It’s time for a sophisticated new manicure.
You need a change from the bright neons, the mundane neutrals, and the moody color palette.
What’s a color that’s simple, elegant, and stunning without drawing too much attention? Have you ever considered milky white nails?
Milky white nail color is a pearlescent shade of off-white. It falls between an opaque and sheer nail polish with a translucent creamy finish. It’s a warm white color with a very subtle creamy undertone.
Various milky white nail polish brands mix plain white with another color to get their own signature milky white hue.
Milk white color is usually mixed with one of three hues:
- Soft gray
- Pastel purple
- Pale yellow
What We Love About Milky White Nail Designs
We love milky white nail designs because of their versatility when worn with different outfits and for various occasions. Milky white nail polish compliments many colors, from warm neutrals to cool grays and bold, bright colors. It’s also an elegant color for glamorous events but casual for everyday wear.
Milky white is a feminine color that looks confident and sharp when paired with any style of outfit and accessories.
We love using various techniques and nail art ideas to play with milky white nail designs.
The most popular milky white nail techniques include:
- Marble
- Ombre
- Gradient
- Galaxy
- Tips
- Tye dye
Refer to the chart below for a brief description of each of the milky white nail techniques mentioned above.
| Technique | Description |
| Marble | Two dots of milky white color polish and a dot of glitter polish brushed together into a swirl effect |
| Ombre | Milky white and nude nail polish colors transitioned into each other from light to dark |
| Gradient | Milky white nail polish and another color transitioned together into a cascading design |
| Galaxy | Milk white nail color polish with a gold shimmer or glitter top coat |
| Tips | Milky white nail polish with a visible divide at the tip of the nail |
| Tie Dye | Milky white and another color polish brushed together on top of solid base color polish |
Get ready to be blown away by some gorgeous milky white nails ideas. We’ve gathered 24 of the trendiest milky white nail ideas from talented nail artists.
How to Get Milky White Nails
There are various ways to wear milky white nails, such as a solid color or with glitter and nail art, or nail polish finishes. One of our favorite milky white nail designs is milky white ombre nails.
Here is what you will need:
- Milky white nail polish
- Nude nail polish
- Base coat
- Top coat
- Triangular Makeup sponges
- Manicure stick
- Nail file
- Cotton swab
- Nail polish remover
Follow these step-by-step instructions to get your milky white ombre manicure.
Step #1
Start by giving yourself a mini manicure; nail polish lasts longer when you prep your nails. Use your manicure stick to push your cuticles back, and buff and file your nails.
Step #2
Apply a base coat to each nail. Wait for your nails to air dry, or dry under an LED nail lamp for 60 seconds if using a gel nail polish.
Step #3
Paint your nails with two coats of nude nail polish. Wait for your nails to air dry, or dry under an LED nail lamp for 60 seconds if using a gel nail polish.
Step #4
Grab a clean triangular makeup sponge and dip the tip in nude nail polish. Apply a quarter-inch of milky white nail polish above the nude polish.
Step #5
Press the sponge onto your dry nude nails just above the cuticle. The result should be a gradient transition from nude to milk-white nail polish.
Step #6
Grab a clean triangular makeup sponge and dip the tip in milky white nail polish. Press the sponge and the tip of each nail to build onto the milky white tips to make them appear more opaque.
Step #7
Clean the excess nail polish from around your nail using a cotton swab soaked in nail polish remover.
Step #8
Once your nails are completely dry, apply a top coat to each nail and allow the nails to dry.
Coffin Milky White Nails
Show off your confrontational side with a little bit of intentional drama. Coffin milky white nails give a bold and edgy nail shape to a soft and dainty color. We see how coffin nails provide a sharp and confident contrast to feminine nail colors.
Milky White Acrylic Nails
Milky white acrylic nails are a gorgeous way to elongate your nails with a feminine color. We love the addition of confetti nail glitter on the accent nails to give the manicure extra attention.
While it’s possible to file natural nails into almost any nail shape, acrylic nails offer the most durability for filing, a larger canvas for nail art, and milky white nails with designs.
We love acrylic milky white nails and artificial nail enhancements for several reasons:
- Versatile nail shapes
- Durability and long-lasting
- Long canvas for nail art
- Streamlined length and appearance
The chart below compares the pros and cons of milky white acrylic nails.
| Pros of Milky Acrylic Nails | Cons of Milky Acrylic Nails |
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Milky White Nails with Diamonds
As the lyrics sung by Marilyn Monroe say, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. Whether they are worn on our fingers, our ears, or on our nails, wearing diamonds makes us sparkle from the inside out.
Adorning your fingernails with rhinestones is an elegant way to decorate a classy-colored manicure. Milky white nails with diamonds are a simple way to make your manicure look stunning.
Short Milky White Nails
What do we love the most about milky white nails? It’s a gorgeous color that compliments nails of every length, shape, and size! Keep your short white nails plain and simple, or make them fancy short milky white nails with rhinestone nail art.
Milky White Nails with Glitter
It’s not a special occasion without some sparkles to celebrate! Milky white nails with glitter are perfect for celebrations or when you want a touch of shimmer to brighten your day.
There are many ways to get creative with glitter nails; choose white nails with a glitter accent nail or hand-painted glitter designs, or dare to go bold with an all-over milky white glitter manicure.
Zohna Tip
Always seal glitter nail designs in place with one to two coats of a clear top coat.
Ballerina Milky White Acrylic Nails
Twirl like a ballerina. One of the most graceful trending nail shapes you might have encountered is ballerina nails. They resemble the shape of a classic ballerina slipper.
Pink and white nails may be your first thought for the ballerina nail shape, but milky white ballerina nails paint an elegant color on the delicate nail shape.
Milky white Ballerina nail designs are popular because they:
- Elongate fingers
- Provide a canvas for nail art
- Have a practical, flattened-out tip
- Add a feminine appeal to every outfit
Milky White Almond Nails
Not to be confused with nut white nails, milky white almond nails cast a beautiful off-white color on the tapered nail shape with a rounded-out tip. Almond nails are perfect for someone who loves stiletto nails’ pointed look but wants a shorter length with a more practical tip for day-to-day wear. The nut-inspired nail shape makes the creamy milky white nails look feminine and fabulous.
Milky White Nails with Butterflies
Butterflies in our tummies signal excitement or falling in love. Butterflies on our nails symbolize change, transformation, and growth. Making a strong comeback from the 90s, butterflies can be spotted everywhere in the fashion and beauty industries. We love how these milky white nails with butterflies have an iridescent purple hue to match the nail art.
Milky White Ombre Nails
Let’s get faded. From the French word ombre, which means ‘to shade’ or ‘to shadow,’ ombre nails offer a blended way to transition colorful tips into a natural or similar color. We love the look of milky white ombre nails on a nude, pale pink, or clear base to look like a gorgeous faded French tip manicure.
Long Milky White Nails
Long nails are a feature many girls desire. Bright and bold colors often draw too much attention to fingers with long nails, but long milky white nails offer a more subtle alternative. We love milky matte white nails in the stiletto shape as it allows the attention to focus on the long, tapered shape rather than a glossy finish.
You can buy gorgeous long milky white press-on nails to DIY at home.
Milky White Nails With Gold Flakes
Let these be the golden years of your fanciest manicures! We love golden nail decor like holographic art and foil flakes for a 24-karat manicure. Milky white nails with gold flakes show the world you have exquisite taste and are proud to show it.
Milky White Square Nails
When you want to keep it simple, stick with the classics. Round and square nails are the two go-to shapes of a traditional manicure. Square nails are even in length, with a flat top and clean-cut corner. According to nail experts, the square shape is the most flattering for people with narrow nails, giving the illusion of a larger nail bed. If you want a clean and tasteful look, go for milky white square nails.
Milky White Marble Nails
Go for a milky white manicure that’s timeless and elegant; milk white marble patterns have been used for centuries in art and design. Milky white swirled with an accent color adds a touch of elegance to every space, including our nails. Milky white marble nails add a luxurious appeal to your fingertips.
Milky White Stiletto Nails
Get ready to hit the dance floor! These long stiletto nails are fit for a night out. Milky white stiletto nails give the bold, dramatic tapered nail shape a soft, humble color. They’re made for the girl who likes to show she’s sweet and sensitive but has killer confidence too.
Milky White Nails with Rhinestones
Do you have a thing for bling? If you love diamonds, pearls, and precious gemstones, you’ll love milky white nails with rhinestones. Milky white nails provide a gorgeous backdrop for metallic accents, so if you want to add some sparkle to your fingertips, add gold and silver rhinestones to a milky white manicure.
Milky White Dip Powder Nails
Imagine if we could dip into the Milky Way and swim amongst the stars? Get milky white dip powder nails if you want a beautiful creamy white manicure without damaging your natural nail beds.
Stronger than gel nails and more lightweight than acrylic, dip powder nails are a popular alternative artificial nail enhancement for flawless, durable nails.
Medium Long Milky White Nails
Short white nails are practical, and long white nails provide a large canvas nail art. Opt for medium long milky white nails when you want the best of both manicures. Medium milky white nails provide just the right space for cute nail décor, with the ease of performing everyday tasks without the fear of breaking a nail.
Milky White Nails with Gold
Are you ready to walk the red carpet? Because these nails are worthy of a golden Oscar.
Gold accents like glitter, confetti, and holographic nail art look stunning on a milky white nail color. Choose milky white nails with gold for a luxurious manicure to celebrate your next special occasion.
Milky White Christmas Nails
Red and green nails aren’t the only manicures to get in the festive spirit. Many people enjoy sparkly colors with white and cream for a more luxurious Christmas color ensemble. We love milky white Christmas nails resembling fresh snow on a white Christmas morning.
Milky White Nails with Flowers
Flower nail art never goes out of style. It’s empowering to wear nails that are sophisticated and sexy, but it’s fun to get creative with playful nail designs.
We love floral nail art because it perfectly balances cute and classy. Pair a sultry off-white shade with some tasteful roses for beautiful milky white nails with flowers.
Zohna Tip
Nail stickers are an easy and affordable way to get cute milky white nails with flowers.
Milky White Nails with Hearts
Fill your heart with love with a beautiful manicure. Show your love for your nails by decorating them with hearts! Milky white nails with hearts can be worn as cute and casual for everyday outfits, and they also look graceful and posh for fancy occasions. We love extra-long acrylic nails that offer a large canvas for multiple hearts.
Milky White French Nails
Give your French manicure a pearlescent shine by asking for milky white French nails. Bright white French nails are a timeless classic for manicures. Stand out with a milky white glow.
Milky White Gel Nails
Want gorgeous milky white nails with a natural-looking, creamy finish? Milky white gel nails offer the appeal of artificial nail enhancements while maintaining your nails’ healthy shine. Gel manicures are one of the most popular choices because of their durability and glossy finish.
Chrome Milky White Nails
Go big or go chrome! When you want an eye-catchy milky white manicure without all the busy nail art, chrome nail polish is the choice for you.
Chrome is a high-shine, metallic nail polish. What makes it unique from regular metallic nail polish is the powerful refraction that it generates, resulting in a mirrored effect. Add a chrome nail powder to get chrome milky white nails at home for a stunning manicure that’s easy to DIY.
Our Favorite Milky White Nail Polish Picks
Along with nude, pink, red, and metallic colors like silver or gold, milky white nail polish is a must-have for our nail polish shelf! You can buy milky white nail polish in various finishes and materials, such as mate, sheer, gel, classic, and milky white with glitter.
Here are four of the best milky white nail polish picks for a beautiful manicure.
Are you looking for a solid, highly-pigmented color with luminous shine? Bettles Gel Nail Polish offers long-lasting gel nail polish for flawless nails. For pearlescent milky white nails, go with the Milky White color.
Beetles Gel polishes are made of healthy, toxin-free ingredients for a safe, non-toxic polish with low odor. The polish is cured under LED light in just 90 seconds and lasts up to three weeks. The ultra-opaque colors are fade-resistant and high gloss for a stunning milk-white nail color that shines like a pearl.
The key product features include:
- Chip-resistant
- Fade-resistant
- Lasts up to three weeks
- Easy soak-off
- High gloss
Are you a woman on a mission, with no time to wait for your milky white nails to dry? You need a quick-dry nail polish with a highly-pigmented color and long-lasting results.
Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry Nail Enamel in Sheer Cotton is a glossy finish quick-dry polish in creamy white milk. Its patented silicone-based formula has a built-in top coat that rises to the top as the polish dries to form a glossy, smooth manicure. The two-in-one nail polish and strengthener leave your nails hard and strong with a pure milky white color.
The key product features include:
- Quick-dry polish
- Built-in top coat
- Nail strengthener
- Glossy finish
- Highly-pigmented color
Does an at-home, salon-quality manicure with an effortless application sound too good to be true? Well, you haven’t bought a bottle of Essie Nail Lacquer! For a gorgeous, glossy milk white color with shimmer, try Essie in Marshmallow!
The sheer-finish nail polish paints on smoothly and evenly. Essie nail polishes come with an angled brush, offering easy application for painting with both hands. The vegan formula contains no animal-derived ingredients and is free of eight common nail polish toxins.
The key product features include:
- Shimmer nail polish
- Smooth application
- Angled brush
- Vegan formula
- Glossy-sheer finish
Bring the spa experience home with professional salon-quality nail polish. When it comes to quality nail polish, you can’t go wrong with OPI. We love OPI Infinite Shine2 Long-Wear Lacquer for pearly milk white nails in Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milkshakes.
OPI Infinite Shine2 Long-Wear Lacquers are glossy creme nail polish finishes offering up to eleven days of chip-free wear. OPI milky white nail polish is a gel-like polish that delivers a high shine with no LED light curing required. You’ll have DIY milky white nails that look like a professional manicure.
The key product features include:
- Salon-quality nail polish
- Glossy creme finish
- Gel-like nail polish
- Eleven-day wear
- No LED curing required
FAQ
How to Ask for Milky White Nails?
Most salons are familiar with the popular milky white nail trend. If your nail artist needs clarification, ask them to layer your nails with a soft white nail polish base and a creamy white nail polish with a sheer finish. The convergence of the two white polishes creates a smooth milky white nail color.
What Color is Milky White Nails?
Milky white nail color is a pearlescent shade of off-white. Depending on the milky white nail polish, the color can be pure white mixed with a minimal amount of cream, pastel purple, or pale gray. Milky white nail polish has a distinct translucent-sheer finish, giving it the color and appearance of fresh milk.
What Skin Tone Goes Best with Milky White Nails?
Milky white nails flatter all skin tones. White nail polish is a neutral shade that compliments pale skin and pops against tanned skin. Choose a milky white polish with pastel purple or gray undertones if your skin is cool-toned or with cream or yellow undertones if your skin is warm-toned.
Look Your Best with Milky White Nails
Milky white nails offer a sophisticated change from your bright, neutral, or moody-colored manicures. The pearlescent finish transforms plain white nails into a glossy new color. Milky white nails are perfect for every occasion and suit every outfit. Add milky white nail polish to your shelf for your go-to nail color.
