Coquette Nails Are Summer's Most Charming Manicure

The coquette aesthetic has been taking off on TikTok in more ways than one, and coquette nails are the latest iteration dominating our feeds. On the beauty front, there have been lots of powdery makeup looks, rosy pink cheeks, and hair bows, but the easiest way to take on the super-sweet trend is with a set of coquette nails, which have quickly become one of the top summer nail trends. 

First and foremost, let's get to the definition of coquette (I didn't know what it was until I looked it up, either). The TL;DR: Coquette means flirty and feminine, which will make sense once you see what coquette nails look like.  

Celeb manicurist Julie Kandalec says she's obsessed with coquette and likens it to the Japanese term “kawaii,” which means cute. Essentially, the coquette nail trend is an overload of cuteness, featuring all different designs, dangly charms, stickers, and gems.

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Kandalec recommends asking your manicurist for what the salon has available in terms of things to stick on your nails but adds that “many nail artists hand-paint things like cherries, lemons, bows, ponies, shooting stars, bumble bees, etc.” So, if you bring an inspo pic, they may be able to re-create it for you.

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Obviously pink is a big part of the coquette aesthetic, but Kandalec says that butter yellow, shimmery lilac, pearly white, and sheer jelly shades are just as popular. But the magic is really in the appliqués that you add. 

If you're DIY-ing coquette nails, you're going to need some stick-ons like these 3-D Pearl Stickers from Lights Lacquer and kitschy stickers like Deco Mani's Be Mine collection—there are little cakes and clouds among other adorable designs.