From Frankenstein digits to special effect ripped nails, these are some of the easiest DIY Halloween nail art ideas for noobs.
Got your Halloween plans sorted? Good. Time to get cracking on your head-to-toe look, with the right costume, spooky makeup, and nails to complete your ghastly get-up. To help you channel the spooky spirit on your digits, we’ve picked ten DIY nail art ideas – and yes we promise they’re easy enough to do on your own.
Sugar skull nails
If you love the look of sugar skulls but can’t pull off a full face look, you’ve got your nails. Coat them in white, then, using a thin brush and black acrylic paint, fill in curves at the sides of your nails on the top to create the emaciated jawline. Then, connect the curves with a straight line and add vertical lines down the middle. For the eyes, use a dotting tool to make two circles in the center, and then add more circles around the eyes to create the base of your flower. You’re almost at the final stage now – use acrylic paints in pink, orange, green and purple to fill in those circles, and then dot the center with black. Finish by painting a small triangle in the center for the nose. Head here for the full tutorial by HannahRoxNails.
Frankenstein nails
More kooky than creepy, the world’s most famous monster is honoured every Halloween. Start by coating your nails in a lime green polish. Then, using a small brush dipped into black nail lacquer, paint the outline of his hair at the base of your nail. Follow with creating his eyes with a dotting tool and white nail polish. To draw the finer details (like his signature stitches, nose and mouth), you’ll need a sharper pin and a steady hand.
Bloody crime scene nails
Things will definitely get messy here, so coat the spaces underneath and around your nails with craft glue or petroleum jelly for easy clean-up. Start with a white base. Next, paint the end of a straw with red polish, and blow through the other end to create splatter prints. You can do this for all your nails, or up the spook factor by painting the word “help” on a single nail.
Cobweb nails
Do two solid coats of a deep, matte shade of black. Next, using a thin striper brush dipped in white polish, draw straight lines across your nails, making sure that they remain the same size. To finish the look, switch to a fine nail art brush and join them up by drawing curvy lines in the middle. Head here for the full tutorial by Hannah Weir.
Jack ‘o’ lantern nails
You don’t have to flaunt this seasonal masterpiece in your decor to take on your seasonal masterpiece – pay tribute to it with your nails instead. Paint your nails a deep shade of orange and, with a lighter shade of orange, draw thin strokes down your nails. Switch to a fine art brush, and slowly paint in the signature jagged smile and hollow eyes of the Jack o’ Lantern.
Mummy nails
This surprisingly easy design will take ten minutes, tops. Start with a white base. Then, using black acrylic paint and a thin brush, draw haphazard lines across your nails, thickening one to make room for the eyes. Next, dot two white circles on the thickest line, followed by smaller orange dots for the pupils.
The rotten bendable nail
We promise you’ll freak out the trick-or-treaters with this one. The primary tool you’ll need is a packaging peanut. Slice them thinly and trim them down until they fit your nails. Then, coat your nails with eyelash glue, and stick the sliced packaging peanut onto your nail, leaving some room. Apply red-brown eyeshadow all over your faux nail using a blending brush, blending well to prevent harsh edges. Next, apply black eyeshadow on the end of the packaging peanut, extending the lines into a triangle shape at the end of the faux nail to connect to your real nail bed. Finish by painting red food colouring paste at the root of your faux nail to mimic scar tissue. Head here for the full tutorial by Klairedelys.
Haunted cemetery nails
Things will get messy again here, so start by protecting the area around your nails with craft glue. Paint your nails with a light pink nail polish. Next, paint a dusky purple colour onto a sponge, and gently stamp it onto your nails, moving from heavy to light pressure as you move upwards. Finish by painting tombstones and crosses with a thin brush and black paint.
Spooky eyeball nails
Spooky eyeball nails are the easiest to pull off if you’re not gifted with steady hands. Your best friend here is a dual-sided dotting tool. Start with a white base for the eyeball. Then, dip your thin brush into blue polish and paint large circles onto your nails for your irises. Using the larger side of the dotting tool, dot black circles in the center of the iris for the pupils. Once that’s dried, dip the smaller side of the dotting tool in white nail polish and dot a circle on the circumference of your pupils to create the illusion of a reflection. Finally, draw squiggly lines in red from the outside of the nail leading to your iris for that bloodshot look. Head here for the complete tutorial by Kelli Marissa.
Special effect ripped nails
You really won’t need much to keep this looking convincing. Take a fake nail, and make sure it fits your nail to-a-t; trim and file it down if you must. Roughly rip it in half. Apply eyelash glue all over nail and dab a cotton pad over it to give your nail texture. Stick the right side of your nail on. Using a brush dipped in red lipstick to lightly paint around the uncovered side of your real nail. Switch to a darker shade of lipstick for the edges of the ripped nail, making sure to dab and blend for it to look like smeared dried blood. Now, using your eyelash glue and a cotton pad, repeat the same steps as above with the left side of your nail. Take the left half of your fake nail, rip it into two, and glue it onto your real nail, covering the base with glue. Go over the base of the nail with red colouring paste and a thin-tipped brush.