These black nails with an accent nail design give you a fantastic way to change up your look without completely overhauling your style. Keep the chic look of black nails with the flexibility to show off your own unique style with an accent nail (or two).
We scrolled through thousands of designs from some of the most talented nail artists to find a little bit of everything. From the simple designs you can do yourself with a second bottle of polish to the more intricate designs to show your nail tech, we’ve got you covered. Remember that accent nail designs are supposed to be flexible. You could copy a design you love but you can also use this as inspiration to try something differently.
We’re starting this nail collection with these pretty matte black nails that have got a trippy accent nail. I love how the layered wavy designs look so cool and fun!Here’s a rather classy-looking black nail set that’s a combination of black French tips and a fully painted nail. I like how one nail has some multi-colored gems on the arc, which adds a bit of color to the set.One of the best things to pair with black nails is some nude nails with your added choice of design. This one’s a bit more elegant and soft as it contains a bunch of flowers.Painting your nails black usually results in really sultry looks. However, the accent nails on this set were able to lighten the look and add some soft heart details.Here’s a gorgeous standard square-shaped nail set topped with thick black French tips. The accent nail is simply topped with a nice silver cross which adds a bit of edginess to the look.Here’s another nail set painted with some matte black polish. I really like how the white nails and the gold glitter lightened this entire look.Here we’ve got a pretty square-shaped black nail set that’s got a chic accent nail. I really love the abstract curves and waves that add a bit of lightness to the look.Here’s an almond-shaped nail set that’s designed with some black polish. I really like how the accent nail is just as simple as the rest of the nails.Here’s a long nail set topped with some thick matte black Frenchies. I really like how they added this pretty white butterfly wings accent that adds some daintiness to the look.Here’s a full black nail set that’s paired with some milky white nails. I like how the accent nails have some black leaves, which tie together well with the plain black nails.If you’re looking for a sharp and edgy nail set, we’ve got one just for you. Check out these long matte black stiletto nails that are paired with this rough, edgy accent nail.For all of our girls who are a fan of the classic long French tip look, we’ve got an accent nail idea for you! Try adding some gems of different sizes and see how much it changes your entire look!We’ve got a nail set for all the short nail lovers out there. Here are some fully black nails paired with a micro Frenchie with some cute black and white cherries!Black nails can sometimes be a bit too dark for your liking. If so, you can simply pair it with a white nail and top it with some cute white flowers.We’ve got another short nail set painted with black polish. The geometric lines are a really nice touch as they keep the look simple and clean.If you’re looking for a nail set that’s bright and bold, then we’ve got one just for you! I absolutely love the red stiletto-shaped accent nails, which just makes this look so alluring.Here’s a set for all of our French tip enthusiasts. I really like the glitter teddy bear accent nail, which adds dimension to this look.If you feel like your black nails are too dull, you can try adding in a bright nail topped with some gold foil and leaf designs. Here’s another black nail set that’s paired with a nice bright nail. The accent nails are topped with some line art filled with gold foil. This nail set is for all the Batman lovers out there! A short black matte set like this will suit almost any design so why not show a little fandom with some Batman nail art?Here’s another full black nail look that’s got some simple accent nails. I really like how the milky white nails brightened the look while the black heart kept the entire look more cohesive.We’re going for something a bit wild with these animal print nails. There are so many animal prints you can try; just choose your favorite one!Here’s a nail set that I would recommend for all the girls who have a special occasion coming up. I love how there are some subtle additions of shine through the glitters and gems.Here’s a really cohesive nail set! Even if the accent nail is bright and full of color, it doesn’t differ too much from the rest of the nails as they contain some multi-colored micro glitter as well.Here’s another simple black nail set that’s paired with a really trippy design. These checkered nail patterns look like a chess board that’s warped.Just because you have plain black nails doesn’t mean you can’t add color and elegant elements to your look. I love this pretty deep rose accent nail topped with glitter.The amazing thing about nail sets is that you can create an accent nail just based on your polish topper. The accent nail base is painted with a matte finish and is topped with a glossy diagonal tip.Here’s another nail set that you could wear to a formal occasion. I like the tiny added colored details, such as the gem arc and the glitter ombré.In this nail set, we’re keeping things a bit more straightforward. You can easily change your look from sultry to classy by adding a couple of gems!I love this really classy nail set. If you prefer nail sets that don’t include too many designs, I’d definitely go for this one!We’ve got another nail set that plays around with different finished. We’ve got some gloss coats, matte coats, and even a nice texture glitter design, which adds dimension to the look.Just because you’re rocking some jet-black nails doesn’t mean you can’t have color in your set! I absolutely love the multi-colored gem-coated accent nail!Here’s another nail set featuring some animal prints. I really love how playful a nail set becomes once you add a cute little cow print.Here’s a black nail set that’s pretty easy to achieve. You can easily lighten a look by painting it a light color and adding some gems to it.You can definitely wear short nails to formal occasions! This one’s pretty simple as it’s combined with a diagonal tip with some glitter on top.Here’s another design you could follow if you’re aiming for a formal nail set. These pretty silver chunks are a nice texture addition.Here’s an interesting black nail set that keeps the flame of love alive! I love the combination of the flame and the word “amor” written on one of the nails.When you have a black set, you may be afraid to add some really bright nails to the mix. This set shows you that it’s perfectly okay to do so!If you find that black nails are a bit too overwhelming, you can simply pair them with some natural pink nails with some minimalistic black designs.We’ve got another nail set that’s taken the wilder route. I definitely prefer colored animal prints paired with some black nails better than black and white ones.When you deal with black nails, you’ll quickly realize that it doesn’t take much to really switch up your look. Adding a bit of glitter can easily transform your look!Here’s another nail set that pairs plain black nails with some glitter. I like how these are some really clean-looking glitter tips instead of scattered glitter.It’s quite easy to pair black nails with other designs, especially when they’re painted in black as well!If you don’t like the look of full black nails with a glitter accent, you can make the look a bit less intimidating by spreading some shine on the other nails.Here’s quite the interesting nail set. This set was able to make this entire look more cohesive by adding some black glitter.Here’s another nail set that shows that less is more! Even if this design only added a couple of glitter circles, it already looks so much different!We’re ending this nail collection with a small little astrology design idea! You can simply add your astrological sign on your accent nail to make it more customized for you.
If any of these black nails with accent designs speak to you, try it for yourself! If you send us a photo, we’ll even cover your next manicure! Our inspiration photos come from user submissions and open sources and we’ll always give credit. All of the fantastic styles belong to their respective owners. If we’ve got a credit wrong or you’d rather we don’t feature you – just drop us an email.
You don’t need to stick to one of these designs. If you find something you sort of like you could take a look through our nail art section to find something that inspires you.
