CHRISTMAS NAIL ART: Frosty Blue Gradient Winter Vibes Nails

by - December 22, 2022


Some of my favorite nail art designs for the holidays are the ones that don't actually specifically reference any of the solstice adjacent holidays and instead lean all the way in to the winteriness of it all. For today's mani, I decided to take inspiration from a mani that I did a couple of years ago with this really frosty blue gradient and swirling snowflake stamping, but add a little something more for 2022 with some more stamping. I mean... by this point I have embraced my love for the kitchen sink, so no one will be surprised when I decide more is more. 

Keep reading for... more!


I think my favorite thing about this nail art design is the base, which is this frosty blue two color gradient that has this gorgeous sort of foiled effect because of the iridescent flakes in the base polishes. I don't often do gradients using flakie polishes because it's actually sort of rare that I like that foiled look, but the way they reflect in this mani just really works for that icy kind of vibe I was going for.

To create this gradient, I started by applying one coat of the lighter of my two blue polishes to all of my nails and letting that dry down completely before I applied a cuticle barrier to make clean up a little smoother. Next, I applied my polishes to my makeup sponge. For this mani, I wanted to keep the deeper blue at the tip, so I did one thicker swipe of that color at one end of the sponge and then filled in the rest with lighter blue. This gradient took three passes to get to the opacity and blend that I was looking for. 


Now for the stamping. I really did want to keep it simple with this one, though I do recognize that my version of simple may not be what other people think is simple. I started with this swirling snowflakes image from the Beauty Big Bang XL-030 Stamping Plate, an old favorite at this point, and I applied it in white, alternating the direction of my placement to get a little bit more visual interest there. Next, I went in with a dark blue stamping polishes and the Uberchic Merry & Bright Stamping Plate for the accent nails. On my ring finger I decided to go with the "Winter VIBES" text to fit the whole vibe of the mani and then on my middle finger I decided to go this cute mitten image.

Once I was happy with my stamping, I removed the cuticle barrier and cleaned up using a brush dipped in acetone to make sure I had crisp edges. And finally, I sealed everything in with a nail art top coat and then finished with a glossy top coat for shine and volume. And voila!


All Products Used
Different Dimension - Rocket Man
Glam Polish - Nalu
Whats Up Nails - Blanc My Mind*
KADS - 017 Deongaree
Apipila Smudge Free Top Coat
Glisten & Glow Top Coat
Beauty Big Bang XL-030 Stamping Plate
Uberchic Beauty Merry & Bright Stamping Plate
Pueen Chunky Soft Transparent Stamper
Whats Up Nails Magnified Clear Stamper & Scraper
Pueen Latex Tape Liquid Peel Off Cuticle Guard

* = PR Sample


In the end I'd say this mani really came together the way I was hoping and with the winter vibes implied by the text on my ring finger. I love the way that gradient with the flakes gives that icy effect that I was looking for with this one and the white and blue stamping really, I think, drives it home. Love!

If you're interested in seeing a tutorial for this design - or any of the other holiday designs I've put together, head over to @pblnails on Instagram and follow me there to keep up on all of my nail art designs!

Thanks for reading!


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