The weather is already getting cool in most places and I have found so many beautiful winter nails for you to try that you could have new styles throughout the entire season! Whether you are new to adding cute embellishments to your nail polish, looking for ideas to take to your manicurist, or if you’re a DIY nail pro, you’ll love these winter nail designs and ideas!
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You Should Try Winter Nails this Season
The weather is getting cold (quickly where I am), the holidays have already begun, and everything sparkly and bright is right around the corner.
Winter is such a fun time of year. There is snow and ice, lights and glitter, and gifts and family. While winter has tons of wonderful things, sometimes the darkness and cold can get to you. So this year, keep yourself cheery with fun and beautiful winter nail designs!
I’ve found a lot of cute winter nails so split them into different categories to help you find what you’re looking for.
- Blue winter nails
- Red winter nails
- Pink & purple winter nails
- Holiday winter nails
Blue Winter Nails
It is so easy to pull off blue winter nails. The cold and ice bring out every blue and white. Add a little sparkle, and you’ll have some perfect winter nail designs.
Bright Blue and Snowflakes
For a simple but beautiful nail design pick your favorite shade of blue and paint little detailed snowflakes all over it. If the snowflakes are a bit too tough you can get snowflake decals to apply instead and then lacquer over them.
Blue Icicles
This simple design can be completed by anyone, even a novice with their non-dominant hand (with a little practice). An icicle can be created by starting with a white dot near the cuticle of your nail and then dragging the paint downward with either a fine-tipped paintbrush or a toothpick.
Blue and Green Mixed Christmas
From @nailedbyrebeka
I love that this beautiful winter nail design features so many wintery designs in a cohesive way that looks stunning. A matte navy blue and forest green pair perfectly to bring this mix of festive nails.
Classy Holiday French Tips
From @nail_gal_
How gorgeous are these crisscross French tips with glitter?! If you could get them to last these nails would look stunning from Christmas right through New Year’s Eve!
Blues, Whites, and Sparkles
By using a variety of soft blue colors, whites, silvers, and some simple snowflake designs, you can have stunning winter nails in a snap.
Starry Winter Night
From @Pastelpolished
With how dark the days and how long the nights are in winter, starry night nails make a perfect winter nail design idea.
Sparkles and Stars
This is such a creative blue winter nail design idea. Begin with a sparkly dark blue base on the entire nail. Then paint light blue/aqua French tips on top. Across the tip, place patterns of nail art stickers and rhinestones. This festive nail is perfect for all winter long.
Glitter and Metal
Nothing will shine brighter than this winter nail design. This look is created with glitter nail wraps. Nothing else quite brings that dense glitter shine as brightly. You can complete the metallic nail with either light blue metallic gel nail polish or a metallic blue nail wrap.
Blue Glitter French Tips
If the glittery nails pictured last were too bright for you, why not try French tips but completed with glitter and a few rhinestones? These snow queen nails are sparkly, snowy-looking, and classy.
Blue and White Marble
No matter which pattern you choose to create on your winter nails, if you stay within a white and blue color scheme and add some glitter your nails will look perfectly wintery. A perfect example is these modern marbled winter nails.
Red Winter Nails
Red is in season from fall through winter but really makes us think of Christmas the most. Use these nail designs any time during the winter but absolutely during December.
Red French Tips with Snow
Your snowflakes don’t have to be as complicated as the ones above. You can simply add tiny white speckles all over your nails to give the appearance of freshly fallen snow and they will still turn out impressive.
You can give off Christmas sweater vibes with your nails by making a simple repetitive design like these stripes and snowflakes over red.
Red Glitter and Pine Boughs
From @nailhustle
These winter nails feature pine boughs and red berries going down the length of two nails while the rest feature red glittery nails. You can either use a polish that is red and glittery to begin with or paint a bright red with a glittering red as the lacquer. Glitter nail polishes make fantastic lacquer and look very festive.
Snowflakes and Red French Tips
From @Lillypalm_
You can also blend together some nails having French tips in various holiday colors and some with holiday designs.
Pink and Purple Winter Nail Designs
You do not need to stay within the traditional winter color schemes to pull off stunning winter nails. If you add the right sparkles or designs you can even make pink and purple designs become a perfect winter nail idea.
Purple with Snowflakes
From @jennireevenails
Here is a great example of turning a beautiful nail in your favorite color into a winter nail design by adding a simple snowflake on top. This looks great on any colored nail.
Pink Rhinestones and Snowflakes
If you have acrylics or really long nails (even if they aren’t nearly as long as those pictured here) you can make a feminine winter nail design by arranging rhinestones in a pattern across various nails and painting large snowflakes featuring a rhinestone inside of each.
Purple and Glitter
Glitter looks like sparkling snow so it can give any nail color a wintery look. Try painting a deep color like this purple onto your nails and sprinkling loose glitter in various sizes on top before it dries. Don’t forget to coat the glitter with a good quality clear lacquer.
Glitter Gradient Nails with Tutorial
From @pastelpolished
Instead of simple glittery French tips why not try a glitter gradient? It looks super impressive and can be done in any color. The base here is a natural light pink but can be any light color as well. Learn how to complete this look here.
Baby Pink Tips with Chrome Stars
From @nailhustle
Chrome stars even with pink can be perfect for Christmas or New Year’s and beyond. This feminine color combination sends perfect girly winter vibes.
Winter Holiday Nail Designs
If you are looking specifically for Christmas nails I have a post with 45 Christmas nail designs you will love! There you will find things like Santa hats, candy canes, and everything presents and ornaments. Some of the nails below could be used for Christmas like gingerbread men, but these are more for the whole holiday season. You’ll find some for Christmas, New Year’s, etc.
Sparkly New Year’s Eve Nails
Gold, glitter, and stars built into stardust across your nails are the perfect design to feature for New Year’s Eve night! You can see the tutorial for these winter nails here.
Glitter Gold Nails
From @nail_gal_
New Year’s Eve deserves all the bling, so make sure your nails shine! This golden sparkle can be completed with gold glitter gel nail polish or gold glitter nail wraps.
Fancy New Year’s French Tips
This criss-cross French tips style is just stunning for the holidays. Use nail tape to complete clean lines and look super classy when you recreate this style.
Gingerbread Men
From @nailhustle
Winter is baking season and cookies abound. That’s why I love these gingerbread man-inspired nails. Using only brown, white, and gold and a little time for details, you too can have cute gingerbread men dancing across your fingernails.
Metallic Color Change Nails
From @nailhustle
Chromed-out metallic nails can set a major statement for New Year’s Eve. Pick up some metallic color change nail polish and if you want to add an extra snazzy flare, line the nails with black trim as well.
Sweater Nails
From @nailedbyrebeka
Sweater nails are perfect for any time the weather gets cool. All the way from fall until winter. Embossed nails look really cool and can look great in any color.
Green Tips with Snowflakes
From @Pastelpolished
These green French tips topped with a coat of fine glitter look perfect for the holiday season. Classy and festive, you can pull these off all winter long.
Green Holiday Plaid
From @Pastelpolished
These muted green holiday plaid nails will remind everyone of that favorite flannel they wait all year for the weather to get cool enough to pull out from the back of the closet.
Fancy Sparkly Gold Tips
From @jennireevenails
You can take so many twists on a French manicure to make it suit the holidays. Use a color for the tip, use two colors for the tips, or wrap the tips around the sides like this golden design.
Frenchies with Snowflakes
From @Lillypalm_
If you don’t want a bright color featuring a snowflake, you can add a design like a snowflake on a clean fresh French manicure too.
Gingerbread French Tips
From @Lillypalm_
Interchange brown and white French tips with little gingerbread men on them for a creative vibe.
French Manicure with Huge Stars
Can you believe these stunning holiday nails are purely hand painted? Watch the nail painting tutorial here and learn some new tricks to pull off a look like this.