16 Totally Adorbs Nail Ideas To Rock This Chinese New Year 2024

Chinese New Year is fast approaching! We believe your manicure and pedicure should be head-turning, perfectly complementing the sparkly outfits you’ve planned for your Yee Sang dinner and Chap Goh Meh. Don’t have time to browse for nail designs? No biggie! We’ve scoured high and low for Chinese New Year nail art ideas to inspire you.

Below are our favourite manicure styles, ranging from basic bright colours to charming dragon patterns to honour this year’s joyful themes, along with colourful floral symbols. Find all the manicure inspiration you’ll need to welcome the Year of the Dragon!

Chinese New Year Nail Ideas 2024

1. Happy Lunar!

Check out this geometric nail design to channel your creative side. The combination of different-sized brushwork in red and gold makes this manicure concept truly one-of-a-kind.

2. Happy Lunar 2.0

The red glitter nail polish, the French ends, and the gentle gold trim are all terrific Chinese New Year manicure ideas. Show resent this to your nail stylist, request that they retain your pinky nails solid red, as seen in the photo, to add a little geometric depth to the design.

3. Go For The Gold

Gold belongs to the ong. These nail designs stand out from the crowd. The proportions and colours of these nail designs scream affluence and richness, as if they were taken from a Hollywood film.

4. Year of the Dragon 

There’s no better way to celebrate the Lunar New Year than by adorning your nails with an intricate dragon design. The matte black finish contrasts beautifully with the detailed depiction of a vibrant red dragon, ensuring it takes centre stage on your claws. If there’s one word to describe it, it would be jaw-dropping.

5. Oriental Dragon

Take a journey back in time with this stunning nail design that draws inspiration from ancient Chinese pottery. Featuring intricate details of a dragon across all nails, the sky blue designs of this mythical creature, set against a shimmering off-white background reminiscent of a glazed donut, offer a classic and contemporary twist without going too overboard.

6. Auspicious Gilded Golden

Make your nails the centrepiece of your style this Chinese New Year with this eye-catching nail design that features auspicious Chinese characters and a classic dragon emblem. The golden chains and beads that accentuate the nails add that extra oomph, making it a perfect showstopper for your festive celebration.

7. 3D Basilisk

TBH, regular nail designs can be quite monotonous. If you prefer something extraordinary, a dragon 3D nail art design is a surefire way to spice up your look. Think of dragons from Game of Thrones, but on your nails. With realistic scales and dreamy eyes that pierce right through your soul, it doesn’t get better than this.

8. Kute Kitty

How kuuute is the gold accent on these red nails? (Also peep the kitty!). They give your manicure a stylish touch by applying Daily Charme Mirror Red Chrome Powder without entirely overwhelming your appearance.

9. Beautiful Blossoms

We’re saying yes to this super cute spring, flower-y, blossoming nail art. Flowers are synonymous with Chinese New Year festive, so we could definitely get behind this sexy yet sweet design. 

10. Traditional Red

Traditional red with a 3D cartoon effects? We said yes! If you are not high on harsh designs, try this subdued, traditional red with a cartoon effect to maintain the conventional spirits for the holiday.

11. Soft Purple-y 

If you like the rainbow appearance of water-marble fingernails, dress them up for Chinese New Year’s with a few glitter manicure paints. Extra points if you use a glitter sealant to create a glitter look.

12. Pastel Florals

This design is perfect for you if you’re aiming for a cute, effervescent, and gorgeous theme this year. It captures the ever-loving floral theme with subtle hues of pastel colours and is embellished with gemstones.

13. The Basic French Manicure In Red

This simple French manicure is not as simple as it appears; from any fashion timeless history, we can learn that simplicity often gives the best impression with its individual boldness, not to mention the colour red, which represents luck and abundance! This looks great with any makeup and garments. Everyone will be looking at you! — or your fingernails.

14. The ‘No Effort But I’m Here’ CNY Nail Design

Perhaps you’re not a lover of nails art, but you decide to make an exception for this time of the year. You don’t want to be too daring, but you also don’t want to miss out on the celebration. This is for you, it may appear subtle, but it will undoubtedly add a little oomph to your overall concept this year.

15. Imperial Opulence

This regal nail art is sure to turn heads! Inspired by the handpainted dragon (emperor) and Phoenix (empress) of Yanxi Palace.  It provides regal sentiments, imperial, and power. This nail art idea is undoubtedly appealing to those who are gutsy and wouldn’t mind being in the limelight.

16. Silver Glitter

Whenever you’re in doubt, silver glitter nails are a timeless design that suits the festive season. Besides, you can never go wrong with the sparkly finish. You can bet they’ll complement your makeup or even your hairstyle perfectly.

For more beauty information, make sure to follow Beauty Insider on Instagram and Facebook.