Best Christmas Nail Art Design Ideas
Christmas is almost here! If you’re like us, you probably have a Christmas wish list going. One of the things we’re definitely going to wish for is some Christmas-inspired nail designs. Now when it comes to Holiday designs, some of you might think of those Holiday sweaters you may have gotten as a gift from one of your aunties. You know the ones we’re talking about; those sweaters that are so loud they can wake up the neighborhood! The truth is, the best Christmas nail art can be as subtle, or as extravagant as you want! We’ve come up with a few examples of Christmas-inspired nails which you can try out.
The Colors of The Season.
Xmas-inspired sparkly nails by Terezkamk.
Probably the easiest way to get your nails into the Christmas spirit is by doing them in Christmas-inspired colors. As you may know, these Christmas colors are traditionally reds and greens, and maybe some whites too. This style can also be done in glitters (personally I think the glitters look like snow, which feels even more Xmas'y, but that’s just me!) The beauty of this style mani, is you don’t have to reach for the mani remover to take the polish off right after the holidays are done.
Subtle Xmas colors in green, white and gold by Sara's Nails.
Sweet Stripes.
Ask anyone what reminds them of Christmas, and you’re bound to get a few people who’ll say candy canes. As far as Christmas nail art goes, doing your nails in candy cane stripes is another easy design to pull off. In fact, the beauty of this design is there are a number of ways to go about achieving them. On the simple end of the spectrum, you just paint stripes across your nails diagonally and you’re done! If you want something more complex, you could paint on alternating wide and narrow stripes.
Xmas-inspired candy-cane nails by Madeline.
You could even play around with the background, meaning you could have white stripes against a red background, or red stripes against a white background. You could also use two different colors for the stripes. You could even forego reds altogether and go for greens! If you decide on this nail art design, please do experiment. Who knows what you may come up with!
Another example of candy cane-inspired nail art, this time in a red over white color scheme.
Art by Justyna Grobel.
Gift-Wrapped Nails.
Speaking of stripes and candy cane, another awesome Holiday-inspired nail design is Christmas gift wrappers – we’re talking about those red, white, and green striped wrappers! This design is still relatively easy to pull off since the design is based on stripes. What makes this design different from candy canes is horizontal lines work better than diagonal ones. You’ll also need an extra green mani color to get the best effect.
Xmas wrapping paper-inspired nails by Karen Limb. Check out the other designs too.
Snowflakes, and Stars.
We still think of the holidays when we hear the word snowflake, making snowflake nails a totally appropriate Xmas-inspired design. This design requires a bit more work compared to just stripes. You’ll also need red and white manicure colors. You could start your design as an asterisk or a cross, after which you add smaller diagonal lines at the end of each larger line.
Another Holiday-inspired design that’s related to snowflakes is a 4-pointed star. Just like the snowflakes, this design will also need red and white polish colors. Also similar to the snowflakes, you start out by painting a cross pattern. You then fill out the center section of the cross with diamond-like shape and you’re done!
Snowflakes and stars by Ilijana Hazdovac.
Abstract Tree Ornaments.
Another great Christmas-inspired nail design is abstract tree ornaments. This design is more suggestive, rather than obvious, and is really easy to do. All you need is to apply red and green dots of polish against a white background and you’re done! If you want something more complex, you could make the dots larger, and paint lines from the dots towards the cuticle area to get a “hanging” effect.
Xmas ornament-inspired nail art again by Karen Limb.
Christmas Figures.
If you have your manicure skills down, you could take your Christmas-inspired nail art to the next level by actually painting Holiday-inspired figures onto your nails. Some awesome art design ideas include Xmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, and Gingerbread men.
Gingerbread men nail art by JME.Beauty.
You could also take any of the previously mentioned design ideas and craft them in a more complex style. For example, the snowflake design can be made much more intricate by adding a bit more detail.
Complex snowflakes and reindeer again by Justyna Grobel.
What You’ll Need and How You’ll Need to Do It?
Now that you’re properly inspired, let’s talk about equipment. As you might have guessed based on previous nail art articles, your best bet will be to use gel polish, dip powder, or a combination of both the get the best results. The properties of both types of nail polish just really lend itself well to this kind of nail art designs. You’ll also need a thin nail art brush to draw any fine lines.
As for the design themselves, we’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again: practice makes perfect! We’ve also suggested this before, but you could always hone your nail art skills by practicing using cheap nail polish on a smooth surface, like some plastic, or a piece of bathroom tile. Practicing with standard nail polish may feel slightly different from using gel polish – and totally different compared to dip powder – but your skills will definitely be sharpened. And as always, have fun!