"Chocolate Chrome" Manis Give Your Brown Polish a Glow-Up

Frosty temperatures call for sweet molten treats—and chocolate chrome nails are the perfect way to satiate that craving. Putting an icy spin on one of the most beloved cool-weather manicure colors, chocolate chrome nails are among the many trending takes on the chrome nail craze that has the internet in a chokehold. (And, in our opinion, it's one of the most delicious iterations yet.)

Read on for everything you need to know to add chocolate chrome nails to your holiday manicure repertoire. 

What Are Chocolate Chrome Nails?

Chocolate chrome nails allow you to rock the beloved neutral hue but with a bit of a gleaming kick. The look replaces the traditional glossy and matte finishes with a megawatt shimmer. The versatile trend works with any nail shape or length.

How To Wear Chocolate Chrome Nails

Chocolate chrome nails are not one-size-fits-all; the chrome powders used to create this look have different levels of depth, and the available base colors are endless. There are as many options as there are flavors of chocolate: You can frost a milky cafe au lait, a cool tan, a calm copper, a creamy mocha, a warm chestnut, a deep espresso, or a bittersweet cacao. 

Get The Look 

Chocolate chrome nails can easily be recreated at home with a bit of chrome powder. The key is to decide how far on the brown spectrum you want to go before applying your base color. For a lighter look, you can choose a shade paler than your everyday bare nails. Want to keep things neutral? Pick a color closer to your natural nails so the chrome powder drives the results. Selecting a deeper base shade will help you achieve that richer, dark chocolate appearance.

As for application, if you're going the traditional lacquer route, you'll want to allow your base shade to fully dry before going in with your chrome. "Wait at least 15 minutes for the color to dry completely, then apply the chrome powder with either your fingers, an eyeshadow brush, or a small powder brush," Amy Ling Lin, CEO and founder of Sundays Salon in New York City, told Byrdie at the beginning of the chrome craze. "Then, finish with one more layer of base coat, then top coat." We recommend the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat Activator, which adds a healthy amount of shine and prevents chipping. For those going the gel route, Ling Lin advised swiping your chrome on top of two cured base coats, adding a top coat, and heading back under the UV lamp once more.

Don't have any traditional nail chrome powder on hand? No worries: You can hack your way to executing this trend. Just dip into your makeup bag and use the frosted eyeshadow of your choice to give your polish the perfect chrome effect. You can even mix a custom shade by mixing two chrome-like colors from one of your favorite palettes.