Do you want your nails to match your energy? Well, meet the latest fall manicure trend: aura nails.
If you haven’t seen aura nails on your social feeds yet, get ready to see it everywhere, because this energy-inspired manicure is absolutely taking over.
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What are aura nails?
The manicure trend reflects your aura – or the energy you emit – using gradients of soft colours.
If you’re not familiar with an “aura,” according to Allure, it’s “a Latin word that translates to ‘air’ or ‘breeze’ in English, and an aura can actually be caught on camera.” These aura photographs use film to capture hazy, blended colours that match your energy.
These images are exactly what inspired the aura nail trend. Using imperfect circular drops of colour that fade into a neutral base as you move away from the centre of the nail, the manicure depicts your aura.
Related: Fall 2022 nails: these are the best press-on nails to buy right now.
How do you get the look?
Nail artist Daron Wood explains to Bustle that you can get aura nails using an airbrush technique, which is used most often, or you can use a gel polish and a sponge or blooming gel. If you want to go for the classic aura nails look, use a neutral base and then add different colours to each finger.
Mia Secret – 0.5 FLoz UV Led Blooming Gel For Spreading Effects, Amazon, $36
To get the look at home, skip the airbrushing by using Mia Secret Blooming Gel. Before you cure the blooming gel with a UV lamp, apply a dot of colourful gel nail polish on top, which will spread throughout the blooming gel to give it that ombré look. After curing that layer, you can repeat the process with another colour on top.
When you’re done, seal the whole manicure with a gel topcoat so it’ll last longer and you can get a dreamy shine.
You may also like: Are velvet nails the latest fall nails trend? Wow your friends with a textured manicure.
“I think [aura nails have] become popular because of the rise of nail artists that are getting into airbrushing,” Wood says. “The design requires no stencils and can be done with any colours, so it’s easy for beginners.”
Wood says that some nail artists are playing on the aura nails look by using it as a base for more elaborate nail art.
“I’ve seen people incorporating the technique into other designs, using it as a background for other designs or adding chrome elements, which makes it look more advanced.”
