31 Looks: Christmas Nail Art Inspo
Is it just us or do the years zoom by faster and faster the older you get? It feels like we were just celebrating LAST Christmas, but here we are again, getting ready for all things festive. (And probably grumbling about it quite a lot along the way …) There’s nothing we can do about it, though. That time of year has arrived once again and it’s time to start thinking about the Christmas nail art inspo you’re going to use to piece together your festive looks. Thankfully, that’s something we and some absolutely fantastic nail artists can help you out with.
1 – Under the Mistletoe
In the words of Justin Bieber, “I should be makin’ a list I know, but I’ma be under the mistletoe”. And with nails like these Christmas beauties, you’ll have mistletoe to hand whenever you need it. You know, just in case someone comes along that ticks all of your kissing boxes.
2 – Holographic Snowy Christmas Nails
We have a lot of love for holographic nails. It’s one of those trends that we just don’t think we’ll ever grow out of; instead, finding new ways to rock it. And for Christmas, this is a great new way to rock holographic designs. Some hand-painted snowflakes add a brand new feel to nails that you’ve probably already done a hundred times or more already, and you could always use decals if your hand-painting skills aren’t all that great. (Like ours!)
3 – Black n’ White Snowflake Nails
How about spicing up your regular French-tipped manicure with some additional snowflakes? It’s funny how one thing — one little symbol (the snowflake) — can change the entire look of a nail design. You could turn practically any non-Christmas look into one that is suitable for winter with just a snowflake or two, and that opens up so many more manicure ideas.
4 – Blue Snowman Christmas Nail Art Inspo
More Christmas nail art inspo, more snowflakes. We love the rich blue shade used in this nail design, topped off with empty space accents used in an almost window-like way. And let’s face it, we’re all hoping to build a snowman this winter, right?
5 – The Grinch-Inspired Christmas Nail Art
If your favourite Christmas movie is The Grinch, these nails might be right up your street — and you must admit, they’re pretty cute, right? We loved the textured green nail on the pinkie and thought it recreated the look of a bristly Christmas tree fabulously. Do you agree?
6 – All Wrapped Up in Nude & White
You can’t go wrong with classic nude and white candy cane stripes at Christmas, and these ones feature delicate little snowflake designs. Take a note from this fabulous artist and go for a completely different design, following a similar theme, to really bring your nails to life.
7 – White & Festive Glitter Nails
These nails are super festive and the best news is … they’re actually *really* easy to recreate yourself. The base is very simple — white. You’ll need a base coat, plus a couple of coats of white polish, dried properly to avoid bubbles and smudges. Then go mad with decals and embellishments, anything you liked. Add a spattering of festively-coloured glitter bits and you’ve got an absolute Christmas recipe for success.
8 – Red n’ Gold Festive Nail Art
Rich reds and glistening golds make for a great Chrimbo-combo, and that’s exactly what these shorter, square-tipped designs are bringing to the table. A quick flick of a thin nail brush is all it takes to take your talons from something cute … to something SUPER cute.
9 – Frosty Blue Penguin Nails for Christmas
First and foremost, we want these winter-themed nails because the penguin on them is hella cute. But moving on from that, these long, coffin nails really are something else. Beautiful, blingy, snow-dripped and flaked … If it’s a frozen Christmas you want, these are the right nails for you.
10 – Star on the Tree Festive Nail Ideas
These nails might just be the cutest nails of the season, bringing in the Christmas tree theme perfectly. Mixing red, white, and green shades together really is a classic combination, and when you throw that gold in (in the form of the Christmas tree), you really do have something that will sparkle all season long.
11 – All the Best Christmas Things
What’s your favourite thing about Christmas? Could you name just ONE thing? We certainly can’t! There are so many fabulous things to love about the entire festive period. Hot chocolates with squirty cream on the top – that’s a definite winner. And gingerbread biscuits, candy cane, and presents all wrapped up with a big red bow. That’s what Christmas is all about, right?
12 – Simple n’ Sweet Snowflake Nails
Keep things simple n’ sweet with these adorable festive beauties. Muted shades of pale pink have been used along with matte black and shimmering silvers. See how those snowflakes turn the nails from something non-festive to totally festive? Just as we mentioned earlier on. (We’re giving ourselves a pat on the back right now.)
13 – Matte & Glitter Christmas Nail Art Inspo
Contrasting finishes are a great way to bring any nail look to life, and that is exactly what has been used in these short nails for Christmas. The matte black surrounding has been glitzed up in the centre with that triangular glitter area. Funnily enough, that centre section looks a bit like a Christmas tree, don’t you think … ?
14 – Creepy Christmas Nails
If you love Halloween more than you love Christmas, but you still love Christmas a bit, these creepy-lookin’ festive nails might just bring the inspiration you are looking for. Skeletons and spooky snowmen aren’t the usual things that you think of when Santa comes to town, but it works for us. Does it work for you too?
Making a feature out of just one or two of the nails is the easiest thing you can do make your nails a bit more festive. The cute little snowman is super easy to do too. There are some easy-to-follow tutorials on YouTube and I found this one to give you a hand:
15 – Hearts & Baubles
Who said Christmas ornaments were made just for your tree? Certainly not us! This is one of the prettiest Christmas 2019 mani ideas, combining shiny silvers with hand-painted Christmas baubles. These nails have been recreated using nail stamps, but you could just as easily recreate a similar effect with some quick hand-painting.
16 – Dashing Through the Snow
This song makes us feel like singing all of the reindeer-related Christmas carols, and we can’t work out what we love most about it — the simple reindeer designs, the winter night, ombre background, or the entire thing. Let’s go with the last one; we just love them all!
17 – 3D Festive Nails
3D nails are all the rage these days and when you check out the many awesome designs that you can recreate using them, it’s not hard to understand why. They’re not always ideal designs for day-to-day living, but if you can’t treat yourself and go a little crazy at Christmas, when can you?
18 – Cute n’ Simple Gingerbread Man Nails for Xmas
When preparing for your Christmas nail art designs, make sure that all your tools are cleaned, disinfected and ready to use. Cleaning the tools you would use on your nails is just as important as cleaning the brushes you would use for your makeup, and by avoiding this simple step, you could be causing your own problems.
You should also check the nail varnish you’re planning to use also. If the polish is too thick (because you haven’t worn it since last Christmas), you can add a few drops of nail polish remover to help thin things out and give the last few drops a new lease of life. On average, you should only expect to get about two years of life from an unopened bottle of the stuff, so as you can imagine, you will get considerably shorter from the bottle once you have opened it.
19 – Glittery Elf Christmas Nail Art
Love playing elf on the shelf? What about elf on the nail instead? We always pay so much attention to Santa and Rudolph and all the other characters that Christmas brings about, but the elves are a massive part in the whole festive cycle. Without the elves, how would Santa get everything ready in time? Let’s show them some love, shall we?
20 – Winter Knit Effect Festive Nails
We’ve gone back to winter knits, but we’re bringing some glitter into the equation with this gorgeous Christmas nail art. You could even build up the polish/paint/gel on the sweater-knit patterns, giving them even more of a 3D finish. In fact, there are lots of ways that you could tweak these and make them your own. Can you think of any? Tell us about your ideas. Better yet, show us!
21 – Snowy Textured & Stamped Christmas Nails
Snowflakes again, but this time, with a little something extra. Small pearl gems have been added to the centre of the flakes to bring them to life with a three-dimensional outcome. Who knew there were so many ways to dress up a snowflake? We never knew!
22 – Matte & Glossy Mix Christmas Nail Art
We’ve already mentioned using a combo of matte and glitter to inject some added spice to your manicure, but mixing gloss and matte finishes do the job of making them eye-catching just as well. Also, we kinda love The Grinch, so we also kinda love these nails.
23 – Cute & Pointed Snowflake Festive Nail Inspo
We’ve done elves, Santas, snowflakes, and reindeers, but what about the humble owl? It’s a favourite animal of many, and as these nails show, it’s easy to make the idea a festively-themed one. We’re saying twit-twoo to this gorgeous Christmas nail art inspo.
24 – Sweet & Simple White, Green & Metallic Xmas Nails
What about short nails? We wouldn’t want to leave out these practical delights! The snowflakes have been layered up in this sparkly little design, and we also think that this would make good inspiration for toenail Christmas art too! Because, you know, it would be a shame to leave those toes out of the party.
25 – Stunning & Shimmering Christmas Nail Art Inspo
Want something a bit festive, but not too green or red? How about these, then? We adore the way that everything has been placed over that light, white background, and there’s plenty of shimmering glitter. That’s just what you want from your festive nail designs, right?
26 – Pointed Festive & Glittery Xmas Nail Art
We want them festive and we want them pointed. Thankfully, that’s just what this Christmas nail art inspo throws into the mix. There’s some candy cane, a big red bow, and even some glitz n’ glam. What more could you possibly want from your Christmas talons anyway?
27 – We Wish You a Merry Christmas Nails
We really do wish you a very Merry Christmas, and with nails like this, you could wish everyone else a very Merry Christmas too. The best part is, you won’t even need to talk to them to do it. Perfect nail designs if you’re an introvert like most of the CherryCherryBeauty den!
28 – Christmas Sweater Style Nail Art
Why not match your Christmas nails to your Christmas sweater? It’s a look … and we mean A LOOK! We’re digging these shorter nails, proving the point that you don’t need to opt for long talons in order to recreate intricate designs. How do you prefer your nails? Long or short? What’s your favourite shape?
29 – Gold & Red Lace Christmas Nail Art Inspo
Adding in some glitz and glam and even a little bit of white lace, this simple nail look has been giving the festive treatment without the need for anything actually Christmassy added to them. Take a look at them — there’s not a bauble, a snowflake, or a Christmas tree in sight. Yet still, they look festive to me. Do they look festive to you?
30 – Ho, Ho, Ho & Mistletoe Nails
Not sure what kind of mood you’re in this Christmas? No worries! Let’s just pick a nail look that goes with all of them? Whether you want to kiss under the mistletoe, sing along to ho-ho-ho, or just enjoy a night under the stars, this nails got all of your bases covered.
31 – Black & Holographic Christmas Nail Art
There’s something about these black and holographic beauties that we just can’t take our eyes off, and it’s easily achieved with the help of a holographic background, some tape placed over that background to leave the festive shapes behind, and then a slick of black gloss over the top. Once everything is dried (properly), you can then take off the tape to reveal something that looks a little like this.
We’ve actually recreated similar looks to this ourselves and it’s much easier than it looks!
Sooooooo which one of these fabulous festive nails looks was YOUR favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
If you’ve created a nail look that you’re proud-as-punch of, show them off to us! Use the submit form so that we can feature you!
Thanks so much for taking the time to check us out today, and don’t forget to follow the artists you love and were inspired by!
