Lunar New Year Manicure Ideas To Ring In Year Of The Snake
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Start the year in style
The end of January is fast approaching – which means Lunar New Year (sometimes referred to as Chinese New Year) is just around the corner. While all the party prep is underway, there’s one thing left to tick off the to-do list: your look for the evening. And no, we’re not talking about the clothes. Usher in a year of good fortune, and celebrate the Year of the Snake, with one of these nail ideas for Lunar New Year 2025.
When Is Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year takes places on 29 January 2025, kicking off the Year of the Snake. Unlike new year’s celebrations that take place during the Gregorian calendar (31 December and 1 January), Lunar New Year follows a lunisolar calendar that uses the moon’s phases to determine the start of the new year. The lunar calendar is based on synodic months, which are complete cycles of the moon’s phases.
Nail Ideas For Lunar New Year 2025
There are plenty of ways to celebrate the arrival of Lunar New Year – and one of our favourites is a good, on-theme mani. Here are our top nail designs and ideas for 2025:
Year Of The Snake
We’re kicking off our list with the star of this year’s celebrations, the snake. Associated with wisdom, transformation and intuition, the Year of the Snake is expected to bring a period of introspection and strategic growth to many of us – so it’s a good idea to show your love early on to ensure good fortune for the year to come.
Nail artists are bringing this zodiac to life through a combination of detailed illustrations and 3D work. Think swirling shapes, dainty scales and sculpted forms dressed in lucky hues of red, green and gold.
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Lunar New Year Vibes
If you’d like your set to have more emphasis on ‘celebrations’ rather than ‘snakes’, don’t worry. You can dial back the snakes in favour of more traditional imagery – like flowers (orchids and peonies are popular), butterflies, lanterns and lucky charms.
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Liquid Metal
Another way to bring in some Lunar New Year luck is to deck out your nails in shades of silver and gold. Wearing these precious metals is thought to bring good fortune for the future, with gold symbolising wealth and prosperity, while silver signal balance and calm.
Plus, they make for the perfect party mani. Think chrome almond nails, gold French tips, metallic accents and more.
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Jade Nails
While often worn as jewellery, jade can also be repurposed for your Lunar New Year nails. The stone is thought to be another good luck symbol, believed to bring good fortune,protection and better health – as well as ward off bad luck.
We love the idea of giving snake-themed nails a jade colour palette, but the trend also works as a minimalist marble effect (with a few metallic touches here and there).
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Snakeskin
Speaking of snakes. If a full-bodied snake doesn’t appeal for your mani, why not get onboard with one of its signature details: snakeskin. This print is forecasted to be huge for 2025, and by incorporating it into your Lunar New Year look you’ll remain both on-theme and on-trend.
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Lucky Reds
Can you ever go wrong with red nails? We don’t think so. This classic colour has been a major beauty trend for decades – and likely won’t fall out of style anytime soon – but it takes on a whole new dimension during Lunar New Year. Many of us associate the celebrations with this colour, and that’s because traditionally it symbolises good luck, prosperity and happiness. And so, you can find splashes of red everywhere at this time of year – from red envelopes and red lanterns to red clothing and, now, red nails.
There’s plenty of options with this mani (including many that will see you beyond the celebrations). Think a classic all-over red, half-Frenchies, red aura nails, cat eye effects and more.
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Featured image: Aliescha Pham (@thenailpham on Instagram)
