How to Update Aura Nails for the Holidays

Summer’s aura nails didn’t die when the temperatures dropped—Hailey Bieber has continued to wear the style into fall and winter, like during a trip to Tokyo for the opening of Tiffany & Co.’s Omotesando store. She finished off her Bottega Veneta dress with a deep nude lip, slicked back pony, and lime-green aura spots.

With the sparklier season ahead, there’s even more room to play with the aura nail trend. Julie Kandalec, celebrity manicurist and salon owner, gets plenty of requests for the aura nail trend and is excited to update it for the holiday season. “It’s a painterly way to wear multiple colors that isn’t too graphic or in-your-face,” Kandalec says about why the style remains popular. “It’s more Monet than Mondrian.” 

To update the aura trend for holidays, Kandalec says to skip the neon shades and—you guessed it—go for glimmering hues that emulate tinsel and twinkle lights. If you’re a traditionalist, festive greens, golds, and reds are a natural fit, but I went for Studio Gel in shades of pink, purple, and iridescent opal, all from The GelBottle. 

Once nails are shaped and prepped with a thin layer of nude polish, Kandalec says a sponge and gel polish are the perfect combination to get the diffused look that aura nails are known for, adding “I really love the mini ones from EcoTools because they are more dense, which means it’s bouncy, picks up a lot of pigment, and doesn’t shed onto the nail.” And while we live in a world while quick-dry polish is always appealing, Kandalec adds this look is difficult with anything that hardens quickly because it makes the sponge stiff and unusable.