Yellow is the color of sunshine. It’s the epitome of cheerfulness, zest, and the warmth and optimism of spring and summer. It adds a dose of vibrancy and life to any outfit. Most importantly, it’s one of the trendiest colors of the year.
Anyone who follows fashion trends will be looking to incorporate yellow into their next acrylic manicure. If you’re searching for new ideas to satisfy your clients, look no further: we’ve put together a guide of all our favorite yellow-themed designs for 2021.
Read on for the lowdown on all the trendiest yellow nail art for acrylic nails.
What Are Acrylics?
Most professional nail technicians are experts when it comes to acrylic nails. However, anyone who’s just beginning their career may be a little uncertain about this nail-art form. So, let’s delve into a little background about acrylic nails.
Acrylics are more popular now than ever before. They are a form of artificial nails that comes from a mixture of a powder polymer and a liquid monomer. When combined, these two ingredients form a thick paste. In turn, the paste is applied to extensions or to natural nails. The mixture dries and hardens, creating the look of strong, long, defined nails.
One reason that acrylics are so universally beloved is their ability to serve as a canvas for intricate, creative nail designs. Acrylics are usually longer than natural nails, so they provide more space for the nail artist to work. Plus, acrylics last much longer than regular polish, so whatever design you choose remains intact for weeks.
So, as we begin to explore some of our favorite yellow acrylic designs, keep this background info in mind. Remember, acrylics are truly the best medium for stunning springtime manicures.
Now, let’s get down to business!
Solid Yellow with Square Tips
First on our list of yellow acrylics is one of the classics: solid yellow nails. We know it seems obvious, but sometimes the simplest designs are the most underused.
If your client wants to capture the cheerful sunshine of spring, a basic yellow manicure is a perfect design. It’s bright, casual, and fun. A
Yellow French Manicure
French manicures are back in style, and, as such, variations on the classic design are cropping up everywhere.
Trade the white tips of a traditional French mani for yellow tips. A softer shade, like a daffodil or lily yellow, would look gorgeous here.
This understated design is an excellent option for someone who wants a manicure she can wear everywhere—to work, to social events, to parties, and at home. It looks great in every situation.
French Tips on a Slant
Here’s another variation on the classic French look mentioned above. Instead of the traditional design, this manicure consists of slanted yellow tips on each nail.
To create slanted tips, use a nail brush to draw a diagonal line from one corner of the top of the nail towards the other side of the nail, sloping downward. Then, fill in the space with your client’s choice shade of yellow.
This fun twist on the traditional French mani is another versatile manicure that we absolutely love.
Ombre Acrylics
Ombre nails: another timeless nail design that captures the spirit of spring and summer.
Use a bright yellow shade at the top of the nail and transition into a nude or clear shade at the bottom. This keeps the focus on the yellow—it doesn’t have to compete with another color.
This look works best with coffin nails or square tips.
Sunset Nails
For an ombre look that’s a bit more complicated, consider the sunset design. Using soft shades of orange, yellow, and pink, this striking design captures the beauty and power of the sunset.
To achieve flawless sunset nails, blend each shade together to form an ombre-style look on each nail. The order of the colors is up to you, but it should be the same on each nail.
This design will please anyone who wants a beachy, summery, vacation-y manicure.
Black-and-Yellow Checkered Nails
Race-track-style checkered nails will be a major trend in 2021. Hop on this trend by trying out a black and yellow checkered manicure.
This pattern can be worn in many ways. Of course, you could paint each and every nail in a full-on checkered pattern. On the other hand, if someone is seeking a subtler design, you could employ the checkered design as an accent. Apply the pattern to one nail on each hand, and adorn all the other nails with matte black.
This black-and-yellow design is one of our trendiest on this list.
Smiley Face Nails
Since we’re talking trends, smiley face nails are another craze that everyone’s going to be enjoying this year.
The famous smiley-face comes in all sizes, shapes, colors. The most iconic of those colors is classic yellow, of course.
Smiley face nails are so much fun—you can’t help but smile when you look at them. If you decide to try out this fad, feel free to experiment with it as much as you want. You can apply multiple, small smileys on each nail, or singular large ones. You could even add a smiley to one or two nails as an accent while painting the rest pure yellow. The options are infinite.
A Sunflower Accent
All the flower-power nature lovers out there will adore these sunflower-themed acrylics. This design consists of sunflower-yellow nails with an accent nail on each hand, featuring a sunflower decal.
Put your art skills to the test with this design. For the sunflower, you’ll want to add a black or brown semicircle protruding from the side of each accent nail. Then, you will add the yellow petals encircling the semicircle, taking up the space of the rest of the nail. You can even add a few dots in the center to make the flower look like the real thing.
This design absolutely screams spring, and we are so here for it.
Yellow Cheetah Print Acrylics
Like French tips, animal prints are steadily making a comeback. A cheetah-print design is a bold, stylish look for anyone who loves this popular trend.
This design features a yellow base. Pick a shade that’s closer to a brown-ish or orange-ish yellow (to match the color of a real cheetah). Then, add the cheetah spots on each nail. For a pop of color, you may want to add a dot of blue in the center of each spot—it’s up to you!
Whatever you do, don’t sleep on animal prints this season. The pattern will surely stick around for a while.
Shimmering Yellow Glitter
Who doesn’t love glitter? It’s one of the most enduring nail-art trends ever and for very good reason. Glitter instantly elevates any manicure.
This spring and summer, look to yellow sparkles for all your glitter needs. For this design, a pastel or pale yellow will look amazing. The yellow glitter catches and reflects the sunlight flawlessly, creating a mesmerizing and unforgettable look.
Of course, you can do a full-on glitter manicure, or you can add a simple pop of glitter on accent nails. Both options will result in a stunning yellow spectacle.
Neon Yellow Acrylics
Neon acrylics are a striking fashion statement. If you have a client who wants to make an impression, be sure to suggest neon yellow.
This color looks great on any nail shape. Because neon is so bold, we would suggest sticking to solid neon on every nail, as opposed to adding any accents or extras. This will create a memorable design that is ideal for summer days and nights out.
Creamy Yellow And Robin’s Egg Blue
This color combination—creamy yellow and robin’s egg blue—evokes images of springtime. It’s soft, calming, and oh-so-pretty. This design would be great for Easter or any other spring event.
There are so many ways to incorporate both of these colors into a manicure. One of the designs we adore features a blue base coat with yellow accents. First, apply the robin’s egg blue to each nail. Then, choose one nail on each hand to add the pop of yellow. Apply a diagonal stripe down the middle of these nails, and color the upper half with yellow while keeping the bottom half blue.
As we said, these two colors are the perfect pair for spring, so feel free to experiment with different designs as much as you like.
Final Thoughts on Yellow Acrylics
There’s no doubt about it: yellow is one of the hottest shades of the season. We adore this color and all of the cheer and optimism it evokes. As spring gets closer and closer every day, we simply can’t wait to try out every yellow nail design we see.
We wish you the best of luck as you experiment with the designs above. We just hope this article has inspired you to embrace the color as much as we do.
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