The Rainbow Chrome Manicure Is The Go-To Nail Look For Winter 2024

A few splashes of color is always the perfect way to brighten up a dreary winter day. While there are endless routes to incorporating color into your manicure, from the trippy double ombré craze to the ultimate power look of classic red nails, nothing quite sets the dopamine soaring like a sample from the entire palette. Rainbows had the power to cheer us up when we were kids, and they absolutely have the power to lift our adult spirits when the weather is dark and gloomy.

The rainbow chrome manicure combines the rainbow element of a different color on each nail with the trending chrome finish. Though chrome nails look like something out of a Beyoncé music video, they're actually pretty simple to pull off. Complete your manicure as normal, and then brush on a layer of chrome powder to get that shiny metallic gleam. While you can stick to the standard shades of the rainbow, there are also endless ways to play around with this manicure, from pastel vibes to creative nail art to themed palettes.

The best way to kick off the rainbow chrome trend is with a French manicure, which you can easily pull off at home. This tends to work better on longer nails since you'll have more space for the French tip, but you could always adapt the look to a micro-French manicure if you have shorter nails. Stick with the main colors of the rainbow or zoom in on a particular palette, whether it's greens, blues, or pinks. All that matters is finishing off those colorful tips with some shimmery chrome powder! 

Who said pastels were for spring only? To brighten up your winter blues, opt for a rainbow manicure with pastel tones that aren't super saturated. Think baby blue, lavender, baby pink, mint green, peach, and any other soothing shade that takes your fancy. Going for colors that aren't as saturated will mean that your manicure is more on the subtle side, but when it comes to nail designs, less is more. 

If combining the chrome and rainbow crazes isn't enough, let's throw another trend into the mix. Ombré screams intentional, high-end nails, so add a creative color gradient and you'll truly have a manicure that turns heads. You can achieve an ombré effect overall by progressing the color of each nail from thumb to pinky, starting with light pink and moving to dark pink and then to purple, and so on. Or, you could use random shades and instead show the transition on each nail for a futuristic vibe. 

For those who want to embrace the true meaning of "rainbow," go for a diverse manicure that includes as many shades as you have the fingers to accommodate. While sticking within a particular palette looks cohesive, and repeating the same colors on each hand takes less work, the truth is the more bright, bold colors you have, the cheerier you'll feel (via Body and Soul). 

A creative twist on the classic French manicure is the diagonal corners style, and there's nothing like a bit of rainbow chrome to make this unique yet minimal look stand out. To create your corner, apply your color at one tip of your nail and travel diagonally until you've reached around the halfway point of that nail. Try to keep your diagonal line sharp with a fine nail brush for a fierce final look. 

Most of the rainbow chrome inspo you'll see will be on long nails, but shorties can absolutely enjoy this trend too. One of the best ways to make the trend your own is to base the manicure off a theme or aesthetic, like a pastel scheme that channels Taylor Swift's "Lover," or a bold gold and silver palette that reflects Beyoncé's "Renaissance." 

Speaking of themes, there's really no better energy to channel in winter than festive energy. Give yourself a dose of holiday cheer with multi-colored snowflake nail art that gives 3D vibes to take your manicure to the next level. Opt for traditional colors like red, silver, and gold, and this art will feel right at home on your fingers in the cold depths of winter.