Dawn of the Dead nail art

Whether your manicure is an extension of your disguise or nail art is your costume, get into the spooky spirit with Halloween nails.

What you’ll need:

• Nail polish
• Toothpicks
• Q-tips
• Polish remover

There are no set rules for these designs, so be creative with your colour palette. Begin with a base coat of your choosing. White really stands out and is perfect for making your skull pop.

Ghostly delight pattern

Directions:

1. The figures are nothing more than primary shapes. Dip one end of a toothpick into a black polish, and make oval eye sockets.
2. Dip your toothpick into the polish again, and scrape off any excess to ensure a large amount doesn’t drop onto the nail. Make slits for the nose.
3. Finally, draw a line near the tip of your fingernail. Using the same short-stroke technique as before, incorporate lines to give the illusion of stitches.
4. Painting the blood is really simple. Grab another toothpick, and splash red nail polish onto the fingernail. The drip effect is what you’re going for.

Jack-o’-pattern

Directions:

1. Paint a nail or two in an orange hue, and then paint black triangles for the eyes. Throw in a mini-triangular nose if you can afford the real estate. The smile or lack thereof is at your discretion. A toothy grin or a zigzag — it’s your call.
2. To make a Frankenstein face, paint the whole nail a shade of green. Add some hair by blotting the black polish brush along the cuticle. With a toothpick, dot a set of black eyes. And as with the skull above, draw a line across your nail and create the stitches effect to make the mouth.
3. You can create a family of Frankensteins or an entire pumpkin patch per hand. Making a monster manicure can get messy, so have polish remover and Q-tips on hand to fine-tune your Halloween nail art.

More on Halloween

Halloween nail tutorial
Halloween makeup tips
Top homemade Halloween getups for groups