Ombré Nail Designs to Try This Christmas Season

Ombré, or the gentle transition from one colour to another, is a popular nail art style. It enables us to wear several colours in a brilliantly coordinated manner while also creating visual intrigue with no effort. It's especially enjoyable throughout the holidays, when we're drawn to festive colours and designs.

"An ombré nail design comes in all shapes, shades, textures, colours, and themes and can look like a fade in or out from light to dark," explains Lise Pavich, who is a nail artist. "An ombré can be the background or the entire design." 

Sharon Ladokun, a nail artist, says that there are other techniques to get the style. "You can ombré vertically, horizontally, or even with more than two shades of the same colour family," she tells me. To get an ombré effect on your own, use a cosmetic sponge or nail art brush to mix the colours where they meet to produce a hazy look rather than a sharp line.

If you're considering an ombré design for Christmas, explore the 20 looks below to get some inspiration.

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Deep Cinnamon

“My client wanted a deep brown/red ombré nail, which looks absolutely perfect for Christmas,” says Ladokun. “For this look, I used Aprés Nail Gel Color in Vintage Carnation ($15). Then, I used the Aer Gel Color in Maroon and Cinnamon to get that perfect deep dark brownish red.”

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Glitter Drip Tips

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Bold and bright, this ombré look features a sheer base and varying sizes of silver glitter cascading down the nail.

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Golden Supernova

DISSEYNAILS

This delicate look uses Moon Cat's I’m a MF Supernova ($14) atop Lights Lacquer's Clueless ($11). The glitter is super finely milled, which keeps the design super soft.

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Snowy Ombré

DISSEYNAILS

Snow designs lend themselves well to ombré. This design was created with Lights Lacquer polishes Bon Bon ($11) and Paper Snow ($11).

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Berry Red

Using two shades of the same hue is a really easy way to achieve an ombré. This design features a deep berry shade flowing into a bright red. Both hues also have a shimmery finish, which makes them perfect for Christmas.

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Milky Silver

KLAWSBYSONIA

Milky nails are perfect for Christmas because they have a snowy vibe. This design uses milky white as a base for a gradient of silver glitter that flows down from the bottom of the nail.

 Milky Nails Are a Modern Update to the Timeless, Neutral Manicure

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Dark Christmas

"One thing that pops in the center of an ombré fade is chrome," says Pavich. "I use this technique to provide a background."

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Frosty Shimmer

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Pale blue, white, and silver come together to create this frosty nail design. Because the white used has blue undertones, the ombré has a super subtle fade.

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Bottoms Up

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When the glitter you use has small and medium flakes, it adds a lot of depth to a nail look. This mesmerizing design features gold glitter over a milky white base.

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Jelly Sparkle

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Jelly shades make for extra fun ombré designs because they're meant to be sheer. This design features a deep purple hue that fades into cranberry. It's topped with chunky silver flakes for another layer of dimension.

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Green Aura

KLAWSBYSONIA

The ever-popular aura design is a take on the ombré. It features one shade in the middle of the nail that fades into another shade along the outer edges.

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Peachy Champagne

MELANATED.MANI

Skin-like shades like this peach look really pretty in ombré designs that fade to sheer. This look also features a whisper of matching shimmer for added interest.

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Put a Bow on It

KLAWSBYSONIA

Using After Party ($18) from Nail Bunny, this design takes the glazed donut look we love and puts an ombré spin on it. To add even more interest, the ring finger gets a pretty white bow and a pearl accent.

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Let it Snow

KLAWSBYSONIA

This nail features a matte ombré base of pale blue, which fades into purple to look like the sky on a snowy day. For accents, a thick white-and-silver glitter is used to create snow and icicles.

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Keep it Neutral

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With a nude sheer base that fades into white at the tip, this ombré design mimics an American manicure (a softer take on the crisp French). To make it festive, there is also a pretty gradient of iridescent glitter.

 American Manicures Are a Softer Take on the Ever-Classic French

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Snow is Falling

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White polish, silver glitter, and snowflake designs are the main elements of this ombré design. Most of the nails feature a white-to-nude ombré topped with fine silver glitter, and one nail per hand also has a few snowflakes.

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Moody Christmas

While Christmas looks tend to be bright and cheery, this design takes a moodier approach to the holiday with lots of black and deep crimson shading.

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Winter Fade

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White to blue is the perfect winter ombré combination. This design is topped with some silver squiggle lines for added whimsy.

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Festive Accents

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Instead of ombré being the main focus of this look, it's used as an accent in a mix-and-match style.

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Chunky Glitter

"When I’m playing around with glitter ombré and different texture techniques I use CND Shellac No Wipe Top Coat ($25) and CND Shellac Matte Top Coat ($16)," says Pavich. "If I’m doing dry pigments or glitters, I use a dry brush, as I’m pressing into wet polish."