As you’re looking for the perfect Christmas makeup and outfits, make sure you don’t forget the most important way to top off the whole thing — the perfect nail polish. Nail art is one of the hottest concepts out there right now, and that’s because it’s such an interesting and fun way to spice up your look. Whether you’re an experienced pro or you barely know what topcoat is, try these nail art ideas on for size.

One Glittery Statement Nail

This is possibly the easiest way to make a statement with your nails. It’s easy enough that it barely even qualifies as nail art, but it’s complicated enough that people will definitely take note. Paint all your nails a single matte color except the ring fingers on both hands. Red or green works great for the festive concept. Then, paint your ring fingernails using a glitter nail polish. Try gold glitter for a warm color like red and silver for a cool color like green.

Festive Statement Stripes

If you want to up the ante a little bit, you can do the same thing and make only one nail a statement nail, but really take it into the realm of nail art. Decide on two complementary colors, like white and blue or green and red. Paint all your nails one of the colors. On the ring fingers of each hand, use the other color to paint diagonal stripes across the nail using the other color. You can choose the thickness of the stripes depending on your comfort level with nail art.

Candy Cane

Want to take it up to the next level? Use the stripe concept, but apply it to all your nails in a candy cane explosion. Paint all of your nails white. Once the white dries, go over your nails with a red nail polish, painting diagonal stripes on each nail. If you really want to go for the gold, use a glittery red to make an even stronger statement.

Plaid Nails

Plaid is a very common winter theme, and that’s one of the reasons it makes for such great nails. This definitely dips more into true nail art, but it’s open to people who wouldn’t necessarily describe themselves as nail artists.

There are hundreds of plaid nail art tutorials out there, but one of the simplest ways to effectively create the plaid look is to paint your nails with a red, slightly opaque polish, then paint a “checkerboard” pattern with black. Let the black dry, then go over it again with the same red — cover the black as well, except for the areas where the black intersects. Congrats! You have a plaid pattern.

Little Holiday Friends

If you’re a true nail art aficionado, you can turn your attention toward making some little holiday friends on your nails. Whether that’s Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or a little elf, you’ll push your nail art skills to the test and draw attention from everyone who sees them. You’ll love the way it looks once you’re done, and so will everyone else around you.

Snowflake Art

Snowflakes aren’t easy to do, which means you should definitely only try this if you have some serious nail art knowledge. The fact that you have little snowflakes on your nails will be more than enough to dazzle and delight anyone who looks at your nails, so you don’t need a lot of direction aside from that. Most background colors look nice with a white snowflake, but light blue, red and green will especially make your nails pop.

Conclusion

It’s not as hard as it might seem to create beautiful nail art. If you’re a complete beginner, you can stick to the basics and just do statement nails, but a pro can whiz through some of the more difficult ideas in no time.

If you’ve honed your nail art skills through the years and you’re the go-to when it comes to any and all nail art requests, you might find a career in nail tech or manicuring is your true calling. Check out the cosmetology program at Ogle School and find out more about where you can go with these skills.