DIY: Christmas Nail Art Ideas

Inspiration for festive fingertips!

Everyone knows I’m the mani queen over at Sassy HQ, but surprisingly I’ve never been that into nail art. Except this time. And this time. Okay, I’m a bit of sucker for it, especially when I’m getting my nails done for a special occasion or for the holiday season. Check out my three picks for fancy nail art ideas that you can do yourself, which will complement any Sassy outfit for the season.

1. All that glitters…

This one is super easy to DIY. All you need is an awesome shade of red (I personally love Peppermint To Be from China Glaze) and a great glitter, either in gold or silver. Paint your base red – and this is the most important bit – wait until it dries and then very lightly pop that sweet, sweet glitter shade from half-way up your nail to the tip. Feel free to rock a statement glitter nail if you’re feeling bold. Paint on a high-shine top coat and wear your new mani proudly with an LBD to make it really pop at the next holiday party.

2. Three stripes, you’re out

It’s not Christmas until I’ve: a) seen Love Actually and the first two Home Alone movies and b) eaten a candy cane. I don’t care that they’ll rot my teeth; I’ll worry about the consequences in January. If you’re adamant to remain health conscious throughout December (seriously, though, why would you?) but want a little taste of a sugary sweet candy cane, this nifty nail art is super easy to do. Paint your base in a shiny, deep red; then wait until it dries. Put some masking tape or some good ol’ fashioned sticky tape (there should be plenty floating around for all that Christmas gift wrapping…) in a diagonal slant across your nail towards your nail bed. Paint the rest of your nail towards the edge green – I especially like Jade Is The New Black from OPI. Give that a few minutes to dry before removing the sticky tape and putting a fresh strip diagonally over both the red and green. The last step is to add some sparkles to the corner. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, you’re done.

3. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It may not snow in the 852, but it’s snowing somewhere else in the world. My favourite Christmas song ever (after Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas, of course, specifically the Bieber edition), is White Christmas. This little statement nail just reminds me of the Bing Crosby classic, and is easy to achieve. Step 1: find a bobby pin (I won’t judge if you pull it straight out of your hair). Step 2: dip it in white nail polish. Step 3: draw those lines over a red statement nail. Or a green statement nail. Or a blue one. It really doesn’t matter, as long as the base colour is solid and leans on the richer/darker side. If you want something a bit sparkly, dip that pin in silver glitter polish instead.

If you’re after something a little more sophisticated, feel free to trawl Pinterest for ideas – there are loooooads on there. Some of them are trickier to do and require a steadier hand. Alternatively, pull up an idea on your phone and show it to your neighbourhood nail artist.