Aura Nails: How to Do Them at Home, Plus 10 Aura Nail Designs

Aura nails have a blurred halo of colour in the centre of the nail that fades out towards the edges. Salons often airbrush them, but at home gel polish and a small piece of make-up sponge give a very similar result.

This guide covers the sponge and brush methods, the usual mistakes and ten aura nail designs, from pink on milky white to chrome.

What are aura nails?

An aura nail has a glow of colour in the centre that fades out in every direction into a paler base, with no outline. The name refers to the aura, a haze of colour some believe surrounds a person, and the effect resembles the blurred colours of an aura photograph.

Aura nails are a circular take on ombre nails, which fade in a straight line across the nail. Because the cuticle area stays pale, regrowth is hard to spot. Long almond or oval nails give the halo the most room to fade.

How to do aura nails with gel polish

To do aura nails, dab gel polish into the centre of a cured pale base with a piece of sponge or a round brush, soften the edge and cure. Repeat once or twice to deepen the colour, then seal with top coat.

A make-up sponge gives the misty fade closest to an airbrush and is easier for beginners. A round brush gives a smoother finish and more control over the size of the halo. Either way, use gel polish for the aura itself, as builder gel is too thick to dab evenly.

1. Prep the nails. Push back the cuticles, lift any dead tissue off the nail plate and lightly buff away the shine. Cleanse and dehydrate, then prime oily nails with an acid-free primer. Apply a thin base coat, capping the free edge, and cure it for the time given in your gel's instructions.
2. Apply the base colour. Paint and cure two thin coats of a milky or nude gel polish such as 021 Cloud, a sheer milky white, capping the free edge. A third coat gives a denser white that makes the aura brighter.
3. Load the sponge. Cut a fine-pored make-up sponge into small pieces and put a drop of the aura colour on foil. Holding a piece in tweezers, dab it into the gel, then blot it on clean foil until it leaves a fine, misty print.
4. Sponge the centre. Press the sponge onto the middle of the nail, then work outwards in small circles, pressing more lightly as you go. Soften the outer edge with a clean piece of sponge, working quickly, before the gel levels and the halo spreads.
5. Clean up and cure. Lift any colour off the skin with a clean-up brush: gel on the skin causes lifting, and uncured gel on skin is the main cause of gel allergy. Cure that nail straight away, before you start the next.
6. Build up the colour. Add one or two more thin layers, each smaller than the last, and cure every one. The centre deepens while the edge stays faint.
7. Seal. Finish with Diamond Top Coat, a no-wipe, high-shine top coat, capping the free edge, and cure. If the sponge has left a grainy surface, apply two thin coats instead of one thick one.

With a brush, only steps 3 and 4 change. Place a small dot of the aura colour in the centre of the nail, then wipe the brush on a lint-free pad moistened with cleanser so it's barely damp. Tap around the dot in small circles to draw the colour outwards: the more you tap, the wider and paler the halo.

Aura nail mistakes and how to fix them

• A hard ring around the halo. The sponge or brush held too much gel. Blot more off and build depth with extra layers.
• Coarse, spotty texture. Large-pored sponges print visible dots, so switch to a dense, fine-pored one and use more, lighter dabs.
• A muddy centre. In two-colour auras, opposites such as pink and green turn brownish where they overlap. Pair neighbours on the colour wheel, like pink and peach.
• Halos that don't match. Start each nail from the same point and count your dabs.

10 aura nail designs

As a rule, the palest shade is the base, and the deepest goes on last, in the smallest area.

1. Pink aura nails on milky white

For the most wearable aura, sponge 020 Raspberry, a bold berry pink, over two coats of Cloud. On thin or bendy nails, build the base in B003 Milky White, a builder gel, with two thin layers and a gentle apex. One layer of Raspberry gives a faint blush for the office, while three build a vivid pink core for evenings out.

2. Red aura nails

The simplest red aura is a red gel polish sponged over Cloud, with light outer dabs so the edge fades through pink. For a fuller red, build the nail in B021 Rouge Capucine, a coral-leaning red builder gel, and sponge 090 Fuchsia into the centre. The blue-toned pink turns berry against the warm red edges, and with gold jewellery it suits Christmas and New Year parties.

3. Lilac aura nails

Lilac is a wintry pastel that flatters cool undertones and goes well with silver jewellery. Pale shades build up slowly on a milky base, so sponge 022 Lilac, a soft lavender, over Cloud in three layers. Keep each one thin: pastels are packed with white pigment, and a thick coat can wrinkle.

4. Blue aura nails

Over a warm nude or peach, blue turns greyish where it fades, so blue auras need a cool base. Sponge 109 Sky, an airy light blue, over milky white; it suits fair skin and stands out against a tan. For a two-colour aura, add a small circle of Lilac in the centre, where the two blend into periwinkle.

5. Sunset aura nails

A sunset aura shades from deep pink at the centre to peach at the edges. Sponge 186 Peach, a velvety peachy pink, over most of a Cloud base and cure. Then dab a smaller circle of Fuchsia well inside it, so a warm outer ring stays visible. Where the two overlap they blend into coral, and the whole palette flatters olive and tanned skin.

6. Green aura nails

Green auras range from sage or mint for spring to emerald for the festive season, all sponged over milky white. Load the sponge very lightly with dark greens: they're heavily pigmented, and one heavy dab leaves a blot that's hard to blur. For two colours, sponge Sky over most of the nail, then a smaller green centre that blends into teal.

7. Chrome aura nails

A translucent pearl or aurora chrome powder gives an aura a glazed sheen, whereas opaque silver or gold would hide the colour. Rub it onto a thin coat of cured Diamond Top Coat while the surface is still warm, then brush off every loose speck. Wipe the tip and sidewalls with cleanser and seal with another coat, capping the edge, as our chrome nails guide explains.

8. Aura French tip nails

An aura French adds a fine tip line to a cured pink or lilac aura. Paint it with a liner brush in white gel polish, or in the aura colour for a tone-on-tone finish, then cure and seal. Keep the line thin to leave room for the halo. A smooth smile line takes practice, and our French manicure guide shows how to paint one.

9. Glitter aura nails

Glitter kept to the middle makes the aura sparkle where the colour is deepest. With a clean piece of sponge, dab a fine glitter gel polish over the centre of the cured aura, keeping it smaller than the halo. Cure, then seal with two coats of Diamond Top Coat so no particles stick out. Silver glitter over Lilac, or gold over Raspberry, suits New Year's Eve.

10. Short aura nails

On short nails, keep the halo small and the contrast low, with Peach or one layer of Raspberry over Cloud. Over such a small area, a brush is easier to control than a sponge. Stretch the colour into a slim oval along the nail so it seems longer, and file round or squoval tips to echo the halo.

Frequently asked questions

How do salons do aura nails?

Many salons create them as airbrush nails, spraying a fine mist of colour freehand onto the cured base before sealing it with top coat. Held close to the nail, the airbrush gives a small, intense centre, and from further away a wider glow. Airbrushing gives the smoothest fade but needs a compressor and practice, so other salons use a sponge or brush.

How long do aura nails last?

Aura nails last as long as the gel manicure underneath, usually two to three weeks on healthy, well-prepped nails. The colour is sealed under top coat, so wear shows first as lifting at the cuticle or chips at the tips. Our guide to how long gel polish lasts explains how to prevent lifting.

Are aura nails still in style?

Yes. Because the technique works with any colour, aura nails follow the seasons, from berry and red in winter to pastels in spring and sunset shades in summer. Pink on milky white stays discreet enough for the office all year.

Are aura nails bad for your nails?

No, as long as they're applied and removed with care: damage comes from over-filing and from peeling gel off, which strips layers from the natural nail. Soak gel polish off in acetone once the top coat is filed through, and file off a builder gel base such as Milky White. Our guide on how to remove gel and builder gel without damage covers both. Keep every layer off the skin, too, as uncured gel on skin can cause allergy.

For a first aura, pick a milky base and one deeper shade from our gel polish collection, and add a builder gel base if your nails need strength.