Most of us put in a great deal of preparation when it comes to dressing up for a special occasion. When there’s a special party or a wedding on the calendar, we first consider what outfit we want to wear, what shoes will look good and how comfortable they need to be (depending on the party duration and how much travelling you’ve got to do in them), all so we can shop in advance. Then there’s the hair and nails to think about, because salon prices go up at this time of the year.
I love a good holiday manicure, because you can get as festive and thematic as you want! This year, we’ve already put together a collection of ombre manicures and shiny new chrome nail designs (which were pretty much the biggest nail trend this year), so this one is a slightly more conventionally festive round-up of nail art! It’s got enough sparkle if you’re hankering for something glam, plus a couple of chic designs like “glass” nails thrown into the mix for something a tad trendier.
So scroll through the designs and mini tutorials, some of which come courtesy of Singapore nail salons! We hope that something here inspires your own festive manicure.
These nails do have some chrome in them, but I had to include them because I can’t resist a rose gold manicure! This is a creation by Eunice Tan, a home-based nail technician whose Instagram feed is well worth scrolling through for some stunning designs. We can’t decide which we love the most (but her unicorn nails are an absolutely adorable stand-out)!
Another nail set by a local home-based nail artist, this one combines glitter and “glass” nails perfectly! I love the black base colour on the glass nails because it makes for a more versatile mani and keeps the manicure from looking too pastel and saccharine sweet.
Another mani from a local salon keeps things simple but interesting with a unique twist on the French manicure! The black glittery French tip is also pointed instead of the natural curve of a typical white tip, which ups the edginess considerably.
This set of nails is by a local nail and spa salon called Bejeweled. I love the glitter with the Christmas details, and it seems the salon is having a holiday promotion too if you want this mani for yourself!
This mani by The Nail Social is the first time I’ve seen such a pretty a chrome nail gradient draped over a regular nail polish colour. The gradient flecks of chrome almost look like really fine glitter, and the colour combo is simply stunning!
The rest of these sparkly manicures aren’t Singapore-based, so have a scroll through purely for some inspiration. Be sure to bookmark this page of tears and flash it to your manicurist if you’re intending to emulate one of the designs, and have fun!
Nude and gold glitter? One of my favourite colour combinations that just looks lovely and classic.
This manicure looks tedious and complicated to execute, but it’s actually quite easy to do! The “tree” can easily be done by painting on a sparkly base coat, letting it dry completely, and then sticking a triangle of tape where you want the tree to be before painting on a white layer of polish. Peel off the tape before the polish dries, and then seal it all with a top coat!
What I love about these nails is that the shimmer is really subtle, which lets the embellishments really shine through! Most nail salons in Singapore that do blinged out 3D nails will have the tools to give you a similar type of nail art.
Also, if you’ve got bottles of glitter nail polish at home, you’ll know that it can take way too many coats to get good glitter coverage. Here’s a handy tutorial on the best way to apply glitter nail polish so you don’t need to wait for your 10 coats to dry!
READ MORE: 10 nude manicures that don’t look boring, the best nude nail polish for your skin tone, 12 stunning pastel manicures to try if you love the pastel trend, and of course 10 terrible nail habits that can damage your nails or ruin a manicure.
