Mardi Gras is the furthest thing from subtle. More is absolutely more when it comes to Fat Tuesday, and your manicure should be no exception. So, we found the best Mardi Gras nails to help you stand out in the crowd and give the floats a run for their money.
Exactly 47 days before Easter marks the end of the Carnival season and the beginning of Lent. And it’s celebrated in a big way, especially in the Big Easy. Meaning, New Orleans. Not your great uncle’s favorite chair that no one else is allowed to sit in.
But you don’t have to be headed to NOLA to get in on the festivities. Just grab some beads, masks, feather boas, and these ideas for a Mardi Gras-inspired manicure. And King Cake. And Paczki. You know, once your nails are dry.
Purple, green, and gold are going to be your standout shades for these designs. From there, you can adorn them with whatever you’d like, like beads, babies, or the fleur-de-lis. Or beignets. You need sustenance to keep up with all the activities!
15 Mardi Gras Nails
1. Jester Nail Design
Jokes on you if your Mardi Gras nails don’t look this good. Dad jokes, to be specific.
2. Mardi Gras French Manicure
A French manicure for Mardi Gras is perfectly on theme, don’t you think? And if there’s a little dusting of beignets, that’s perfectly okay too.
3. Heart Bead Nail Design
This nail design is tugging at our heartstrings. Here we just thought that was Geppetto being handsy again.
4. Polka Dots And French Tips
Polka dots may not be what you envision when you think of Mardis Gras, but we call this look “Deconstructed Mardis Gras Beads.” It’s all in the phrasing.
5. Holographic Purple Nails
Okay, we know we said more is more, but the fact these holographic nails are the “simplest” ones on this list says everything you need to know about Mardi Gras.
6. Green And Purple Almond Nails
We’re probably going to need some help popping bottles with these nails. But cutting the King Cake? We’ve got that covered.
7. Mardi Gras Graffiti Nails
The good news about how long it will take to recreate these nails is that you can practice saying “laissez les bons temps rouler” perfectly. Your high school French teacher will be so proud.
8. Mardi Gras Short Nails
How many licks does it take to get to the center of these Gobstoppers? Sorry, is that not what we’re doing here? Excuse us while we remove our fingers from our mouth.
9. Purple, Gold, And Green Stiletto Nails
These may be traditional Mardis Gras colors, but there’s nothing traditional about these nails. Except for that familiar feeling of poking our eyeballs every time we move.
10. Glitter Square Nails With Mardi Gras Hearts
Red hearts were so last week.
11. Mardi Gras Nail Design
This classy Mardi Gras nail design deserves its own celebration. We’re free next Wednesday if you are!
12. Carnival Foil Nails
No matter how many regrets you have on Ash Wednesday, these nails won’t be one of them.
13. Mardi Gras Festivities Nail Art
These nails will have you wishing you were eating down in the bayou with Bobby Boucher and his momma. Or at least not in this meeting that could have been an email.
14. 3D Mardi Gras Nails
When that one friend says they just “threw something together” before heading out for the night.
15. Mardi Gras 3D Beads Nail Art
You’ll be ready to catch all the beads with these targets on your fingers. Next up – a game of horseshoes. What? We’re positive that these look stable enough. Stable, get it?
Ashley is a Nashville unicorn (born, raised, and based), queer, vegan, and dedicated to leaving a positive impact through her life, work, and her website, Wild Hearted.
When she's not writing, she's traveling, reading a book, trying not to kill her houseplants, worshiping her dog, or having an existential crisis. Follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter, and LinkedIn
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