ho says adulting can’t be ✨magical✨?!
Sure, you’ve got some not-so-fun responsibilities to deal with these days, but you’re never too old to enjoy your favorite hobbies, whether you’re a punk rocker or a die-hard Potterhead. And one of my personal favorite ways to add a little whimsy to my day is with a fun manicure.
Why? It’s fast, it’s affordable, and it’s a subtle way to show off your style. Plus unlike those notoriously risqué office siren outfits, a funky mani won’t land you in HR (unless there’s specifically something outlawing bold colors and designs in your company’s dress-code policy).
There’s lots of great inspo out there for fun Harry Potter nails, but we’ve done our homework and gathered the best of the best in one place. Here’s what’s on the schedule:
- Simple, DIY Harry Potter nails that show off your house pride (and you don’t need a time-turner to fit into your day)
- Dips, wraps, and nail art stickers inspired by Hogwarts and the wider Wizarding World
- Press-on nails by your favorite beauty brands and small shops on Etsy
So tear open that letter and hop aboard your magic broom, car, or train… we’re headed to Hogwarts!
DIY Harry Potter Nail Ideas You Don’t Need Magic to Pull Off
Apparating over to the salon for a fresh manicure is always fun, but sometimes the cash and time commitment just isn’t in the cards.
Luckily, there are plenty of easy Harry Potter nail looks you can pull off at home – just stock up on some polish in your house’s colors at the drugstore, grab some toothpicks for those trickier details, and you should be good to go!
Easy Hogwarts House Stripes
This is one of the most simple Harry Potter nail art designs, but it’s a classic, and with good reason. For starters, it’s pretty easy to pull off some variation of this look with polishes you already have in your collection.
You can also make it as simple (a single swipe of each house color - done!) or complex as you like, depending on how much time you have on your hands and how much experience you have with nail art.
How to do it:
- Paint each nail with one of the house colors: Gryffindor red, Ravenclaw blue, Hufflepuff yellow, or Slytherin green
- Use a toothpick or thin nail art brush to add stripes in the house’s secondary color, or simply black/white
To take it up a notch, consider adding an accent nail with a slightly more detailed design, like:
- Golden Snitch
- Deathly Hallows
- Lightning Bolt
- Sealed Hogwarts Letter
- HP for Harry Potter
- Footprints a la the Marauder's Map
Simple Hedwig Owl Post Nails
The feathered messengers of the Owl Post are an adorable (and essential) part of Harry Potter lore, especially Harry’s white messenger owl, Hedwig!
How to do it:
- Start with a double coat of your favorite white polish – no streaks here!
- Choose an accent nail for your owl face, and place two gold dots near the center of the nail – these are Hedwig’s eyes
- Use a toothpick or thin nail art brush to add a black triangle pointing toward the tip of the nails below the golden dots + two smaller dots in the center of the golden ones for your owl’s pupils
- On the rest of your nails, add a few rows of “v”s in black nail polish pointing toward the tip of your nail – they don’t have to be super precise. In fact, it’s better if they’re a little fluttery!
To take it up a notch, consider adding details, like:
- Outline the eyes
- Add a small white reflection dot to the eyes
- Shadow the “v”s with some brown or beige to add some interest to your owl’s plumage
- Add another accent nail featuring a Hogwarts letter
Marbled Hogwarts House Nails
Marbled nails look amazing, and they’re easier to pull off than you might expect! There are three basic ways to pull off marbled nails with regular nail polish: the pre-mix technique, the plastic wrap technique, or the water marbling technique.
(PS - the nails above look to be water marbled, but you can get good results with whichever option you’re most comfortable using!)
For the pre-mix technique:
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap, paper plate, palette, or another mixing surface
- Put down a stripe of each color you’re using on the surface – you want the paint to be as close as possible to touching, but it’s not worth getting your brush cross-contaminated so no need to be perfect!
- Use a toothpick to pull one color into the other and vice versa a few times
- Use a flat nail art brush to transfer the pre-mixed polish to each nail, working in wiggly/slanted stripes to get the best effect
For the plastic wrap technique:
- Place several drops of each color polish you’re using on your nail
- Scrunch a small piece of plastic wrap
- Use the plastic wrap to blot at your dots until they’re marbled to perfection
For water marbling:
- Fill a shallow bowl that’s wide enough to fit your fingers with regular, room temp tap water
- Carefully place several drops of each color onto the surface of the water, filling enough space for however many nails you’re dipping in one go
- Use a toothpick to swirl the colors together
- Gently dip your nails into the design, lifting them once the polish has adhered to them slightly
- Clean up the edges with cotton swabs + nail polish remover as needed
Harry’s Lightning Scar
If you’re looking for an accent nail to use with the house pride stripes or marbled nails above, what could be more iconic than Harry’s glasses and lightning scar? He’s the Boy Who Lived, after all!
What to do:
- Start with a base coat of your favorite polish
- Use a toothpick or thin nail art brush to add a small zigzag lightning bolt for Harry’s scar + a pair of round-rimmed glasses
Simple Sparkle “Always” Nails
Regardless of how you feel about Snape’s treatment of Harry throughout the books, the big reveal of his lasting love for Lily Potter is one of the most poignant moments in the entire series.
This simple but elegant mani has a couple of things going on.
How to pull it off:
- Do your mani as desired – we’ll be focusing on a sparkly accent nail
- Use a toothpick or a thin nail art brush to draw a small triangle + the rest of the word “Always” in cursive
- Next, go back and add the details to the Hallows at the beginning: a circle for the Resurrection Stone, a vertical line for the Elder Wand, and if you want, add an extra horizontal line to finish your “A”
Hogwarts House Uniform Tips
Looking for something a little more intricate? This cute Hogwarts House uniform manicure is more of a challenge, but it’s still totally doable!
How to do it:
- Optional: paint a small oval at your cuticle using a small amount of peel off cuticle guard. You can also just be careful to leave this part negative space – up to you!
- Give your nails a nice base with 1-2 coats of white nail polish
- This is probably the trickiest part: creating the shape of the ties. Place a dot of the tie’s base color near the center of your nail. Then, place a slightly larger dot beneath it + drag towards the tip of your nail.
- Once the tie base colors dry, use toothpick or thin nail art brush to add stripes in each house’s accent colors
- Carefully add a French tip using black nail polish
- Use a toothpick or thin nail art brush to add any other details you desire, like outlining the collar of the shirt
Hogwarts House French Manicure
Here’s another fun way to put a twist on those more basic house pride designs we already talked about – turn them into French tips!
If you can freehand these, all the more power to ya. But if you need a little extra help getting the design down without ruining the center of your nails, peel off cuticle guard is once again a great option.
Always Script
Another cute Always idea – write the message across all of your nails.
Platform 9 ¾
Platform 9 ¾ is the gateway to Harry’s adventures. It’s where he first meets the Weasley family. It marks the start of his journey to Hogwarts. And, it makes for a subtle way to pay homage to your fave series.
The images above do a great job of breaking down the process for these nails, but I’ll translate them here too:
- Start by painting your nails Harry Potter burgundy
- Add a large, white circle to the center of each nail as a base
- Once this dries, paint over the white circle with an antique book yellow
- From here, use a toothpick, thin nail art brush, or fine tipped nail art marker to complete the design with a “9 ¾” in serif font
Adorable Potter Pals Portraits
Maybe I’m dating myself as an elder millennial here, but I used to love those Potter Puppet Pals videos on Youtube – linked for your viewing pleasure!
But those simple, cartoon-y faces also translate perfectly to nail art. If you’re an expert, you can probably pull this design off freehand, but for us mere muggles, fast-dry nail art pens are a lifesafer on this one.
Acceptance Letter Nails
We’ve already talked about some of the other design elements you can use for your Harry Potter nails, but these ones came together beautifully with:
- Hogwarts acceptance letter
- Hedwig’s owl feather
- Golden snitch
- Deathly Hallows
All on a magical dark blue background with metallic dots.
Minimalist Hallows Mani
Being a school story, it makes sense that lots of these Harry Potter looks use color palettes with big dark academia vibes. But you definitely don’t have to – you can incorporate symbols like the Deathly Hallows into a subtle design in a breezy spring nail polish color.
PS – Those Invisibility Cloaks are perfect. If you want to get your triangles that sharp, you’ll probably want to stamp the shape on or use nail art tape to make sure your corners are nice and crisp.
Felix Felicis
Whoever made these Felix Felicis nails must have knocked back a vial of the potion before getting started on these because they turned out beautifully! It honestly looks like it was created using nail art pens, but it still requires some serious talent (and a healthy dose of good luck) to pull these off.
Dementor’s Kiss Nails
Perfect for Valentine’s Day? 🤔
Witches and wizards in Harry’s universe might not be eager for a Dementor’s Kiss, but the concept makes for an amazing set of nails.
This design could be recreated with thin nail art brushes or nail art markers – whichever you’re more comfortable using.
Quidditch Banner Nails
These quidditch banner nails are another example of a Harry Potter manicure that can be as simple or complicated as you like.
Most of the nails have pretty simple designs – you should be able to pull off the color blocks, checker boards, or stripes pretty easily with nail art tape or nail art pens, as you prefer.
However those hand-painted house crests are tiny works of art on their own. If you’re an artiste, you should be able to recreate something similar using brushes. If not, recreating a silhouette of the house animals should be a much easier place to start.
Harry Potter Press-Ons That Will Leave You Spellbound
Press-on nails aren’t everyone’s favorite – getting them to stick can be a battle, they always seem to be snagging on something, and they cost more than polish or nail wraps.
But press-ons also come with some pretty big perks, like more elaborate designs. Plus, if you buy high quality nails, you can reuse them. And they’re still much cheaper than a professional manicure.
Today we’re looking at press-ons that are worth the spend – specifically, hand-decorated Harry Potter nails from creators on Etsy and our favorite sets from the Glamnetic x Harry Potter collab.
Harry Potter Nails
With 7 books and even more movies and games, the Wizarding World is a rich one full of fun lore… and fun inspiration for your next manicure. These nails take their inspiration from all over Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, from the Owlery to Ollivander’s.
🎒 Shop Hogwarts and Hogsmeade-inspired designs:
- Cute Graphic Hogwarts Nails
- Harry Potter Press On Nails by nailsbytaylorlachele on Etsy
- Honeydukes Sweet Shop Nails by WitchyWondersandWare on Etsy
Gryffindor Nails
Only the “bravest and boldest” Hogwarts students get sorted into daring Gryffindor, and that includes our favorite trio of heroes/rule-breakers: Hermione, Harry, and Ron. But if your idea of being bold is more along the lines of sporting a bright red and gold manicure than chasing down Horcruxes, we’ve got some great options for you.
Especially these nails that reveal the Marauder’s Map when exposed to heat?! Seriously, how cool is that?
🦁 Shop Gryffindor designs:
- Gryffindor Red Nails
- Gryffindor Stripe Nails by LavenderNailArt on Etsy
- Color-Changing Marauder’s Map Nails
Ravenclaw Nails
Ah, wise Ravenclaw – where those of wit and learning will always find their kind! These stylish press on nail sets celebrate everything Ravenclaw stands for, with elegant, academic colors and intricate details you’ve got to pay close attention to notice.
🐦⬛ Shop Ravenclaw designs:
- Custom Ravenclaw Nails by IvieNails on Etsy
- Luna Lovegood Nails
- Ravenclaw French Tip Nails
Slytherin Nails
Cunning and ambitious, Slytherins sometimes get a bad rap. But despite the bad choices made by some of the house members and alums throughout the books, some of the franchise’s most beloved characters are members of Slytherin House – like Severus Snape and Hogwarts Legacy’s Sebastian Sallow and Ominis Gaunt. So be proud to sport your green and silver!
🐍 Shop the Slytherin designs:
- Green cat-eye Slytherin nails
- Slytherin snake nails
- Slytherin Nails by MYCollectionsCo on Etsy
Hufflepuff Nails
Hardworking and loyal, Hufflepuffs are hard not to love. Just think about House members like Cedric Diggory, Newt Scamander, and even Hogwarts Legacy’s Poppy Sweeting. You tend to be animal lovers and great friends, so show off your golden Hufflepuff nails with pride!
🦡 Shop Hufflepuff designs:
- Hogwarts Hufflepuff Inspired Nails by IvieNails on Etsy
- Golden Snitch Nails
- Golden Cup Nails
Death Eater Nails
The Death Eaters obviously aren’t the good guys, but boy do they have a cool spooky aesthetic. If you’re someone who loves a villain, these Death Eater and Dark Mark-inspired designs are perfect for you.
☠️ Shop Death Eater designs:
- Green Lace Nails by NailsbyLing on Etsy
- Deathly Hallows nails
- Death Eater Dark Mark Nails by Cillustrates90 on Etsy
Bonus ❄️ Yule Ball Hogwarts House Reusable Nails
Personally, I feel like Harry Potter fits with spooky season the best – but there’s definitely a case to be made for theHarry Potter movies around the holidays! The biggest? Obviously the Yule Ball!
These Yule Ball nails capture all of the elegance of Hogwarts during the holidays – and you can request customization based on your house, too.
Harry Potter Nail Wraps, Decals, and Dips That Will Transform Your Mani Like Magic
Now if you don’t have the time or patience for a full DIY, you’ve still got lots of fun options. Semi-DIY manicures like decals, nail stickers, and nail wraps make it easier than ever to transfigure your nails into something magical.
Here are a few examples!
Nail Stickers
You don’t have to go over the top with your Harry Potter nails to pay homage to the series. Whether you just finished playing Hogwarts Legacy or looking for something subtly magical to give your nails a fall vibe, these gold foil decals are it.
Lots of people will recognize iconic symbols like the Deathly Hallows or the golden snitch, but if you prefer a look that flies under the radar a bit more, a fellow HP fan will still recognize those stars from the books with ease.
Prefer something a little more colorful? You can also find decals that include potion bottles, full-color renditions of the house crests, the sorting hat, and more.
🪄 Shop our favorite nail stickers:
- 3D Gold Foil Harry Potter Nail Stickers by MAINSTREETDREAMZ on Etsy
- 3D Harry Potter Wizard Nail Stickers by MAINSTREETDREAMZ on Etsy
Nail Wraps
Even if your nails are short, nail wraps can be a great way to put a polish on your look in just a few minutes. The thin, self-adhesive strips can be applied directly to the nail, like a sticker – and as you can see by the example above, they come in a variety of sizes to fit your nails, much like press on nails.
Plus how cute are those Marauder's Map footprints?
Or another nail wrap option – show your school spirit with some academic plaid! The best part? The house crest is already part of the design, so you don’t have to worry about painting it yourself.
🪄 Shop our favorite nail wraps:
- Harry’s Wizard World Nail Strips by OnceUponaNailStrip on Etsy
- 100% Nail Polish Wizard World Slytherin Pride Nail Wraps by OnceUponaNailStrip on Etsy
Hogwarts House Dip Polish
If you want a Harry Potter-inspired manicure that’s cute and durable, dip powder is another option for an effortlessly stylish look. Start out with a base coat. Then just apply a layer of activator, dip your nails in the powder, and repeat until you have the desired look. When you’re done, you can finish with a top coat… and viola! You’ve got a stylish, chip-resistant mani ready to go.
Harry Potter nails are the perfect accessory for witches, wizards, and even muggles ✨
Phew – that’s a lot of inspiration! And any of these options would look great wrapped around your wand next time you cast Expecto patronum or Leviosa, or anything else the day throws at you. We hope you take these ideas and run with them – and we’d love to hear how they work out with you, so send you feedback by Owl Post (or the Contact form)!
Until then, mischief managed!
PS - We don’t own or have any affiliation with Harry Potter, Hogwarts, JK Rowling, or WB. All logos, movie stills, characters, and other IP belongs to those entities. This is a fan homage inspired by one of our favorite franchises – we hope you get some fun DIY ideas for your nails or make a purchase through the Wizarding World or an officially licensed Harry Potter merch shop. Thanks!
