Nailed It: 10 Halloween Manicures to Try

Nail art has been making a real comeback.  From the edgy and outrageous runway styles of the recent Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion Week shows (see Ruffian, Norman Ambrose, Jen Kao and Betsey Johnson), to the growing online community of nail bloggers, nail art is an awesome medium for expression that can be as artistic or simplistic as you choose.  With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to try your hand at some festive designs to accompany your costumes and celebrate my second favorite holiday (my first is fourth of July, if you were wondering).  So quit biting your nails and ditch the alternating black-and-orange you’ve been rocking since middle school, follow these suggestions, and you’ll have the coolest claws on campus. 
 
1.  I Want Candy (Corn)
Everyone’s favorite Halloween candy may not stay stocked in the bins of Mac and Lower, but you can still have this sweet treat at your fingertips.  For a simple, festive classic, start with a base coat of yellow and section your nails into thirds, applying a second coat of orange, followed by a third coat of white.  Try using tape to ensure straight, even sections. 

2.  Jack Attack

Nothing is more iconic of Halloween than pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.  Take a tip from blogger Picture Polish and spice up this holiday staple with inverted colors.  Products used here are China Glaze in Liquid Leather (black base), L.A. Colors in Art Deco White (face detailing), Orly in Crush On You (light orange), OPI Brights Power (darker orange, for lowlights) and Color Club in Si Vous Please (for a glittery top coat). 

3.  BLOOOOOD
First of all, tell me you didn’t read that title in this voice.  Anyways, this style is definitely not for the feint of heart, but for those of you that take the Cady Heron approach to Halloween, here’s a gory nail equivalent to compliment any gruesome costume you have up your sleeve.  Simply paint a base coat of white, or even a neutral skin tone, and add “splatters” of red to the tips.  Best part about it? Imperfection is perfection.

4.  Do The Monster Mash 
Channel old school Halloween with quirky Frankenstein nails.  These pale green tips are also a nice alternative to the redundant black-and-orange color combos, and manage to bring a remembrance of summer pastels back into our dark-hued fall ensembles. 

5.  Comme Les Français
For a more sophisticated path, turn your French manicure gothic with a black base, topped with glittery amber topcoat and shimmery gold tips.  Ooh la la!

6.  Not Your Mummy’s Manicure
I saw tons of variations of these mummy-inspired tips.  If you don’t have the steadiest of hands, scraggly lines will only make your mummy and her deteriorating rags look more realistic (yummy).  If you like a more polished look, straight lines with a skinny detail brush look just as cute.  OR, if you’re really bold and want to experiment with textures, you can incorporate actual tissue into your manicure; Peace Love Polish shows you how.

7.  Halloween 3D
Jump on the 3D train with these awesome architectural nails. The blogger of this creation says she used pearl stickers from a craft store, which she adhered after applying two coats of polish.   P.S. This in a ghoulish green would totally look like boiling potion, am I right?

8.  Easy Street
Okay, so textural add-ons may be a little much for some of us.  I, for one, probably couldn’t sit still long enough to let a million little pearl balls dry on my fingers.  So for those of you with waning patience, fleeting time, and/or minimal artistic ability, I found the easiest, fastest ways to get your festive manicure fix.  First up, nail decals.  Yeah, they might bring you back to your first manicures as a tiny tot, where you were almost always offered a painted flower, a top coat of glitter, or a holiday decal to accompany your polish, but why not embrace your inner kid on Halloween of all holidays?  You can find them at most drug stores or beauty supply stores.   Or if you’d rather go the edgier route, try OPI’s Blasted Nail Color in Black over any shade of an orange.  The black shatters revealing the orange beneath it in a trendy, punk style.  

9.   Arachnophobia
These spider web nails use a split nail technique for a more edited version of Halloween nails.  I love the geometry of a split nail in itself, and under a web, it provides the perfect translation for illusory silk.   

10.  Mischief Night  
Although I guess this movie could arguably represent several holidays, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas features such iconic, spooky graphic design, I couldn’t help but include these nails in the list.  In all honesty, this movie terrified me as a little kid, but I have to admire the aesthetics, and those of you who weren’t such movie wimps can enjoy this little trip down memory lane. Ladies and gentlemen, Jack Skellington. 

Photo Sources:
http://www.swatchandlearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Halloween-Candy-Corn-Nail-Art-Tutorial-Swatches.jpg
http://www.kaylashevonne.com/2010/10/halloween-nail-art-series-jack-o.html
http://abbbbbie.tumblr.com/post/1439967762/halloween-nails
http://absolutelyacetone.tumblr.com/post/1980663545/this-is-how-you-do-halloween-nail-art-omg
http://twitpic.com/31842o
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27472924@N04/4060775977/
http://daily-nail.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-want-my-mummy.html
http://www.pimpmynailz.com/2010/10/halloween-nails-pt-4-mummies/
http://peacelovepolish.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/for-my-mummy-dearest/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pumpkincat210/5076512332/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melinabee/6244726272/in/photostream/
http://mysimplelittlepleasures.blogspot.com/2011/05/notd-orange-hard-candy-opi-black.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbywalton/5353165813/
http://www.pimpmynailz.com/2010/10/halloween-special-nightmare-before-christmas/