Hawaiian Flower Nails: Tropical Floral Nail Art Tutorial with Meg

Dreaming of sunshine and sandy beaches? In this tutorial, Meg creates Hawaiian flower nails with a Hawaiian Tropic theme, starting with a warm, sheer nude French tip. She builds a beachy brushstroke tip in yellow and orange, then hand-paints tropical flowers with outlines, highlights and fine white details under a matte finish.

These Hawaiian flower nails are full of holiday energy. The soft nude base keeps the look grounded and realistic, while the brushstroke tip brings in a warm, wood-like texture that feels straight out of a beach bar. The coral, plum and yellow flowers on top add a hand-painted, retro charm, and the matte finish ties everything together with a modern edge.

This design combines several satisfying techniques in one nail. You'll mix your own sheer nude, create a brushstroke effect with a tapered brush, paint freehand flowers and finish with fine linework. Each stage builds on the last, so you can see the design come together step by step.

It's also wonderfully flexible. Meg uses Sherbet Lemon and Mimosa for the tip because she found they gave the most Hawaiian vibes, but you can use any colours you like, and she suggests turquoise greens and blues would also look great. Hawaiian flower nails are a joyful way to bring a summer holiday mood to your fingertips, whatever the weather.

Mix Base Coat and Biscuit Crumbs half and half. Biscuit Crumbs is a really warm nude, and mixing it with base coat makes it more transparent, so the finished look is more like a realistic French.

Apply two coats of your nude mix, using your full brush to cover the whole nail bed. You don't need any fine liner brushes for this. Cure.

Pop a couple of dots of the yellow, Sherbet Lemon, down on the tip first, then go in with Mimosa, the opposite shade. You can do this with any colours, but Meg found these two gave the most Hawaiian vibes.

Take a tapered brush and use really light, gentle brush strokes to blend the colours. Less is more here, as too many strokes will lose that beachy wood effect. Add a little extra colour here and there, such as more yellow, to get your desired shade and brushstroke effect, then cure for 60 seconds.

Using Dragon Fruit, a pinky coral colour, paint the shape of a Hawaiian flower. Fill the flower in rather than leaving it empty, and add two little leaves coming off it.

Paint another two small flowers in different styles: Meg went for a cartoon-style flower and a daisy above it.

Using Sour Cherry, a deep plum shade, outline the main flower and add some small dots to the smaller flowers.

With Dragon Fruit and Sherbet Lemon, create some small flicky lines off each corner of the nail; you can layer these as well. Inside the main flower, add some light lines with Sherbet Lemon.

Finally, outline the French tip using the plum shade. Meg feels this really sets the look off.

Apply the Matte Top Coat, which goes matte within a couple of seconds in the lamp. Then take Snow White and add extra fine line details in the centre of the flowers and around the sides and lines. Finish the last little highlights, then go back in with the matte top coat to make sure everything is sealed.

• Mix your own sheer nude. Half Base Coat and half Biscuit Crumbs makes a really nice, realistic nude base for French tips.
• Less is more with brushstrokes. Keep the strokes light and few, or you'll lose the beachy wood effect.
• Seal your details. Go back over the white highlights with matte top coat so everything is sealed in.
• Try cooler tones. Meg suggests turquoise greens and blues would also look great with this design.

These Hawaiian flower nails are perfect for anyone heading off on holiday, or anyone who simply wants a burst of summer on their nails. The warm colours and playful flowers suit beach trips, festivals and summer parties, and the sheer nude base keeps the set wearable.

For nail techs and enthusiasts, Hawaiian flower nails are a great project for practising freehand florals and fine linework. The flowers don't need to be identical, and the brushstroke tip is deliberately loose, so there's room for your own style to shine through.

Try these ideas to personalise the design while keeping the same techniques:

• Swap the tip colours for turquoise greens and blues, as Meg suggests, for a cooler tropical look.
• Change the style of the smaller flowers, painting more cartoon-style flowers or more daisies.
• Paint the full design on accent nails and keep the brushstroke French tip on the rest.
• Add more flicky lines off the corners for a busier, more energetic look.

A little aftercare goes a long way with any gel manicure. Apply cuticle oil regularly to keep the skin around the nails hydrated, and wear gloves when cleaning or washing up to protect the finish. Avoid using your nails as tools, and don't pick or peel at the gel, as this can damage the natural nail underneath.

Matte finishes can show marks from oils and creams, so keep your hands clean and handle the nails with care. When it's time for a change, have the gel removed properly rather than peeling it off.

Mix Base Coat and Biscuit Crumbs half and half. This makes the warm nude more transparent, so the finished French looks more realistic.

Dot Sherbet Lemon and Mimosa on the tip, then use a tapered brush with really light, gentle strokes to blend them. Keep the strokes few to hold on to the beachy wood effect, then cure for 60 seconds.

The main flower is painted in Dragon Fruit, a pinky coral, and outlined with Sour Cherry, a deep plum. Sherbet Lemon adds light lines inside, and Snow White is used for fine details.

Meg adds the Snow White details after the first matte coat, then goes back in with the matte top coat to make sure everything is sealed.

With a sheer nude French, a beachy brushstroke tip and hand-painted tropical blooms, these Hawaiian flower nails are pure summer fun. Watch Meg's full video tutorial above, gather the products listed, and paint your own little slice of paradise.