Upgrade Your Butter Yellow Nails For Summer 2024 With These Sunny Designs

When it comes to summer manicures, it's hard to top a polish color like yellow. In the words of "Frozen"'s adorable snowman Olaf, we've "always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot," and yellow totally represents all that. Butter yellow, the not-too-dark, not-too-light shade we saw in our wardrobes as a new take on neutral back in fall 2023, is that perfect mix of bright and fun. The pale shade elevate almost any summer outfit, too. In fact, butter yellow nails is one of the biggest manicure trends around as we head into summer 2024, so it really is the manicure color to be seen in.

But while simple, single-shade butter yellow nails can be totally stunning and understated, sometimes we just want a little something extra to elevate our nail looks. And, lucky for us, from sunbursts, to sparkles, and everything in between, there are so many different ways you can give the color an upgrade as the weather heats up.

When it comes to spring and summer, flowers are everywhere — and that includes on our nails. One of the most traditionally feminine ways to try the butter yellow manicure is to use the color as a base for delicate flower nail art. Start with a simple butter yellow French tip, and add small, mustard yellow petals to create tiny flowers for a groovy, '70s-inspired vibe. You can even add something shiny or metallic to the center of each flower if you want to bring some sparkle to your look.

Ombre nails look good in every shade, but there's something about a butter yellow version that fades from a neutral daffodil, to a butter yellow, to a pineapple color is simply stunning for summer. There's no doubting it really brings the fun in the sun vibes. If you want to add a little extra something to the look though, you could even throw on something shiny like glitter or nail sequins to really catch the light when you're outside on those sunny days.

You probably already know that fruit designs are a seriously big nail trend for summer 2024, so why not bring that into your yellow look? Of course, there are a number of yellow fruits you could easily incorporate into your manicure here, such as a sliced lemon, Honeydew melons, or even a banana for an extra quirky twist.

If summer makes you smile, then show that off on your nails. A manicure made of butter yellow smiley faces is a super cute way to spread some sunny cheer in the hotter months.  You can purchase them as nail art stickers, or, if you've got a steady hand, use an ultra-thin brush to paint circles on your nails, and an even thinner brush to draw the smiley faces. While you can place the faces over any nail base color you like, we'd recommend a neutral base so the butter yellow color can stand out. The best thing about this manicure though is that it goes great with the smile on your face.

Using a combination of butter yellow and mustard to create different shapes is ideal for giving a shorter, rounded yellow nail the boost it needs. The design gives you so much room for creativity, too. You could try painting a single stripe, a mix of diagonal blocks and lines, or even swirls. The options here are not only endless, they're almost as hot as summer!