25 Saint Patrick's Day Nail Designs

I'm a fashionista with training in fashion buying and design. I have a good eye for creative looks and enjoy sharing them with others.

Get your nails ready for that St. Patrick's Day party you're going to this —or even if you are just celebrating at home. The greens and golds of this holiday's colors look fantastic on any set of nILA, especially those that are bejeweled with shamrocks.

Check out the variety of styles featured in this article, from funky zebra to cute polka dots. What are you waiting for? Get those nails scrubbed and those polishes out!

Have fun!

1. Neon Zebra

Give standard zebra stripes a tangy twist with neon green stripes. Add a surprise accent by painting one nail all green.

2. Outlined Sparkle Tips

If you aren't crazy about too much color, paint just the tips instead.

1. Start with a base of clear nail polish and then paint the tips black (this will form the outline).
2. Now, paint a nice sparkly green over it, but leave the outline of the black for a dramatic effect.

3. Arty Twist

These two shades of green are great together, and the little white dots with shamrocks are a nice touch.

4. Charming Whites

• A base of white is perfect with the green. It'll really highlight your designs.
• Try doing this on your toes and popping on a lovely pair of green sandals to show off your manicured tootsies.

5. Greens and Gold

• Shades of greens and gold look great on the nail.
• Pop on a catchy word, like "luck," across one of the nails to really make your point!

6. Shamrocks

This freehand design is perfect for aspiring artists and also for dressing up your nails for all the parties you are going to, especially if it's one that's celebrating everything Irish.

7. Foil Decals and Marble Effect

• It's super fun to have each nail with a different style.
• These large glitter pieces are amazing. Also, marbleizing one is so much easier than doing them all

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8. Kiss Me, I'm Irish

• Nails look great with little slogans like, "Kiss me, I'm Irish."
• This is an especially clever one if you are single and hoping to catch a sweetie's eye!

9. Green Tartan

You may want to purchase a thin-tipped paint brush to paint the "fabric" stripes on this design and the little black shamrocks.

10. Gilded Shamrocks

• Painting shamrocks onto a gold base looks very glamorous and makes a great statement.
• You can paint all your nails in this style or just the one depending on your preferences.

11. Rainbow Sparkle

• What could be better than pretty, sparkly, and feminine shimmery nails to show off your Irish pride?
• Recreate this look easily by purchasing shades in green, yellow, purple, red, and of course some glitter polish.

13. Featured Nail

• As mentioned earlier, doing one nail differently than the rest is not only striking but it is also very fashionable and trendy right now.
• You can choose just about any design you like for this nail, but make sure it's something green. ;)

13. Polkadotty

• Polka dots are great craic (the Irish word for fun)!
• These green ones get the Irish seal of approval, so what are you waiting for?

14. St. Patty's Day Froggy

• How cute are the white daisies and frogs on these?
• You can even go a step further and attempt to draw some lily pads on them.

15. Cocktail of Colors

• What an eclectic look this creates. The rainbow stripes are absolutely adorable.
• You could do all your nails in rainbow stripes and pop little shamrock decals on top.

16. Glitter Tips

Simply adding some green designs, like shamrocks, at least one nail lets you get away with just glitter tips on the rest in order to pass off as St. Patty's-themed nails.

17. Washi Tape Tips

• This is a very quick way to glam up your hands in time for an event.
• You'll need some washi tape of choice and a protective top coat nail polish. Make sure you cut the tape to fit the tips of your nails.

18. Contrasting Greens

• This is a very smart way to get your greens in! And no, I'm not talking about vegetables.
• Painting the tips in a contrasting green to your nails works extremely well. You can pick any two shades you like.

19. Silver and Green

• You will need a lime green shade and a silver sparkle polish to complete this look.
• The little shamrocks can be painted on with a darker shade of green by using a thin brush. If you don't have steady hands, get a girlfriend to paint them for you.

20. Chevron Style

• Chevron is so in these days!
• If you don't want to go full chevron, just do half of each stripe in different colors (like green and white for example).

21. Under The Rainbow

• The rainbow is the real talking point of these sets of nails.
• You could either get a nail decal of a rainbow or try your hand at doing it yourself.

22. Golden Shamrock

• A feature nail on each hand with a golden nail and a shamrock is the perfect way to get your luck shining on this holiday.
• You could even switch the color out for a different one if you aren't too keen on gold.

23. Rainbow Nail Feature

Taking one finger, like the ring one for example, and making it different by painting a rainbow on it (or anything else you'd like), is a wonderful way to highlight your luck. Especially if you have recently gotten engaged or promoted!

24. Water Marble Art

Water marbling is surprisingly easy to do.

1. Get your nail polishes and dot them into a cup of water.
2. Paint your nails in a base coat of white and wrap tape around your cuticles.
3. Dip into the cup you have created your design into and remove the tape.

25. Lucky Green Plaid

Get your tartan on by donning these super cute nails. Wear a green kilt to complete the look!

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Comments

ezzly (author) on December 19, 2015:

Thanks Jasmeetk :)

Jasmeet Kaur from India on December 13, 2015:

very beautiful nail art you shared..will recreate them..

ezzly (author) on March 10, 2015:

Aw thank you so much Deborah Diane !

Deborah-Diane from Orange County, California on March 09, 2015:

Thought I would promote this one more time, since St. Patrick's Day is coming up soon.

ezzly (author) on February 22, 2015:

Thanks for visiting and your encouragement Deborah Diane :)

Deborah-Diane from Orange County, California on February 21, 2015:

Just a reminder to everyone ... now is the time to start practicing these designs. Have some fun with them!

ezzly (author) on February 19, 2015:

Thanks Au fait hope you have a great Paddys day :)

C E Clark from North Texas on February 19, 2015:

So many different designs! And St. Paddy's Day less than a month away. There should be something here for everyone who has nails to do.

ezzly (author) on February 12, 2015:

Thanks for pinning flourish , you can get great fake nails with awesome designs too you just need a little patience and some nail glue ;)

FlourishAnyway from USA on February 12, 2015:

Very cute. Pinning these. I sure wish I had the nails and the talent to do these, but I'm sure many others do.

ezzly (author) on February 06, 2015:

Thanks DDE , have to say I'm a huge fan of green :)

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on February 06, 2015:

Beautiful ideas! I like all the colors and you have a lovely layout here.

ezzly (author) on February 02, 2015:

Thanks for commenting Deborah Diane :)

Deborah-Diane from Orange County, California on February 01, 2015:

What clever nail designs for St. Patrick's Day! I'm sure a lot of people will love these!

ezzly (author) on February 01, 2015:

Thanks Christy Maria, bet you do very beautiful designs !

Christy Maria on February 01, 2015:

Very cool! I absolutely love to paint my nails tricky patterns for different occasions! I am definitely going to be using one of these ideas Ezzly.