The holidays are fast approaching and if you’re looking to give your beauty routine a festive feel, nails are the easiest place to start. There’s something very joy-inducing about a fresh polish and even more so when your nails are decorated to fit a holiday-specific theme. Whether you want something classic, sparkly, or minimal, we’ve got inspiration for you. Just take it to your local nail salon or try your hand at home.
1. Classic Candy Canes
A classic for a reason, candy cane nails make an appearance on our wish list every holiday season. This nail design mixes it up with a mix of solid polish, stripes, and mini candy canes. Pick your favorite holiday shades for the plain nails and use stickers for the stripes and mini canes.
2. Confetti
These sparkly nails will see you through the holiday season in style. Luckily, this is one you can’t really mess up as the sparkles aren’t designed to be uniform. You can either buy loose glitter and seal with a coat of clear varnish or cheat and use a confetti polish.
3. Simple Santa
This minimal take on Santa nails screams chic. With the nails kept mostly bare below the red tips, the ring finger does the talking with the little Santa hat. Unless you have very long natural nails, this design works best on extensions. To get that neat red line and cute Santa hat, it’s best to use a fine nail liner brush.
4. Green Candy Canes
This design is a similar minimal vibe, this time taking inspiration from candy canes and the classic green colors. Paint the nail in a clear polish and use a nail liner brush to
decorate the tip with green and white stripes.
5. Geometric Green
Embrace the colors of Christmas with this elegant take on holiday nails. Paint alternate nails in festive green and nude pink before using a stencil to create the geometric design. Finish by adding the sparkling gem stickers.
6. Red Tips
This simple design puts a modern twist on the holiday theme. Use a stencil to create the graphic shape and a fine liner brush to paint on the two shades of red.
7. All That Glitters
We love this eye-catching design that’s sure to get people talking. Paint the nail in a light pink or nude shade before carefully placing the sparkling stickers in place.
8. The Trendy Tree
Picking one accent nail is a great way to bring some festive cheer to your nails without going overboard. With this design, use a fine liner brush to paint the tips in a sparkly green shade before drawing a simple gold Christmas tree on your fourth finger.
9. Graphic Gold
A festive take on the popular line drawing nail designs you’re seeing all over Instagram, this is a very elegant take on the theme. Paint the nail a neutral shade before using a brush or pen to paint on the gold swirls.
10. Subtle Look
This barely-there design is very pretty. Ideal for those who are looking for something subtle, paint a neutral base shade before carefully applying the small flecks of glitter and finishing with a top coat.
11. Silver Stars
For that sparkling moment, try this design. We love how it mixes glitter tips with silver stars. As always, a line brush is your best bet for getting the finish as intricate as possible but you could also use stickers for the stars to make life a little easier.
