What would Christmas be without nail art? I mean, technically it would still be everything it is of course, but there are just soooo many cute nail art designs you can wear.
You can go with simple snowflakes and minimalistic Christmas trees or you can get creative and think outside the box with designs including reindeer and Christmas lights and colors like fuchsia pink.
Some designs you may be able to DIY while others you may need to take to your nail technician. Either way it will be fun.
Pink Christmas Nail Art
Do you ever get bored of all the red but you still want to be festive? Pink nail polish goes with Christmas better than you may think.
This fuchsia pink nail polish blends right in with the snowy and pearly whites of Christmas. If you are into minimalism, this color is beautiful all on its own without any nail art.
Or you can decorate your pink Christmas mani with ornaments, polka dots, and snowy scenes.
If you have a dotting tool, creating these snowflakes is super easy. If you don’t have one, a bobby pin will work just as well. Just dip the tip in the nail polish and touch the nail with it where you want the polka dots to lay.
Polka dots are versatile and you can get so creative with them. You can change up the sizes and colors to create your vision, and best of all they can look like falling snow. Perfect for this time of year.
If you have a nail art detail brush, you can try painting on a cute little ornament.
It could be a simple one by just painting a circle for the ball and a line for the string, or you can get a little more detailed and paint the outline, color it in, add a bow, sparkles, or whatever your imagination tells you.
To make it a snowy scene, add some white nail polish to your tips as if you were painting a squiggly French manicure.
This would be cute enough on its own but if you want more winter vibes you can go ahead and add a cute little snowman. You will definitely need a detail brush to decorate your snowman and the results will be super cute.
Candy Canes
Of course we need some candy canes in the mix. There are so many cute ways to style them for your nails.
Painting diagonal red and white stripes on the whole nail looks adorable and festive. Wear it on an accent nail or go all out and paint every nail this way.
Or you can wear a candy cane French manicure. Paint your candy canes across the tips and down the side in a candy cane shape.
If this is too difficult, you can grab your dotting tool or a bobby pin and alternate red and white dots on the tip of each nail and down the sides in the same manner. It even looks amazing if you just do the red and white dots in a line across the tips.
Mix a little traditional with untraditional by choosing a funky green nail polish and paint tiny candy canes on each nail with your detail brush. Placement and amount of the candy canes can be different on every nail.
Red Nails
Red nail polish goes without saying for Christmas, but you can change up your red nails this year with some new nail art ideas that look trendy and modern.
One of the easiest nail designs you can do is to grab some glitter top coat and paint it onto the tips and a bit beyond, wherever you want the glitter to lay.
For a faded effect, do a second coat of glitter but don’t start at the same point. Start a little after the point where you started the first time. That way the glitter will be thinner at the bottom and you will that cascading glitter look.
Don’t want to paint your Christmas nail art look? Stamp it instead! You can find all sorts of cool Christmas stamps like snowflakes, Santa, the trendy sweater nails design, and more.
Have fun designing your own looks by changing up colors, reversing them on different nails, and adding glitter accent nails.
You can even try reverse stamping, which isn’t as hard as you would think with some practice. You can achieve a perfect Santa face with this method by painting color into the stamp outline while it is still on the stamp.
Stamping is very versatile and when you get the hang of it you can have lots of fun creating endless looks.
Most times we paint white snowflakes over red nail polish or other colors because that is the realistic view of it, but what if we painted red snowflakes onto our nails instead?
Doing that over white looks just as festive but a touch more unique. Add some solid red nails and a glitter accent nail and you are ready for the season.
Stockings anyone?
Paint the nails with red a little more than halfway up. Use a dotter tool, bobby pin, or detail brush to add the fluffy white to the tops of the stocking.
Then paint whatever you want to be in the stockings. You can add gifts, lollipops, teddy bear faces, or anything your heart desires and your hands can paint.
Add a little holly to your Christmas manicure. Holly is one of the easier things to paint so don’t be afraid to try it.
Using small strokes, paint 3 holly leaves and use your dotter tool to add the berries. Done.
Add red accent nails and you have a perfect look for the holidays.
Speaking of red accent nails, you can paint one with the rest of your nails a pretty Christmas green color.
Then add a Christmas tree by placing rhinestones into the shape of one over the red nail. If you don’t have or want rhinestones, you can paint a variation of this with a dotter tool or bobby pin.
Add a cute little star decal to the top and your tree is ready for Christmas.
Change things up with a snowy white Christmas tree painted by strategically placing brush strokes into a triangle shape.
Add some delicate stars to complete the scene, either with a very fine nail art brush or with a nail stamping plate.
Don’t underestimate the cuteness of swirls. Paint half the nail a nude shade and the other half red. Paint white swirls over the red half and add a thin line down the middle.
Get creative and paint only 1/3 of the nail red with swirls. This looks so pretty and can be worn any time of the year with any nail polish shades. Also, there is something about the nude nail polish shade next to the red and white that takes this mani to the next level.
If you like your nails to be more minimalistic, matte red nails are a great option. You still have the traditional feel of beautiful shades of red nail polish but the matte look gives it a modern and trendy twist.
And if you’re somewhere in between, go ahead and add a glitter chrome accent nail on the ring finger and a small flower on the pinkies. This is a look that is Christmas and New Year’s combined. You will be ready for both.
Non-Christmas Nail Shades with Christmas Nail Art
The same colors every year can get a little boring to some. If this is you, you may want to try some Christmas nail art over a nail polish shade that isn’t quite the traditional Christmas colors.
Rudolph nails have to be one of the cutest designs ever, they are semi beginner friendly, and they don’t have to be red or green.
Use a dotting tool for the eyes and a detail brush to paint the oval for the nose. Paint 2 crooked lines above the eyes and add tiny brush strokes to finish the antlers.
I love the idea of the added hearts in opposite colors to complete the look.
Christmas lights are such a fun design to wear. When I used to do nails I did this for my clients and they absolutely loved it. They felt it was a fresh look that they hadn’t seen before.
You can wear this nail design over any color you wish. I usually prefer a pale color like a white or a creamy nude shade so the eyes will be drawn to the colorful lights you will paint.
Start by using a very thin brush to paint the wires into a swirly loopy situation.
Then you can add different color rhinestones along the wires and that’s it! If you don’t like to wear rhinestones or don’t like it for this look, you can also just paint the lights in.
Using non-traditional colors for the lights is fun as well.
You cannot go wrong with burgundy. Ever. No matter what time of year it is, in my opinion anyway.
So here is how you make your burgundy Christmas ready: a chrome gold glitter nail.
Matching your ornaments is optional.
Whether you choose to wear Christmas nail art or you like the sophisticated look of classic shades on their own, I hope you find a manicure look that makes you happy. You deserve it.
