15 Scary-Good Halloween Nail Art Ideas To Impress Your Coven
If you're gonna rock nail art, there is no better time of year to do so than October. The month gives you free range to peruse all the wicked-cool new Halloween nail art ideas, and try as many festive manis as you want. But did you hear about the girl who went to a remote nail salon — rumored to be haunted — and was never seen or heard from again? Me neither, but just to be safe, Elite Daily got the scoop from celeb nail artist Skyy Hadley (who works on Faith Evans, Janelle Monae, and Mariska Hargitay) on how to nail a ghoulishly gorgeous manicure at home.
For maximum impact on All Hallows' Eve, Hadley recommends doing your nails the day before and giving yourself 45 minutes to an hour of time to complete it. Since many of these ideas look even spookier on a stiletto-shaped nail, consider heading to a salon for acrylic stiletto tips or growing out your own nails. If shaping your own nails into a point, follow Hadley's DIY stiletto nail tutorial.
- Sanitize hands and nails.
- Start out with a square nail by clipping your nail straight across.
- Clip the uppermost portion of the two sides diagonally into a triangle.
- With a file, focus on curving the sides evenly to get a teardrop shape that softens the triangle.
- Whatever you do on one side, do on the other side. For example: If you do three files on one side, do three files on the other so that it looks symmetrical.
Now that you've nailed the shape, go crazy with polish and accents. Kiss USA sells $2 appliques and press-on stickers that pack a professional punch, and come in pretty much every design you could want. Feeling scared stupid? Whether your vibe is goth-chic, Sanderson sister, or mythical unicorn, here's all the inspo you need to spark those creepy-creative juices.
1.Pure Poe-try
Lit majors and lovers alike will rave[n] about these Edgar Allen Poe points.
2. Broke A Nail?
With or without stiletto tips, get the gory look by applying fake blood over cuticle lines.
3. See Ya Never
Conjure the final countdown with cryptic numbers and graveyard goodbyes.
4. Mother of Dragons
Pay homage to Game of Thrones with a metallic base and dragon nail appliques.
5. Unicorn Tears
You mythical queen, you. Definitely pair these with unicorn makeup.
6. WebMD
Create a cobweb design with only two items: black polish and a nail dotting stick.
Nail Dotting Pens (5-pack), $2, Amazon
7. Foxy Pedi
Layer orange and black polish over a white base with a dotting stick to score this sly style.
8. Vampire Diaries
Flaunt an easy geometric style that is sultry and still relatively normal for every day.
9. Candy Corn
Candy crush your Instagram! All you need: orange, black, yellow, and white polish and a dotting tool.
10. Blood Splatter Analyst
Forensic Files and Dexter devotees will flip for this pattern, achieved with a white base coat and blood-red polish spattered through a drinking straw.
11. Wandering Eye
Creep out with a tribute to Hocus Pocus' one-eyed star, The Book of Shadows.
12. Nightmare Before Christmas
What's this? What's this? Nail art worthy of our favorite Halloween-meets-Christmas movie.
13. Take a Stab At It
Turn a simple metallic mani into a bone-chilling Instagram by posing with (and then promptly putting down) a large kitchen knife.
14. Count Chocolate
Satisfy your sweet tooth with a glossy mani in the shade of your fav Halloween candy. Hold the candy in the palm of your hand to drive the point home.
15. Pentagram Points
If The Craft is more your speed, all you need is a matte base coat, black polish, and a dotting tool to cast spells.
There you have it: all you need for nails that win Halloween. Your friends will literally die when they see 'em.
