Pastel Nail Designs + Our New Milky Dip Powder Collection

What is spring without cute pastel nails! Get excited for a burst of colors with these Hollywood-worthy pastel nail designs—including milk bath nails—that'll make you feel like a million bucks.

But first things first…

What are pastel colors, technically?

Pastels are pale shade that you get by mixing lotsa white into another color. Here’s the formula, for example: white + purple = pastel purple. The more white you add, the paler the pastel shade will be.

When applied to dip nails, pastel can have either an opaque look or a transparent look. With Dipwell dip powders, you get more opacity with our regular pastel dip powder colors and more translucence with our newest milky pastel dip powder shades.

(Left) PA19 Pastel Purple, (Right) MK05 Milky Pastel Purple

Notice the difference?

PRO TIP: The more coats you apply, the more opaque our regular pastel dip powder shades will look.

Now, let's see these soft, delicate colors in action. We'll start with our brand new dip powders: The Milky Collection.

1. Pastel nail colors on milk bath nails

Luxurious milk baths don't happen in bathtubs alone. This popular pregnancy photoshoot backdrop has now taken the nail world by storm, and with our latest milky dip nail shades, you can hop on this perfect-for-spring nail trend, too.

(Fun fact: Tiffany Burke is said to have started the milk bath photography trend back in 2015. “An expecting mother is strikingly beautiful and this felt like an artistic way to showcase that,” she said.)

In the self-care version, you fill your bathtub with warm water, milk and some flowers for good measure. Sounds soothing, doesn't it?

In the dip manicure version, all you need are these four new colors from The Milky Collection—in both shimmer and non-shimmer variants.

• MK01 Milky White: Excited to try on some milk color nails? Dip your toes (and fingers!) into the milk bath nails trend with this creamy, semi-transparent white shade.
• MK03 Milky Blue: Capture the shade of spring skies, or the color of beautiful blue blossoms, right on your fingertips. Now that’s a perfect pairing for your floral dresses.
• MK05 Milky Purple: Wear this prettiest semi-transparent purple reminiscent of lovely lavenders, and it’ll finally look like spring has sprung on your acrylic nails.
• MK07 Milky Pink: This super sweet shade is what you need for the perfect strawberry milk nails. What are strawberry milk nails? Keep reading. We’ve featured a picture below.

If these milky nail colors aren’t already the dreamiest and creamiest of pastel shades, we also have them in sparkly form. Hello, magical spring dip nails! Thanks to the fine-grain glitter similar to the shimmer of our bestselling GL44 Ultra-sparkly White & Silver.

MK02 Milky White Shimmer | MK04 Milky Blue Shimmer | MK06 Milky Purple Shimmer | MK08 Milky Pink Shimmer

Traditional milk bath nails mimic the maternity trend we described above. You encapsulate dried flowers or flower decals using milky colored acrylic powder. You can use this nail art on your accent nail or you can do a full set of milk bath nails.

Today, we're giving you more options with our pretty twists on the milk nails trend.

Multicolor Milk Bath Nails

If it's hard to choose which milky shade from our latest collection to try first, why not use all four! With this milk bath nail design, you'll end up with a concoction of milky colors that looks oh-so-dreamy. Learn how to DIY this dip mani with the Milk Bath Nails with Milky Dip Powder tutorial.

Strawberry Milk Nails

Spring season just started, but if you're already looking forward to waaay warmer weather, here's a summery milk bath nail art—with strawberry accents to boot—to tide you over. But why wait? These colors are just as suitable for spring!

Marble Milk Bath Nails

There can never be enough versions of the marble nails. We have the traditional marble mani, the jade mani, the rose quartz mani, and now we have the milk bath version, too. Here's the tutorial for this latest addition to our marble mani how-to collection: Milky White Marble Nails.

In between dip manis, just in case you want to take a break from milky pastels, you can absolutely still remain on-trend. Just opt for the following mani of milky variety.

Milky Nails as seen on Lizzo

Did you know that the inception of the milky nails trend has something to do with the Grammy award-winning musician who sang "I do my hair toss... Check my nails... Baby, how you feelin'?" Yup, and you gotta love this semi-opaque look that you can wear anywhere and everywhere.

Image Source: Lizzo

Almond milk nails as seen on Lily Depp

How did this elegant manicure earn its name? Because it's applied on almond-shaped nails using a milky color. It's sheer, creamy, and, dare we say it, a new way to wear nude? Almond milk nails were created by Fariha Ali of Nailjob.

Image source: Fariha Ali

Oat milk nails as seen on Rumer Willis

If almond milk nails are like the clear lip gloss for nails, oat milk nails are the no-makeup makeup look. "It's just extensions meant to mimic natural nails," says Fariha Ali. She created it for a client who wants super natural-looking nails while adding some length.

Image source: Fariha Ali

If you want to recreate these your-nails-but-better looks using dip powder, use our MK01 Milky White or MK07 Milky Pink colors and follow the tutorials for using faux nail tips or coffee filter if you need to add length.

And there you have all the deets for all things milk color nails.

Ready for some regular, non-milky shades from our pastel dip powder collection?

2. Pastel purple dip powder nails

The color purple is touted as the color of royalty as it's tied to kings and queens from way back ancient times. And if it's good enough for ancient royals, it's certainly good enough for billionaire Kylie Jenner. Who can forget her hair-to-toe lavender look at the 2019 Met Gala?

Image Source: Versace

For Kylie Jenner-esque acrylic nails this spring, here are the swatches from our pastel purple collection.

PA7 Dark Purple | PA3 Bright Periwinkle | PA19 Blue-Lilac

And if you want to do it marble-style, here's the Multicolor Marble Nails tutorial featuring PA7 Dark Purple. Simply replace the other colors with PA3 Bright Periwinkle and PA19 Blue-Lilac for an all-purple pastel marble look.

3. Pastel blue dip powder nails

Thanks to ancient Egyptians who invented the color blue, if not for them, we wouldn't have that memorable monologue by Miranda Priestly about cerulean sweaters. Or would Cinderella's ball gown look as good in any other color?

Image Source: Daily Mail

For the 2015 Cinderella film, British actress Lily James wore a magical gown made of fabric in many shades of shimmering blue. You can have the same happily-ever-after effect on your spring dip mani with our wide array of pastel blue shades.

PA12 French Blue | PA13 Shimmery Aqua | PA21 Pacific Blue | PA17 Blue-Gray | PA5 Light Blue

You can do a gradient dip mani using all five colors. But if multicolor negative space nails is more your speed, we have a tutorial for that, too, featuring our PA5 Light Blue and PA19 Blue-Lilac shades. 

4. Pastel pink dip powder nails

It was after the Civil War when the color pink hit mainstream America. In more recent decades, this has been the color of some pop culture iconography. And, oh, did you hear a new Legally Blonde movie is currently in the works? Yasss! Our favorite pink-obsessed heroine will be back. We don't object!

Image Source: Allure

But you don't have to wait for Elle Woods to return in 2022. You can have Legally Pink dip nails (see what we did there?) using the many pink options from our pastel collection. 

PA4 Coral Pink | PA1 Cool Pink | PA10 Ballerina Pink | PA9 Translucent Pink | PA14 Pink Neutral

Snaps for all these pretty pink colors! Lucky you, we also have pink-themed pastel nail designs that you can recreate with any of our pastel pink shades: pink gradient nails, rose quartz nails, and heart glitter mani.

5. Pastel green dip powder nails

In ancient Egypt, green was the symbol of regeneration and rebirth. That makes it a perfect spring color! And when thinking about iconic green dresses for our spring dip mani inspo, only one legendary frock came to mind.

Image Source: InStyle

The colors of JLo's semi-sheer, palm tree-print Versace chiffon dress have been called many names: jungle green, sea green, tropical green. If you want the same shades on your dip nails in pastel, these are the colors we recommend.

PA2 Soft Jade | PA16 Seafoam Green | PA15 Light Green

To achieve a nature-y pastel nail design, apply a jade dip mani using PA16 Seafoam Green and PA15 Light Green. 

6. Pastel yellow dip powder nails

Sunny days are here, and so are the many shades of Illuminating Yellow in many spring 2021 trends. And what's the best print to pair with the Pantone Color of the Year? Plaid—one of the print trends for spring/summer 2021.

Image Source: Popsugar

There's nothing clueless (as if!) about this trendy combo that Cher has been rocking since 1995, and we have the perfect pastel yellow to match it for your spring dip mani.

PA11 True Yellow

We also have a Plaid Dip Nails tutorial inspired by Cher's iconic yellow plaid suit. We used CL66 Sunflower Yellow in this tutorial. Just replace it with PA11 True Yellow for a more springy pastel look.

7. Pastel peach dip powder nails

The color peach got its name from the shade of the inside flesh of the peach fruit. In the fashion world, there's no other peach-colored dress as memorable as the one that First Lady Jackie Onassis wore during a trip to India in 1962. A look that has been recreated by Big Little Lies actress Zoe Kravitz at the SAG Awards last year.

Image Source: Harper's Bazaar

If you want this pretty-in-peach color on your dip powder nails, the closest shade is the lone peach hue in our pastel collection.

PA20 Pastel Peach

It's an effortlessly stylish color that perfectly matches a minimalist pastel nail design. Look at this Sweet and Simple Dip Powder Mani tutorial featuring NA02 Light Peach from our naturale collection. You can easily switch it out with PA20 Pastel Peach, and it'll look just as good with the itty-bitty red heart design. 

8. Pastel multicolor dip powder nails

If you have a robust dip powder collection, it’s totally understandable if you're always itching to switch nail colors. Who wouldn’t feel that way, right? That's where pop superstar Taylor Swift comes in. Before Folklore and Evermore, there was Lover. It's the gift that keeps on giving many pastel dip nails inspiration.

To do a dip mani version of Ms. Swift's album cover, you will need the following pastel dip powder:

PA1 Cool Pink | PA4 Coral Pink | PA16 Seafoam Green | PA18 Light Teal | PA19 Blue-Lilac | PA20 Pastel Peach

Then follow the step-by-step instructions on our How To Apply a Pastel Gradient Dip Mani tutorial. 

Ta-daaa! It’s pastel color galore!

Here's another Taylor Swift dip manicure inspo.

For this look, you will need the following pastel dip powder:

PA11 True Yellow | PA19 Blue-Lilac | PA15 Light Green | PA1 Cool Pink | PA6 Medium Violet | Natural Pink

And here's the How To Create a Pastel French Dip Mani tutorial for you to follow. You can use PA11 True Yellow instead of NE05 Dayglo Yellow for an all-pastel French tips. 

Et voila! A French mani with a twist.

Here's to a season of pastel, milk bath nails, and strawberry milk nails!

Are you inspired yet?

We hope the glamorous celebrities we featured on this article—from Lizzo to Taylor Swift—helped!

Want more stylish looks?

Take a peep at The Complete Guide To Spring 2021 Nail Trends for other spring inspo.

Then shop from our 21-color pastel dip powder collection or 8-color milky dip powder collection.

Finally, don't forget to share your nailfies with us at DipWell's Dipper Club on Facebook or @dipwellnails / #DoYouDipWell on Instagram.