Oxblood nails are a classic for a reason and they’re this season’s favourite shade

In case you missed it, oxblood ruled the AW25 runways. The shade has dominated head-to-toe outfits and accessories and now, oxblood nails are headlining beauty trends.

It may not come as a surprise, shades of deep red – merlot, burgundy, maroon – take off each autumn-winter because they’re just so classic. But just because they’re easy to anticipate, doesn’t make them any less stunning.

We love that this season is going all in on the tone, so you can match your mani to a whole tonal oxblood outfit, then complement a simple T-shirt and jeans with the same shade the next day.

What are oxblood nails?

The shade is a deep red with purple or brown undertones depending on where you land on the scale, so within the one shade there’s room to make it your own.

A great example of the shade is CND’s Oxblood Nail Polish which you can get in gel or at-home polish. Likewise Manucurist’s Green nail polish in Hollyhock delivers the perfect shade with an 83% natural formula. Other pretty examples of oxblood include Essie’s Bordeaux and OPI’s Got The Blues for Red.

Why choose oxblood nails?

Oxblood is a bona fide neutral that can go with everything, but something about the deeper, vampy shade adds elegance, warm and sexiness in one hit. Which helps explain why it’s such a crowd-pleaser.

How to wear oxblood nails?

Since it’s a classic colour, we love a trad colour block worn all over. But it also looks great as an accent if you want to incorporate it into a Frenchie. Plus, worn short, squoval and ultra glossy, this shade looks so expensive.

Here’s 17 of our favourite ways to wear them…

Short oxblood nails