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Manicures somehow always tend to reflect the energy flow we're in, whether it's through our choice of color, design, shape, or length. And just as your aura (the energy you emit — in other words, your vibe) does, a new manicure trend called "aura nails" can depict exactly where your head and heart are at. If aura nails haven't filled your social feeds already, welcome. One of the biggest trends of the season, aura manicures have gradient designs and showcase colors that reflect your mood.
First thing's first: "Aura" is a Latin word that translates to "air" or "breeze" in English, and an aura can actually be caught on camera. Have you ever gotten your aura photographed before? Although our energy's colors aren't naked to the eye, the right kind of film photography can capture their often vibrant and blended colors, thus inspiring the theme of the trend.
On top of being aesthetically pleasing to the core, these manicures have garnered thousands of searches on Instagram since July, as a representative from the platform tells Allure. There, the hashtag #auranails currently highlights over 11,000 photos — and on beauty Tiktok, videos with the hashtag #auranails have amassed 12.5 million views and counting.
Along with a solid base coat of choice, aura nails consist of gradients created with an airbrush or with blooming gel polish. The polishes blend together yet stand out on their own, giving the nail trend a dimensional element.
London-based nail artist Michelle Humphrey tells Allure that she always uses an airbrush as her go-to tool for flawless and smooth results. "Each nail has an airbrush-style design with various color combinations. The colors blend together the same way someone's aura might." It all comes down to her client's preference, and once the colors are chosen, she layers them up to create the ombré effect.
Humphrey's design shown above harnesses both warm and cool hues on each nail. Yellow and apricot-orange layers of airbrushed polish bring warmth to an index and middle finger, while light and cool shades of blue decorate a pinky finger, index finger, and ring finger on either hand. The aura design proves quite whimsical on oval-shaped nails.
As nail artist Aleanie Molina tells Allure, her technique for creating the aura effect begins with the Mia Secret Blooming Gel — no airbrush tool needed. Before curing the blooming gel under a UV lamp, she applies a dot of gel nail polish on top of it. It spreads on its own atop the blooming gel layer, creating the aura illusion. That layer is then cured, and the process repeats with the next desired color layered on top. In other words: base color, blooming gel, a dab of gel nail polish, cure, repeat.
Once each layer is cured, the polish is sealed with a gel topcoat. Molina recommends the Kupa Gel Topcoat for an ultimate long-lasting shine that leaves the manicure scratch-resistant. For Molina's design, the Valentino Beauty acrylic powder in Classic Nude was used as the base color.
Although do-it-yourself aura manicures can be a challenge, we as beauty obsessives are always up for a good one, aren't we? Especially seeing as these airbrushed effects can be created with makeup tools from your own kit.
Humphrey points out that creating airbrushed effects isn't the easiest with regular nail polish, but it is possible. You can use beauty sponges or sponge eye shadow applicators to blend regular polishes together. "You may need a few of these [sponges] as the polish dries and hardens in the sponge, which turns an ombre chunky, which you don't want. Make sure every layer is dry before attempting the next as it may smudge." Humphrey adds to the do-it-yourself concept and mentions that one can also create the gradient design by rubbing powder pigments over a matte topcoat with an eye shadow brush.
Manicurist Nyah Nicole Mendoza uses an airbrush machine to create the gradient effect and incorporates nail charms into the mix with her aura designs. She added gold star charms as an accent to her blend of cream and green shown above. "Depending on the colors used as the base, the look may require more than one color to create a smooth transition," Mendoza mentions.
The New Jersey-based nail artist began by applying two even coats of base color followed by a transition color that she then airbrushed onto the center of the nail in circular motions. Once she applied the transition color, she cured the nails and filled the airbrush machine with the final color that coated the center of the nail, creating the aura illusion. Throughout each step, Mendoza makes sure to diffuse the edges of each polish that was airbrushed onto the nails.
Mendoza emphasizes the ability to use highly contrasting colors with her aura designs. Even if the polish colors lie opposite of each on the color wheel, a transition polish can balance it out. As seen in her cosmic blue aura manicure above, she contrasts a black base with a white aura effect by incorporating a layer of light blue as a transition color. For both designs, she looks to the Valentino Beauty Pure Gel Polish Collection. The Nailz By Dev Liner Gel collection came into play throughout the manicure, too.
Paris-based manicurist Médeine incorporated bright elements of the classic French tip with warm colors orbiting throughout. Her inspiration came from another aura manicure by Instagram user @nailsinurcoffin. "I loved the thought of putting an aura [design] on French tips, so I simplified it a bit." She used coffin-shaped extensions by Nail Kit Formation, cut the tips to medium length, and polished the base of the nails with the Nude Gel Nail Polish from The GelBottle. For the colorful hues, she used Beauty Distribution gel polishes and added gems on top.
If you're wondering how aura designs look on an entire classic-yet-colorful French set, nail artist Claudia Brooks created her own aura French manicure using the blooming gel method. She kept the base color nude and blended hues of purple, blush pink, orange, and lime green throughout the center of each nail.
For all the goths, nail artist Mélanie Gracia incorporated a dark colorway into the Russian manicure pictured above. She used The GelBottle Inc Builder In a Bottle 17 for the nude base color, then applied a star stencil and airbrushed on a coat of black gel polish with the Aprés Nail Aer Gel Machine. She cured the design in place, removed the stencil, applied some opal flakes, and added a clear topcoat.
Each manicure showcased throughout Allure's gallery of aura nail inspiration features gradient-centric designs without any limitations. Whether your aura nail manicure is done with blooming gel or with an airbrushing tool, each dimension of color will ensure an abundance of soul-soothing hues that'll illuminate our nails and our very being.
All products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
More on celebrity manicures trending right now:
- Megan Thee Stallion's New Manicure Has Actual Functioning LED Lights Inside
- The Story Behind Machine Gun Kelly’s $30,000 Billboard Awards Manicure
- Sydney Sweeney Added the Euphoria Touch to Glazed Donut Nails
Now, watch TracyLee's take on 90-second galaxy nails:
