The Best Christmas Nail Art From Instagram

With due respect to Rudolph, on-the-nose nail art isn't usually our thing. But each year, Christmas nail art suddenly feels very, very appealing just about this time in the season. (We're blaming Mariah Carey, the supermoon, and the strongly spiked eggnog.) Of course, there are a few directions Christmas nail art could take you. Some editors have a standing manicure appointment to get their tips shellacked with our Best of Beauty winning perfect red polish, Chanel's Longwear Nail Colour in Gitane. (The teensiest hint of orange in the otherwise cherry formula makes it sing against pretty much every skin tone.) There are others among us who deign to dabble with Christmas nail art, but only of the most minimal variety, like say the gilded cuticle jewelry we saw at Rodarte's spring 2017 show, or the gold to maroon shimmery ombre at Michael Costello.

And there's the final—and most festive—option. That is, embracing all things merry and bright on your fingertips for the season. To do so, we turned to the most talented manicurists working today, scrolling back through their feeds to dig up the most sensational creations. Some looked to jolly old Saint Nicholas, only evoking him with cherry red, winter white, and a few well-placed sequins—not a scratchy faux beard and a plate of cookies. Others just used the colors of the season in the most delicate way possible. And if you don't want to be subtle about things, there's a few options in here that would make your inner five-year-old swoon with holiday delight. It's the most wonderful time of the year—and these manicures can help you celebrate in style.

Minimalist Santa

Gilded Negative Space

Working with a striping brush and a mellow gold polish like , manicurist Alicia Torello drew straight lines from the center of the cuticle to the edge of the nail on either side. She then drew from the middle of the tip of the nail to the edge on either side before filling in the lines.

Festive Stripes

Holly Jolly Mani

Manicurist Frances Liang started with two coats of a soft white polish on just the ring fingers, painting a deep green like . With a striping brush and that very same shade, she painted the tiny holly leaves on one ring finger. The glitter gradient you see on the green nails was courtesy of Essie Set in Stones, which she painted starting halfway down the nail beds and stroking towards the cuticles. "The trick is getting as much clear polish off the glittery brush before applying it to the nails," she says. A glinty silver like Nars Amarapura works for the ribbons and bows; Nars Dovima is a great true red for the candy canes, which Liang created by drawing two crisscrossing J's with a striper brush and topping them off with silver swirls.

Candy Cane Cool

Winter Wonderland

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More holiday beauty ideas for the season:

1. Candy Cane Eyeliner Takes Holiday Makeup Up a Notch
2. 19 Holiday Hair Ideas For Every Type of Festivity
3. The ColourPop Holiday Collection Launches Today

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Rudolph Red

What makes this look so special is that Washick layered three different red glitters: Lady is a Tramp by Deborah Lippmann. Then I used a variety of glitters like Razzle Dazzle and Ruby Red Slippers by DL, and Mega Rocks by Wet n Wild. The variety of glitter size also adds to the wow factor. Play around with layering until you're satisfied.

Gold Tips

Reindeer Redux

Saint Nick Swirl

Manicurist Cassandre Marie started with two coats of a snow-white base like Zoya Professional Lacquer in Purity, then painted a thick and curvy stripe of horizontally along the center of the nail bed before adding black and silver borders with a skinny striping brush.

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Now go down memory lane with the most dazzling holiday looks from the past 100 years: