Beauty
15 White & Gold Nail Ideas Perfect For The Fancy Minimalist
From gilded geometrics to French-style tips.
What do you get when you take plain white nail polish and mix it with gold? A manicure that’s the perfect balance of simple and glam. “White and gold tend to complement each other without being overly bold,” says celebrity nail artist Mo Qin, who has worked with stars like Selena Gomez, Julia Garner, and Emilia Jones. “The combination of the two colors together elevates any look to make it more elegant,” she says. For this reason, the white and gold nail combo is especially fitting for formal and special occasions, like graduation ceremonies, weddings, or holidays (or, ya know, as a chic style for your everyday life).
Although you can get the look with gold embellishments, metallic nail polish, or glitter nail polish, Qin says gold chrome nails are always a client favorite. “I’m a huge fan of a melted gold look on matte white nails or adding pieces of gold foil onto a milky white base,” she tells Bustle. But don’t be afraid to experiment with different finishes of your white polishes, too, whether you go with matte, metallic, or pearlescent. “Have fun wearing this combo and feel free to get creative when doing so,” Qin says. “The possibilities of wearing gold and white nails are endless.”
From nail art you can try at home to intricate professional designs, here are 15 white and gold manicure ideas to consider for your next mani.
1Decadent Swirls
Creating swirled lines is a fun and easy way to add nail art to your mani while still leaving plenty of negative space (minimalists, this one’s for you). Take these understated white and gold-accented coffin nails, for instance.
4Plaid Print
Two must-haves for putting together a plaid print like this: nail art tape and a striper brush. Like little cozy sweaters for your nails, this plaid design is the ultimate fall nail look, but doing it in white and gold makes it suitable to rock year-round.
6White & Gold French Tips
You can’t talk about white nail polish without including French manicures on the list. This set is made even better by the sliver of gold that splits the two classic colors.
7Simple Stars
If you’re looking for a minimal mani that incorporates both white and gold, screenshot this one. The simple white base with the sparkle emoji painted in gold serves as a subtle but creative design.
8White & Gold Pearlcore
Go full pearlcore with a mani like this, which doesn’t even require white or gold nail polish. Start with a base of clear top coat, then strategically glue pearls and gold studs on top to create a pattern you like.
9Gold Lamé
You’ll have to be a pro nail artist or have some serious skills to DIY a design like this, but the cool 3D effect of the gold lamé is definitely worth paying a little extra for.
10Funky Tips
Another way to give your French mani a modern twist is with a gold swirl design on the tips. No need to grow your nails out, either, because this design looks great on shorter nails, too.
11Marbled Mani
All you need are pink and white nail polishes, a cup of water, and a DIY marble mani tutorial to recreate this swirled pattern. Finish off your look with a thin strip of gold at the base.
12Unique French Mani
Not only does this modern French mani feature a gold wavy line to separate the tips, but look closely and you’ll find a tiny gold dot on each nail. It’s all about the details.
14Floral Nails
You might typically associate floral nails with bright colors, but this white and gold flower motif is proof that you don’t need a lot of colorful polishes to pull off the print. In fact, all you need are nail stickers that do all the work for you.
15Matte & Metallic
To get a melted metal look like this, pair a high-shine metallic gold with a matte white nail polish (a matte top coat will do the trick, too) — the contrast between the two will really make the gold pop.
