20 CSS Liquid Glass Effects03 / 20

Pure CSSMIT licensed

Liquid Glass Navigation Bar

A sticky top navbar that turns into a frosted lens as content scrolls beneath it: photos and headings blur and desaturate as they pass under the bar, with a razor-thin translucent bottom border catching the light. The exact 'floating chrome' look of a modern OS, in pure CSS.

Published

Live Demo
Try it

The code

<section class="lg-03" aria-label="Liquid glass navigation bar">
  <header class="lg-03__bar">
    <span class="lg-03__brand">Lumen</span>
    <nav class="lg-03__nav" aria-label="Primary">
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03" aria-current="page">Home</a>
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03">Work</a>
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03">Studio</a>
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03">Contact</a>
    </nav>
  </header>
  <div class="lg-03__scroll" id="lg-03">
    <img src="https://picsum.photos/seed/lgnav-a/900/500" width="900" height="500" alt="Coastline at dawn">
    <h3>Scroll — watch content frost under the bar</h3>
    <img src="https://picsum.photos/seed/lgnav-b/900/500" width="900" height="500" alt="City at night">
    <p>The sticky bar samples and blurs whatever slides beneath it, in real time, on the compositor.</p>
    <img src="https://picsum.photos/seed/lgnav-c/900/500" width="900" height="500" alt="Mountain range">
  </div>
</section>
.lg-03,
.lg-03 *,
.lg-03 *::before,
.lg-03 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.lg-03 {
  font-family: 'Segoe UI',system-ui,sans-serif;
  position: relative;
  height: 100vh;
  overflow-y: auto;
  background: #0e0b1a;
}

.lg-03__bar {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  z-index: 10;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: space-between;
  gap: 20px;
  padding: 14px clamp(16px,4vw,32px);
  background: color-mix(in oklab,white 10%,transparent);
  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);
  box-shadow: inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.4),0 10px 30px -20px rgba(0,0,0,.8);
  backdrop-filter: blur(20px) saturate(180%);
  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(20px) saturate(180%);
}

.lg-03__brand {
  font-size: 20px;
  font-weight: 800;
  letter-spacing: -.01em;
  color: #fff;
}

.lg-03__nav {
  display: flex;
  gap: 6px;
}

.lg-03__link {
  font-size: 14px;
  font-weight: 600;
  color: rgba(255,255,255,.85);
  text-decoration: none;
  padding: 8px 14px;
  border-radius: 999px;
  transition: background .2s,color .2s;
}

.lg-03__link:hover {
  background: rgba(255,255,255,.16);
  color: #fff;
}

.lg-03__link[aria-current=page] {
  background: rgba(255,255,255,.9);
  color: #0e0b1a;
}

.lg-03__link:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid #fff;
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

.lg-03__scroll {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 28px;
  padding: 28px clamp(16px,4vw,40px) 120px;
  max-width: 940px;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

.lg-03__scroll img {
  width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  border-radius: 18px;
  display: block;
  box-shadow: 0 20px 44px -24px rgba(0,0,0,.7);
}

.lg-03__scroll h3 {
  color: #fff;
  font-size: 26px;
  font-weight: 800;
  text-align: center;
}

.lg-03__scroll p {
  color: rgba(255,255,255,.75);
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.6;
  text-align: center;
  max-width: 52ch;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .lg-03__scroll {
    scroll-behavior: auto;
  }
}
/* No JavaScript — position:sticky keeps the bar pinned and backdrop-filter blurs + saturates whatever scrolls beneath it. */
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or any coding assistant. The block below is pre-framed with everything the AI needs to integrate this demo into your project — markup, styles, scoping notes, and the source URL. Hit Copy and paste straight into your chat.
Here's a working CSS Liquid Glass Effect from CodeFronts. Use it as-is or adapt to your framework. All classes are scoped under a unique prefix so the code won't collide with your existing styles. MIT licensed.
Demo: Liquid Glass Navigation Bar
Source: https://codefronts.com/design-styles/css-liquid-glass/liquid-glass-navigation-bar/

A sticky top navbar that turns into a frosted lens as content scrolls beneath it: photos and headings blur and desaturate as they pass under the bar, with a razor-thin translucent bottom border catching the light. The exact 'floating chrome' look of a modern OS, in pure CSS.
## HTML
```html
<section class="lg-03" aria-label="Liquid glass navigation bar">
  <header class="lg-03__bar">
    <span class="lg-03__brand">Lumen</span>
    <nav class="lg-03__nav" aria-label="Primary">
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03" aria-current="page">Home</a>
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03">Work</a>
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03">Studio</a>
      <a class="lg-03__link" href="#lg-03">Contact</a>
    </nav>
  </header>
  <div class="lg-03__scroll" id="lg-03">
    <img src="https://picsum.photos/seed/lgnav-a/900/500" width="900" height="500" alt="Coastline at dawn">
    <h3>Scroll — watch content frost under the bar</h3>
    <img src="https://picsum.photos/seed/lgnav-b/900/500" width="900" height="500" alt="City at night">
    <p>The sticky bar samples and blurs whatever slides beneath it, in real time, on the compositor.</p>
    <img src="https://picsum.photos/seed/lgnav-c/900/500" width="900" height="500" alt="Mountain range">
  </div>
</section>
```
## CSS
```css
.lg-03,
.lg-03 *,
.lg-03 *::before,
.lg-03 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.lg-03 {
  font-family: 'Segoe UI',system-ui,sans-serif;
  position: relative;
  height: 100vh;
  overflow-y: auto;
  background: #0e0b1a;
}

.lg-03__bar {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  z-index: 10;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: space-between;
  gap: 20px;
  padding: 14px clamp(16px,4vw,32px);
  background: color-mix(in oklab,white 10%,transparent);
  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);
  box-shadow: inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.4),0 10px 30px -20px rgba(0,0,0,.8);
  backdrop-filter: blur(20px) saturate(180%);
  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(20px) saturate(180%);
}

.lg-03__brand {
  font-size: 20px;
  font-weight: 800;
  letter-spacing: -.01em;
  color: #fff;
}

.lg-03__nav {
  display: flex;
  gap: 6px;
}

.lg-03__link {
  font-size: 14px;
  font-weight: 600;
  color: rgba(255,255,255,.85);
  text-decoration: none;
  padding: 8px 14px;
  border-radius: 999px;
  transition: background .2s,color .2s;
}

.lg-03__link:hover {
  background: rgba(255,255,255,.16);
  color: #fff;
}

.lg-03__link[aria-current=page] {
  background: rgba(255,255,255,.9);
  color: #0e0b1a;
}

.lg-03__link:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid #fff;
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

.lg-03__scroll {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 28px;
  padding: 28px clamp(16px,4vw,40px) 120px;
  max-width: 940px;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

.lg-03__scroll img {
  width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  border-radius: 18px;
  display: block;
  box-shadow: 0 20px 44px -24px rgba(0,0,0,.7);
}

.lg-03__scroll h3 {
  color: #fff;
  font-size: 26px;
  font-weight: 800;
  text-align: center;
}

.lg-03__scroll p {
  color: rgba(255,255,255,.75);
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.6;
  text-align: center;
  max-width: 52ch;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .lg-03__scroll {
    scroll-behavior: auto;
  }
}
```

## JavaScript
```js
/* No JavaScript — position:sticky keeps the bar pinned and backdrop-filter blurs + saturates whatever scrolls beneath it. */
```

How this works

The header is position:sticky; top:0 with backdrop-filter: blur(20px) saturate(180%), so every pixel that scrolls under it is sampled, blurred and colour-boosted in real time. A near-transparent fill plus a 1px bottom border and an inset top hairline give it physical thickness. Nav links are capsule :hover targets with their own light frost.

Because it's sticky rather than fixed, it reserves layout space and adds zero CLS. The scroll area below is a normal document — no JS scroll listener needed; the browser does the compositing.

Make it yours

  • Dial the frost with the blur radius and saturate() amount.
  • Switch to a dark-glass bar by flipping the fill to color-mix(in oklab,black 30%,transparent).
  • Change the active pill treatment via .lg-03__link[aria-current].
  • Adjust bar height/padding with clamp() for fluid responsiveness.

Gotchas — read before shipping

  • A sticky element only blurs content that scrolls under it — the demo ships a tall scroll body so the effect is visible.
  • Always pair -webkit-backdrop-filter; older Safari needs the prefix.
  • Keep the fill translucent; a fully opaque bar kills the refraction entirely.

Browser support

ChromeSafariFirefoxEdge
111+16.2+113+111+

Floor set by color-mix(), backdrop-filter as this demo is written. The core technique itself goes back further — Chrome 76+.

position:sticky is universal; backdrop-filter degrades to a lightly tinted solid bar where unsupported — still fully functional.

Techniques used in this demo

backdrop-filterMDN ↗color-mix()MDN ↗clamp()MDN ↗

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