10 Minimalist Manicures That Will Be Everywhere This Summer

When it comes to summer 2025, the only nails that truly shine are a minimalist manicure. From thin French tips with a twist, to micro nail art, the 2025 summer nail trends are all about “less is more.” Here are some of the coolest trends to try that last long, are spunky, and won’t cost you an arm and a leg, be it money-wise or time-wise.

Micro art is a big summer nail trend for 2025.

Call it artful restraint, but having tiny sketches on your nails is in, letting you commit to brighter colors, without going all the way. Go for fruits, flowers, or any pattern that catches your fancy in vivid hues, atop pastel nudes or pinks for a fun summer nail trend for 2025.

Aura nails are perfect foils in the summer sun.

Aura nails are still very much in, and all your manicurist has to do is blend two shades of colors with no visible edges. The shades are up to you, but remember, minimalism is in for summer 2025 nails, and so are pastels.

Neon orange on square nails is trending for summer 2025.

Neon orange on square nails is quite the color of summer 2025, so go ahead and file down those ovals and go square with orange.

Polka dot scream summer nail trends.

Polka dots remain a strong summer nail trend for 2025, especially since you can do them at home with nothing more than two bottles of your favorite colors, and a bobby pin to make the dots. Plus, since micro is in for nail art, tiny dots work perfectly.

Try Gingham as a 2025 summer nail trend.

As popular as gingham yellow is for summer 2025 fabric, it’s making waves as nail art too. Simple enough to be done at home, it can be done rather quickly at a salon as well, and be the perfect foil to hot summer days.

Tiny acrylics over a nude base are a good idea.

If you want your nails to catch attention, but in a subtle way, leave the bright colors and go for nude polish as a base. Add some small shiny dots of polish or gel, or even crystal nail stickers near the tip or base.

French tips, but with a twist

Forget simple French tips and go for creativity with chrome, or even neon tips. Any shade of chrome is fine, and you can always add a pinkish tone to the base instead of going for only transparent. Micro neon tips are also a good summer nail trend to follow for 2025, and are minimalist enough to appeal to those who like subtle nails.

Metals are in, but in subtle form.

You can try gold leaf or speckles mixed with a transparent base for a stunning look. The summer sun will catch and reflect the glints, adding a shine to your day, or evening look. You can even use gold speckled transparent nail paint as a base and add some stripes or tips for more less-is-more style.

Bright shades are the colors of summer 2025.

Yellow, green, cobalt, fuchsia are back in a big way as summer nail trends in 2025. Go ahead and buy gel colors for that perfect look but try and stay away from mattes and frosty shades given they have way too old school. Microdots can dress up these colors even more.

Yes to Mermaid-core, but subtler

The Mermaid-core beachy trend is still very much in, so go ahead and give it your personal twist. You can skip the pearls and go for a simple beachy blue nail paint, with some shells painted on, or even subtle 3D artwork.

While this article covers summer nail trends of 2025, here’s how you can look your best at the beach, with all the trends in latest beach cover-ups.