Halloween nail art ideas you’ll want to try right now
From ghosts, to dark and gritty hues, far-fetched colour combos, and more—all the inspo you need.
There’s no holiday like Halloween to get your creative juices flowing. From unique costumes to bold, artfully applied Halloween make-up, you can go as subtle or as out-there as your heart desires. And when it comes to dressing up for the holiday, you’d be remiss not to include your nails. This year has seen its share of nail trends, including blush nails and chrome nails, but the nice thing about Halloween nails is that anything goes.
With Halloween just a day away, no one will question nail art that involves ghosts, dark and gritty hues, or far-fetched colour combos, which makes Halloween nails even more fun. Of course, if you’re attending a Halloween party or going trick-or-treating, you can coordinate your nails to your costume. But if you just want some nail art or hues that get you in the Halloween spirit, look no further than this list. Scroll on for 40 Halloween nail ideas for 2023 that are a total treat for your tips—plus a few tricks on how to pull them off, too.
Blood Drip Nails
A solid white mani with drips of blood combines two classic manicure hues in a gruesome way.
Stitched Up
This mani combines graphic-looking blocks of sheer pink, terracotta orange, and earthy yellow. For the stitches, use a black nail art pen like this one from Sally Hansen.
Chrome Splatters
Go the artistic route with painterly splatters of rich browns, oranges, and deep eggplants, accented with metallic hues.
Check Mates
The black-and-white checkered look grounds the playful nail art featured in this unique mani.
Halloween Night
Use a dotting tool to paint on stars, moons, and sugar skulls against alternating cream and suede backgrounds.
Bloody Prints
Paint four nails on each hand with a rich, oxblood red like Dior Vernis in Nuit 1947. For the remaining nail, swipe on some white paint to create the perfect canvas for a bloody hand.
Creepy Crawlers
Terracotta nails are the perfect backdrop for spider-inspired designs. Finish with a matte top coat like Essie’s Gel Couture Matte.
Charlotte’s Web
This beautiful, intricate-looking web design is actually simple to re-create with a nail polish pen.
Sugar Skulls
Celebrate the Day of the Dead with these hot-pink tips sprinkled with sugar skulls and bones.
Vibrant Halloween Nails
Who says Halloween nails have to be dark and moody? This manicure uses a rainbow of hues to make the kitschy pumpkin nail art pop.
Vibrant Sunset
The juxtaposition of bright pinks and oranges plus black ghosts, bats, and stars is equal parts vibrant and spooky.
Halloween Mash-Up
Varying patterns, colours, and textures like this adds interest—and is the best conversation starter at Halloween parties.
Lavender Haze
Even bats look cute against a milky lavender nail. For a similar look, swipe on Chanel Le Vernis in 135 Immortelle, then slick on some bat wings with black nail polish and a toothpick or thin brush.
Creepy Crawlers
Do nail stickers against a sheer base for a look that’ll make your skin crawl (in the best way).
Black & Gold Chrome
Gold chrome lends a luxe, opulent vibe to matte black nails.
The Twilight Zone
Trippy swirls done in black and white—or brown and yellow, as seen here—are absolutely hypnotising.
Ghostface
These nails make us want to scream—because we’ve never seen such a fun take on a horror classic.
Pitch Black
A starry night sky, a ghost … it doesn’t get any more Halloween than this.
Negative Space
Negative space meets inky black in this cool Halloween mani.
Snake Manicure
Sketch on a serpent that snakes around the nail bed for a creepy-meets-sexy look. Alternatively, this works for your Reputation-era Taylor Swift costume.
Sweet Scream
The designs on this iridescent lavender are another sweet take on Scream.
No Bones About It
These shimmery silver nails are positively bone-chilling.
Count Dracula
Vampire teeth and dripping blood are always in style in October.
Monochrome Mani
These neutral designs will go with any Halloween costume.
Nailed It
Only nail artist to the stars @NailsbyMei could dream up such a terrifying take on nails … nails. (Get it?) This set is giving Hellraiser energy, and we’re both scared and intrigued.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
With a striping tool, these black-and-white striped nails are wicked easy.
Classic Jack
Nothing is easier—or more classic—than an orange nail with black jack-o’-lantern accents.
This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar US.
