Orange Nails: 10 Designs, from Burnt Orange and Terracotta to Peach

Orange nails work all year round, as long as you match the shade to the season. Burnt orange, terracotta and rust go with autumn knitwear, camel coats and gold jewellery, while coral and peach are especially flattering on tanned summer skin.

We've sorted ten orange nail designs by season, then added advice on skin tone and streak-free painting. Our range has no pure, bright orange, so the ideas use our terracotta, coral pink, peach and honey shades.

Orange nail designs for autumn: burnt orange, terracotta and rust

Burnt orange is the brightest of the three, a deep orange darkened with brown. Terracotta is browner and more muted, often with a rosy cast, while rust leans towards red.

1. Short burnt orange nails

Burnt orange is especially good on short nails, because the deep colour gives them a crisp outline without seeming loud. File all ten to the same length, in a short oval or rounded square, since a saturated colour shows up any uneven nail.

For short orange nails at the office, the nearest shade in our range is 078 Clay, a warm terracotta that's browner and rosier than burnt orange. On wide nail beds, leave a slightly wider gap along each side wall to make the nails appear slimmer.

2. Terracotta nails with gold

Terracotta with gold suits an autumn wedding or dinner, especially with gold jewellery. Paint nine nails in 078 Clay and build the ring finger with B030 Or Solaire, a builder gel with a golden sheen. Builder gel is thicker than polish and is filed off rather than soaked, so for a matching set, put your usual builder gel under 078 Clay on the other nine.

3. Rust and brown nails

Alternating rust and brown adds depth to an autumn manicure without nail art. Put rust or terracotta on the thumb, middle and little fingers, and a deep brown on the index and ring fingers. Choose a brown that's clearly darker than the orange, or the two will blur into one colour from a distance.

If you wear builder gel, B015 Terre De Sienne, an earthy brown builder gel, can build and colour the two brown nails in one step. For a gel polish brown, our brown nail ideas cover everything from caramel to dark chocolate.

4. Orange chrome nails

For evenings out, a copper chrome powder over terracotta gives a burnished metallic orange, and gold a lighter, yellower shine. Chrome magnifies every bump, so start with two smooth, cured coats of 078 Clay, then a thin no-wipe top coat such as Diamond Top Coat. Once that's cured, work a little powder in with a silicone applicator until the surface is mirror-bright. Brush off the excess and clean the side walls so the final top coat can grip, then apply it, cap the free edge and cure.

5. A simple orange accent nail

A single orange nail is the gentlest start if you usually wear nudes. Paint the ring finger terracotta and the others a warm beige or peachy nude, so the whole hand stays in one colour family. It's discreet enough for a formal office, and in summer the accent can switch to coral.

Orange nail designs for summer: coral and peach

Tangerine is pure orange, and coral mixes orange with pink. Peach and apricot are the pale versions, with peach the pinker of the two.

6. Coral orange nails

The brightest shade in our orange family is 004 Coral Pink, a vivid coral, pinker than tangerine. It's at its best with white linen, denim and straw bags. Regrowth shows sooner on a bright colour than on a nude, so plan your next manicure a little earlier.

7. Peach nails

On light or golden skin, peach almost passes for a nude, so it's an easy everyday orange for the office. Our 186 Peach leans towards pink rather than apricot, and suits spring weddings and anyone who finds coral too bright. Regrowth is also less obvious on a pale colour like this.

8. Orange French tip nails

Orange French tips keep most of the nail nude, so they're an easy way to wear coral at work. Over a cured sheer nude base, draw the smile line with a fine liner brush, working from each side towards the centre. Turn the finger rather than the brush to keep the curve even. Fill in the tip, cap the free edge and cure, adding a second coat if the colour is patchy, then seal with top coat.

Keep the tip to one or two millimetres on short nails; long almond or coffin nails can take a deeper curve. If the line wobbles, tidy it before curing with a small flat brush dampened with cleanser.

9. Orange ombre nails

Gel is easier to blend than regular polish, because it stays workable until you cure it. For summer, fade 004 Coral Pink at the tip into 186 Peach at the cuticle. For autumn, use 078 Clay at the tip and 033 Honey, a creamy golden hue, at the cuticle.

1. Paint the whole nail in the lighter shade and cure.
2. Apply the lighter shade again over the cuticle half and the darker shade over the tip half.
3. Before curing, soften the line where they meet with a clean, dry flat brush, wiping it between light up-and-down strokes.
4. Cure, repeat steps 2 and 3 for depth, then seal with top coat.

Practise on a spare nail tip first; medium and long nails give the gradient more room.

10. Orange colour-block nails with pink or blue

For an earthy take on orange and pink colour-blocking, pair 004 Coral Pink with 078 Clay. Cover the whole nail in the lighter colour and cure. With a small flat brush, draw a diagonal line in the darker colour from one corner of the free edge to the opposite side wall. Fill in one side, cure and repeat for full colour, then seal with top coat.

For more contrast, swap the pink for pale blue, which sits opposite orange on the colour wheel, so each colour intensifies the other. On short nails, alternate whole nails of the two colours. On almond or longer nails, paint them as loose, freehand shapes over a nude base for an abstract design, curing each colour before the next touches it so the edges stay crisp.

Which orange suits your skin tone?

Almost everyone can wear orange once the shade matches their undertone. If gold jewellery flatters you more than silver, your undertone is probably warm, and the earthier oranges are the safest choice.

• Warm and olive skin. Terracotta, burnt orange and rust pick up golden tones in the skin. On olive skin, stay on the browner side, as very yellow oranges can make the complexion appear sallow.
• Fair skin. Peach and coral are the easiest oranges to wear, as their pink undertone is close to the skin's own colour. Terracotta works too if you want more contrast.
• Deep skin. Tangerine, burnt orange and coral are vivid against deep skin, and terracotta becomes an everyday neutral. Pale peach makes a fresh contrast in summer.

How to paint orange gel polish without streaks

Bright oranges and corals are often less opaque than darker shades, so the first coat can be patchy, and pale peaches show brush marks. Thin, even coats solve both problems.

• Prepare the nail. Push back the cuticles, remove any cuticle from the nail plate, lightly buff away the shine, then cleanse and dehydrate. Use an acid-free primer on oily nails. Our guide to making gel polish last covers prep in detail.
• Apply a thin base coat. Cap the free edge and cure under your lamp for the time given in your gel's instructions.
• Lay the colour in three strokes. Place a small bead of gel just short of the cuticle, then draw one stroke down the centre and one down each side. Let it level for a few seconds, cap the free edge and cure.
• Add a second thin coat. Two coats usually give an even colour, and pale shades may need a third. Thin coats cure fully, while one thick coat can wrinkle and stay soft underneath.
• Keep every layer off the skin. Leave a hairline gap at the cuticle and side walls, and lift off any gel that touches the skin before curing. Uncured gel on skin is the main cause of gel allergy, and it also makes the edges lift.
• Seal with top coat. Cap the free edge once more and cure. Diamond Top Coat's high shine makes terracotta look richer and coral more intense.

Don't lighten an orange with white gel unless the manufacturer says its gels can be mixed. A home-made blend may not cure properly and is hard to match later, so choose a ready-made shade such as 186 Peach.

Frequently asked questions

Are orange nails classy?

Yes, if you choose an earthy orange and keep the finish neat. A terracotta or burnt orange manicure on short, evenly filed nails with a glossy top coat suits the office or a wedding. Neon orange and busy nail art come across as more playful.

What colours go with orange nails?

On the nails, orange pairs well with nude, brown, gold, cream, pink and pale blue. Black and orange is the traditional Halloween combination, and our Halloween nail designs show how to keep it wearable. With clothes, terracotta goes with camel and cream, and coral with white and navy.

Are orange nails good for autumn?

Yes, especially the muted ones: burnt orange, terracotta and rust belong to the season, while tangerine and neon orange feel more like summer. Our guide to autumn nail colours covers the rest of the season's palette, from burgundy to chocolate brown.

What is the most flattering orange for nails?

For most people, terracotta: the brown in it tones down the brightness, so it flatters a wide range of skin tones. Brighter oranges depend more on undertone, so check the skin tone guide above.

Every Elegelli shade here is in our gel polish and builder gel collections, and our gel nail art ideas have more designs to try with them.