There’s no time like Halloween to experiment with all the spooky and creative nail art designs you’ve thought of throughout the year. It’s one of our favorite holidays for its emphasis on unique expression (our costume game is strong).
Whether it’s for one night only or you’re planning to rock some Halloween nail designs for the entire month of October, this is the DIY guide for you. Learn how to do Halloween nails and step out in full spooky style this season.
4 Traditional Halloween Nail Art Ideas
October 31st is all about ghosts, skeletons, pumpkins, witches, and the like. Traditional Halloween costumes are a staple for a good reason. They’re fun, recognizable, and reliable conversation starters.
If you like to keep things classic, here is some traditional do-it-yourself Halloween nail inspiration.
1. Candy-Corns
Love it or hate it, this polarizing fall staple emerges in grocery stores near you every year. Candy-corn-inspired nail art is an easy way to get your Halloween vibes on. For the person who puts the treat in trick-or-treating, this is the look for you. 🍬
We’ve covered a candy-corn ombre design before, so we’re sharing a new spin on a classic style this year.
Step 1: Grab your favorite black polish and do two coats for an opaque look.
Step 2: Use Scotch tape or nail stencils to create a triangle shape. (Pro tip: tape around your nail to protect your skin, as well).
Step 3: Use a nail sponge to paint a white base over the tape. Then proceed with orange polish a bit further down and yellow towards the bottom.
Step 4: Lastly, take your sponge and rock it back and forth to stamp the colors on and blend them well. Peel off the tape, clean up the edges, and you’re done!
2. Spider Webs
If creepy crawlers are more up your alley, opting for a webbed design is the way to go. This art style is a staple because it can be pretty neutral compared to other themes. Black and white tones with minimal line art make this the perfect option for people who like to keep their nails clean.
Step 1: Use some black polish and do two coats as a base.
Step 2: Taking white nail polish and a thin liner nail brush, create a spider web. This can be in any style you like, but start at the middle and work your way towards the edges for an authentic look.
3. Blood Drips
If your idea of the perfect Halloween night is being snuggled under blankets with candles burning and The Exorcist playing, this is the nail art for you. 🩸 For those who like the idea of a more minimalistic design but still want a pop of color, blood drips are a classic option.
Step 1: Opt for a polish color close to your skin tone for the base, and do a couple of coats of that.
Step 2: Find your favorite blood-red polish and a nail art liner brush. Carefully, starting from your cuticle, paint thin, varying lines of “blood.”
Step 3: Use a dotting tool to add a dot to the end of each line.
Step 4: Fill in the area near your cuticle with red polish by joining the lines together.
4. Ghosts
You can’t go wrong with ghost-themed nails. They’re more cute than creepy (Casper the Friendly Ghost, anyone?), so if that’s your jam, look no further. These are also beginner-friendly, and you’ll only need a couple of things to start.
Step 1: Grab your favorite white nail polish and give yourself an opaque base coat.
Step 2: With a good black polish, use a nail art liner brush to dot on two circles for the eyes and another for an open mouth (like this: 😮).
2 Movie-Themed Nail Art Ideas
If you ask us, one of the best parts about Halloween is the movie selection. You don’t need to be into scary movies to love the Halloween film scene. There’s plenty of great material for nail art themes among these two flicks that are perfect for this time of year.
These tutorials are a bit more advanced than the four above, so keep that in mind as you dive in. To keep things easier for beginners, we’re following a tried and true formula for success. Both of these tutorials are rooted in using base colors to create designs with a liner brush, so you can practice getting the basics down.
1. Nightmare Before Christmas
Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those movies that developed a cult following shortly after it was released (for good reason, too). We’re never 100% sure whether it’s a Halloween or a Christmas movie, so we just watch it twice a year.
Step 1: Grab your white and black polish, along with a liner brush.
Step 2: Give yourself alternating white and black bases for your nails.
Step 3: Armed with your liner brush, take white polish on your black nails and black on the white nails to paint on your designs. You can go for Jack’s iconic face, the swirling mountain he stands upon in that scene, or even Zero (aka everyone’s favorite character).
2. Harry Potter
If you, too, can hear the theme music for this film franchise echoing in the recesses of your mind, then you’ll love this nail design idea. They’re not strictly Halloween movies, but the Harry Potter films exude autumnal vibes and make us crave Butterbeer, so three cheers for that. 🍻
Step 1: Once again, you will need white and black polish and your favorite liner brush. You’ll also need some Gryffindor red and gold glitter polish.
Step 2: We’ll do the red and gold nails first. Go ahead and paint your ring fingers (or whichever fingers you choose) with the red polish as a base. Do a couple of coats for good measure.
Step 3: Once your red base has dried, use nail stencils to create horizontal stripes.
Step 4: Use your gold glitter polish to paint stripes on top of the red polish.
Step 5: For the rest of your nails, do a couple of coats of white for the base.
Step 6: Take your liner brush and some black polish for the designs. Try Harry’s iconic glasses, the lightning bolt scar, or the Deathly Hallows symbol.
Perfect Your Halloween Nail Art Game with VBP
If you’ve been stuck and wondering how to paint your nails for Halloween, we hope you got the inspiration you needed here. Whether you’re heading to a party or staying in and watching scary movies on Halloween night, these nail art designs are sure to impress all your friends.
VBP is your one-stop shop for everything you need to get started. We have all the polish colors, brushes, stencils, and other tools you need to perfect your Halloween nail art game. Shop our store today so you have the materials you need in time for October’s festivities.