel Pink Iridescent Chrome Polish
These pink chrome nails are stunningly simple and beautiful. A unicorn doesn’t have to be bedazzled to be pretty. A few coats of this super shiny chrome polish are enough to make you stand out in the crowd. This short natural nail design is practical for anyone to wear.
10. Multicolored Neon Rainbow Stiletto Nails
These unique nails shine in neon rainbow colors. The stiletto shape is accented by the bold and pretty colors. A few of these nails have bejeweled areas that make the exciting colors stand out even more. The sculpted unicorn horns are done in a soft rainbow gradient for a beautiful touch.
11. Pastel Rainbow Gradient With Unicorn Art
These subtly colored rainbow gradient nails make a sweet backdrop for a charming unicorn. The unicorn starts on the middle fingernail and stretches over the ring finger to the pinkie nail, where the tail flows. Painting a design that flows from nail to nail is a unique idea and would not be that hard to at home with practice.
12. Glittery Iridescent Pastel Polish With Accent Art
These gorgeous glitter iridescent nails are colorful and vibrant. The colors swirl from a soft yellow down to a rich purple. On top of the glittery polish is a little unicorn figure, sitting down in the middle of the nail and looking cute and awkward. The contrast between the glossy iridescent finish and the adorable hand painting makes these nails special.
13. Pink Glitter With Unicorn Art
This multidimensional pink glitter design would make any unicorn happy. The nails are painted with a uniform base coat of shiny pink glitter. Clouds and stars are added in a white polish. The details and shading are skillfully painted. Finally, there are two sweet unicorn faces with rainbow manes and big blue eyes.
14. Iridescent Pink With Rainbow And Unicorn Art
Iridescent pink makes these unicorn nails shine beautifully. The pink color is uniform and gorgeous. On top of the pink, nail art designs are painted. One nail has a rainbow with little white clouds, and the other has a happy unicorn face. The nail art design is distinctive and pretty. This design would also look great with white chrome nails.
15. Grey With Unicorn Art Design
These unique nails are done with a medium dove gray base color. Tiny hand-painted flowers, polka dots, and stars accent the base of the nails. A lovely unicorn and her mane stretch across two of the adjoining nails. This is a subtle design and not as forward as some of the others we looked at, but it will let everyone know how much you love unicorns.
16. Matte Purple With Unicorn Nail Design
These cute easy nail designs have a matte purple background. Painted on top of the matte purple are two happy rainbow clouds and a little unicorn with a rainbow mane. The art has a charming, quirky look. On two of the nails, there are pearly embellishments in pink and silver.
17. Glitter, Jewels And Hot Pink Tips
These different nail designs show a fun mixture of manicure styles. Hot pink ombré tips with multicolored jewels that wrap around the sides make a nice contrast to the sculpted unicorn horn. The horn has the ridges done in a bright silver glitter for a unique look.
18. Sky Blue, Clouds, Rainbows And Unicorns
Soft sky blue is the background of these unicorn nails. Cute white clouds and rainbows accent the nails. Finally, there are two adorable unicorns with big, round eyes and purple manes. This design is on short natural nails and would be comfortable for anyone to wear, including kids.
19. Multicolored Rainbow Glitter Ombre
This lovely rainbow glitter ombre nails match their polish color to their glitter color for an extra classy touch. The partially yellow and orange nails start with hot pink and then go to turquoise, and purple. These nails are worn a little longer and look graceful. These are a bright and cheerful choice for any unicorn to wear.
20. Glitter-dipped Pink And Unicorn Art
These exciting glitter-dipped nails have a fun mixture of techniques. The hot pink tips are accented with crystal flowers. The glitter-dipped nails have a nice mixture of pink, blue, and silver colors. The shaped unicorn horns are iridescent pink. The unicorn faces are gorgeous and serene with flowing manes.
21. Lavender Glitter, Art, And Swirl Design
These unique nails use sculpted overlays for the flowers and unicorn as well as for the horns. The unicorn is especially well done, with an almost 3D look. The flowers bloom all over one nail, in various pastel colors. The other nails are done in a soft lavender glitter.
22. Glossy Pink, Blue And Purple Unicorn Nail Design
These vibrant pink, blue, and purple nails have a childlike sense of fun. Two of the nails are done in a solid glossy purple. The other nails are decorated with stripes, stars, glitter, and little bows. The nails include a sweet picture of the popular unicorn Twilight Sparkle.
23. Bright Pastel Rainbow With Unicorn Accent
These simply adorable unicorn nails have bright pastel rainbow stripes. One of the nails has a cloud design with colorful lines coming from it. The middle nail features a simply stylized unicorn with long eyelashes and a pink glitter horn. These nails are so shiny, any unicorn would love to wear them.
24. Gorgeous Crystals and Unicorn Horn
These pale pink pointed nails have a lovely curve of sparkling crystals. The smallest nail is shaped into a unicorn horn with a pearlescent finish. These nails are perhaps not the most practical for daily wear, but you will feel so magical, they are worth a little inconvenience.
25. Holographic Glitter Nails with Pink Accents
These glitter nails are truly striking. Worn long and pointed, these nails have a deep shine that comes from a coat of holographic nail polish. These nails are accented by solid candy pink. There are pink holographic nails which give a subtle unicorn horn effect.
26. Holographic Nails with Mylar Strips
This long nail design is squared at the tips to make it a little easier to wear. These nails have a blue holographic polish with a pink ombré effect near the base. These nails are also accented with metallic nail powder. These nails have long strips of Mylar embedded in the polish for an extra note of shine.
27. White Unicorn Nails with Glitter Dust
These nails are great for anyone who wants to be a unicorn but need to be a little more subtle about it. The nails are covered all over with a white polish with a pale blue and pink cotton candy effect. They are then dusted with metallic nail powder. The ring fingernail has a cute unicorn horn effect in pink glitter.
28. Pink Ombré and Holographic Unicorn Horn
This long nail design has a subtle pink and white ombré color. The nails on the ring fingers are sculpted into unicorn horns and are then painted as pink holographic nails. Metallic powder is also used to give the nails extra shine and dimension. Any nail addict would love these.
29. Bejeweled Unicorn Nails for You
This sparkly nail design has an allover coat of pastel pink nail color that is almost translucent. Some of the nails are bejeweled with sparkling crystals. The middle finger, on one hand, has an intricate arrangement of crystals that looks like a magical tiara. Two of the nails are painted with a lovely white glitter.
30. Holographic Lavender Nails with a Magical Horn
These nails have contrasting tips. Most of them are long and squared off. They are highlighted by a swirling white unicorn horn on the ring finger that is sculpted for realism. The nails are covered with a lavender holographic nail polish lightly dusted with metallic nail powder for an extra dimension of shine.
31. Exciting Unicorn Horn Nails with Shining Accents
These creative nails are worn long and pointed. They are covered with a pearlescent white polish with holographic features. These nails have two special features: one sculpted unicorn horn and one nail with Mylar accents carefully laid on in a snowflake pattern. The contrast between the sculpted nail and the snowflake nail makes this design special.
32. Unicorn Nails with Rainbow Dash
These nails feature a cute portrait of every little girl’s favorite pony, Rainbow Dash. These nails have a variety of exciting features, from crystals and a sculpted horn to a striking jewelry-like arrangement. Two of the nails have a white dripping section that looks like melted ice cream. This is one of the most interesting nail polish ideas we’ve seen.
33. Simple and Practical Unicorn Design
Unicorn nail designs don’t have to be over the top, they can also be featured in cute easy nail designs. This short nail design starts with an allover pastel pink nail color. The unicorn is painted on the ring fingernail. This would be an easy design to reproduce at home using only a few polish colors.
34. Shimmering Pink Nails with Dazzling Crystals
A mix of techniques highlights these dazzling unicorn nails. The nails are done in a pretty shell pink color. Holographic glitter in rainbow colors and in rose gold highlight the nails. Two of the fingers have elaborate crystal designs that bring dimension and extra color to the design.
35. Purple Glitter with Sculpted Horns
When you want to show everyone your unicorn side, try these glimmering purple nails. Holographic glitter accents these charming mid-length pointed nails. The mix of glitter and holographic makes this design extra special. The ring fingers have awesome sculpted horns that are painted in a contrasting pale blue color with a holographic shimmer.
36. Mix and Match Unicorn Designs
This design is so festive and fun, it has something for everyone. It combines a variety of manicure types. Silver holographic nails, bejeweled pink nails with translucent stars, glitter unicorn silhouettes, and sparkling iridescent sculpted unicorn horns make this design exciting. This would be the best design to wear to a party or special event.
37. Be a Star with Unicorn Nails
These popular nails carry the star theme even further. Each nail has a different interpretation of the star theme. Some of the nails have a pink to blue and white glitter ombré while others have an allover pearlescent shine. Each nail has something extra applied, from large Mylar stars to sequins and jewels. These nails will make anyone’s inner unicorn shine.
38. Fanciful Pony Nails with Pinkie Pie
These cute unicorn nails feature portraits of a quirky and funny pony character. These nails have a fun and eclectic mix of designs and techniques. The most striking accents are the large pink bows applied to the nails. Large crystals accent the bow and the nail bed. This manicure would be an exciting way for any nail addict to show off their passion.
39. Metallic Nails with Unicorn Designs
This short nail design is in a practical oval shape. They feature a softly pearled metallic surface. The combination of the pearly metallic color and a soft pastel pink makes these nails stand out. Two of the nails have “water drops” made of metallic polish overlaid on pink. An adorable unicorn portrait adorns one of the nails.
40. Fanciful Unicorn Design with a Character Painting
This beautiful manicure combines subtle hand painted designs with a cute character portrait and white glitter. The sculpted unicorn nails are done in a rainbow ombré glitter for an extra decorative touch. The pastel on pastel color scheme makes these nails look delicate. The portrait of Rainbow Dash stands out and gives these nails a sense of whimsy.
41. Glitter, Crystals, and a Unicorn Face
This sparkly nail design brings together several of the ideas we have seen so far. The nails are done in an allover pink glitter design with a pearlescent touch. One nail is encrusted with oversized crystals. One nail is made into a sculpted unicorn horn with a nice rainbow ombré effect. A sweet unicorn portrait adorns the thumbnail.
42. White Designer Nails For Your Inner Unicorn
These nails are worn long and pointed for a dramatic effect. The use of white on white is subtle, however, and makes these nails extra pretty. Plain white pearlescent nail color is painted on first. One nail has a coat of white glitter. The first fingernail is molded into a spectacular unicorn horn.
43. Pastel Ombré and Holographic Glitter
This awesome manicure has a combination of three nail styles. A subtle pastel ombré effect decorates four of the nails. These are shaded from a pale lavender to a gentle peach. Two nails have an allover white glitter with a pearlescent shine. Highlighting the design are two nails with a deep pink glitter and holographic accents.
44. A Fun Combination of Techniques
These unique nails show off a variety of nail art techniques. Two nails are done in a pink and dark fuchsia glitter ombré. Two nails have a pale pink background and are bejeweled with crystals. Two nails are done in an allover pink matte nails with delicate hand-painted details. The centerpieces are the pink sculpted horn and the character portrait.
45. Edgy Unicorn Horn Nails in Black
These cool nails for 2018 are a departure from most of the pastel designs we reviewed. These different nail designs start out with a glossy black with large glitter sparkles. A sculpted horn in white decorates one of the nails. The last nail has so many crystals, it looks studded. These would be great for any unicorn with an edgy sense of style.
46. Dramatic Designer Nails with Crystals
These creative nails are highlighted by their over the top use of crystal decorations. They have a long, pointed silhouette with pearly white polish. The bejeweled nails are decorated with impressive technique. The pearly colors are reflected in the crystals for a pretty, unified look.
47. Silver Unicorn Horns with Bejeweled Accents
This nail art design combines different manicure types for an exciting new look. Four of the nails are done in a subtle ombré effect going from lavender to blue. Two of the ombré nails also have jewels applied. Two of the nails have a rich look with large pieces of glitter. Two of the nails are fabulously sculpted unicorn horns.
48. Designer Nails with Glitter and Metallic Features
This is another awesome mix of styles and techniques. The mix and match characteristics of this manicure make it quirky and exciting. Two nails are sculpted into gorgeous swirls of unicorn horn. Two are painted in a softly pearlescent lavender. One nail has large glitter pieces in blue and purple, and another has a gradient of glitter. The last nail has a textured ombré finish.
49. Pink Chrome Nails with Bejeweled Unicorn Magic
These different nail designs have a unified pink color with a mixture of techniques. Two of the nails, including the swirly unicorn horn, are done in a dazzling pink chrome. One nail is done in a holographic chrome and one is done in pink with glitter. The last nail has a pretty crisscross design with Mylar overlay and a crown of crystals.
50. Celestial Purple Nails for You
Finally, this magical nail idea is done in shades of peachy pink and purple. This manicure combines cute glued-on accents with delicate hand painting techniques. The little bow and crystals make this manicure every unicorn’s dream. The nails feature a character portrait of Twilight Sparkle, a famous unicorn.
50 Gorgeous Unicorn Nail Designs that will Melt Your Heart
The fabulous looks in this article will inspire you to create your own unicorn fantasies. The beauty of these designs is that there is something for every unicorn lover to wear and enjoy. You can use any color palette to create your own amazing unicorn look.
Polishes that are especially popular in unicorn nail designs include ombré, glitter, chrome, and iridescent. Try making white chrome nails for a unique look. Accents include jewels, glitter dips, and nail art. Try creating some of these looks on your own, or take them to the salon to show your favorite local manicurist. Together, you will be able to design the perfect unicorn look for you.
