3 Easy Ways to Do Aura Nails At Home (With & Without an Airbrush)

Aura nails are the latest trending manicure. The cute multicolor nail art features a solid base color and a soft, diffuse color applied at the center of each nail. It’s named after an aura, the supposed colorful energy field around a person that captures their energy or mood. You can do aura nails with a sponge or eyeshadow. Keep reading for a quick tutorial on both techniques.

Easiest Ways to Do Aura Nails

Do aura nails with regular polish by dabbing a bright nail polish over a neutral base polish with a makeup or nail sponge. To use gel polish, apply and cure a clear base coat, base color, and clear top coat. Another option is to dab colorful eyeshadow on sticky nails with a fluffy brush. Add another top coat and cure.

Section 1 of 5:

How to Do Aura Nails with Regular Polish & a Sponge

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Apply a base coat and base colored polish. Apply a base coat to prep your nails before polishing with color. ^{[1]
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Research source} While they dry, apply the color you want to use as the base of your aura nail. For the sponge method, it’s best to choose a light, neutral color as the base. Think pale pink , nude , white , or light blue .
- The sponge method can be done with regular nail polish, while other methods—like using eyeshadow—only work with gel polish.
Wait until your base coat of polish is dry, about 10 minutes after application. ^{[2]
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Research source} Then, pick the color you’ll put on the center of the nail to create the ‘aura’ effect. Choose a bright, soft color like bubblegum pink, mint green, canary yellow, or violet. Swipe it onto a round or rectangular nail or makeup sponge . ^{[3]
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Gently dab the sponge against the nail. Start with whichever nail you’d like. Press the sponge with the wet polish against the center of your nail. Don’t apply too much pressure, or you could lift your first coat. After dabbing, inspect and see if you’d like to dab more on.
- The goal is to gently apply just enough polish to create a soft oval in the center of the nail. You want an ombre effect , not two distinct colors sitting on top of each other.
Apply more polish to the sponge and move on to the next nail. Continue until each nail has the second polish sponged onto its center. ^{[4]
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Research source} Allow this second layer of polish to dry for 10 minutes before applying an optional clear top coat to seal in your aura design.

Section 2 of 5:

Using Gel Polish Eyeshadow or Pigment Powder

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1
Apply a gel base coat and base polish color and cure both. Choose a light or dark base color for your aura nails. Choose gel nail polish—the eyeshadow method doesn’t work well with regular nail polish. Apply a clear gel base coat and cure for one minute. Then, apply your base polish color and cure under a UV light for two minutes. ^{[5]
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- Be careful not to let gel polish touch your skin, as this can trigger an allergic reaction.
- If you’re using a dark base polish color, cure for three minutes.
Now that your base color is in place, apply a gel matte top coat . Once applied, cure it under your UV light for one minute. After the minute is up, be prepared to move to the next step of applying eyeshadow while the top coat is still sticky.
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Tap pigment powder or eyeshadow on the center of the nail with an eyeshadow brush. Choose a shade of matte eyeshadow that’s strongly pigmented. Colors like magenta, deep purple, gold, and red are common choices. Pick up the eyeshadow with a fluffy eyeshadow brush and gently dab it on your sticky nails in the center of all nails. ^{[6]
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- If you mess up, wipe and restart. Your cured base won’t smudge when you wipe. ^{[7]
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Select another eyeshadow brush that doesn’t have any powder on it. Use it to gently blend the shadow into the polish, rubbing the edges of the design and pressing down the pigment. Keep blending until you’re happy with the gradient. ^{[8]
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Apply a gel top coat and cure to seal your design. To prevent your aura nails from smudging, use a top coat. ^{[9]
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Research source} Not only does it lock in the nail art, but it also adds that high-shine gloss gel nails are known for. After applying the clear top coat, cure your nails one final time under the UV light for two minutes. ^{[10]
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- Use lint-free nail wipes to remove any remaining tackiness on the surface of your cured nails.

Section 3 of 5:

Using Gel Polish With An Airbrush

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Paint on a base coat of color. This can be any color you want, but typically works best with a dark, neutral color, like black or brown, to create a nice contrast with your gel polish color. ^{[11]
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Add gel nail polish and acetone to the airbrush and mix well. Choose a gel nail polish color that you think complements or contrasts well with your base color. Add a small amount to the airbrush, then fill the airbrush with acetone and mix them together well so there are no lumps. ^{[12]
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- Spray the airbrush a couple of times on a paper towel to make sure you like the way it looks before proceeding.
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Spray the polish on the center of each nail using circular motions. Hold the airbrush about 6 inches (15 cm) away from the center of the nail and spray lightly. Continue to spray lightly using circular motions until you’re happy with the color gradient and overall look. ^{[13]
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Cure each nail for 10 seconds and apply a clear top coat. You may be accustomed to curing gel polish under the UV light for a little longer, but for aura nails, only cure the nails for 10 seconds each. Then, paint on a clear top coat to seal the look. ^{[14]
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Section 4 of 5:

Aura Nails Ideas

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Complementary colors are colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. Examples are red and teal, green and dark pink, orange and blue, and green and purple. ^{[15]
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Research source} Combine these contrasting shades to create dramatic aura nails that stand out. ^{[16]
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If you’re looking for a subtle aura nail manicure, your best bet is to go monochromatic. Choose two or three shades of the same color to use on your nails. ^{[17]
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Research source} Put the darkest color first and use the lighter shade as the aura color in the center of the nail. ^{[18]
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In the fall, rich, moody nail colors are always on trend. To get dark aura nails, pick a dark base shade like black, chocolate, olive, dark gray, emerald, or navy blue. Pair with a top color that’s white, light gray, beige, or soft pink for a subtle, smoky contrast. ^{[19]
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Combine shades of pink to get blush nails. Aura nails are also known as blush nails because one of the most popular color combos resembles the look of blush on your face. To do blush aura nails, pick a milky pink shade to use as your base color. Add a bright but soft shade of pink to the center for the aura effect. ^{[20]
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- Spend as much time as you need blending for the ultimate blush effect.
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Use a red base color and soft pink for a romantic look. First, decide on your bold base color. Pick a standout shade like cherry red for spring and summer manicures. In the fall and winter, opt for a richer color like maroon. Pair it with a soft, light pink in the center for a romantic take on aura nails.
- This look is the inverse of blush nails.

Section 5 of 5:

Aura Nail Trend Explained

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Aura nails feature a soft, central ombre design resembling an aura. The trend is inspired by the spiritual concept of an aura, an electromagnetic field of energy that’s believed to represent your mood or being. An aura nail resembles the supposed soft, colorful, airy glow of an aura around a person by featuring a soft ombre gradient across the nail. ^{[21]
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- Aura nails are also known as blush nails, eyeshadow nails, or airbrush nails.
- Aura nails have been a trend since 2023, when celebrities like Madelaine Petsch and Christina Aguilera sported the look. ^{[22]
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Once your nails are completely dry, feel free to add rhinestones , line art, or any additional touches to personalize your manicure.

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Warnings

Be careful not to let gel polish touch your skin. Chemicals in gel polish can seep into your skin and trigger allergic reactions. ^{[23]
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3 Easy Ways to Do Aura Nails At Home (With & Without an Airbrush)

Easiest Ways to Do Aura Nails

Steps

How to Do Aura Nails with Regular Polish & a Sponge

Using Gel Polish Eyeshadow or Pigment Powder

Using Gel Polish With An Airbrush

Aura Nails Ideas

Aura Nail Trend Explained

Expert Q&A

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Tips

Warnings

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