Halloween nails have grown up. The looks everyone is saving right now are oxblood and black cherry reds, matte black with a single fine web, cat eye shimmer, little pink ghosts and pumpkins painted in caramel and rust.
They are all easy to do at home with gel polish, and none of them needs more than one fine brush. Below are 7 looks, the exact Semilac shades for each, and the few steps that make the detail work.
The short version
One dark shade, one detail
Paint four nails in a deep colour and give the ring finger the drip, web or pumpkin. Up close it says Halloween. Across the room it is a smart dark manicure you can keep wearing into November.
1. Blood drips on a nude base
The most recognisable Halloween nail, and the easiest to make look polished. A milky nude keeps the set clean. A jelly red gives the drips a wet, glassy look, because light passes through it.
Glossy red drips falling from the cuticle line over a soft nude.
- Apply Skin Tone Cover Base Pale Beige as your base and colour in one, then cure.
- With the Perfect Line N01 brush, paint a thin band of 592 Jelly Cherry along the cuticle line.
- Pull 2 or 3 drips down from the band, each a different length, and finish every drip with a small round blob. Cure.
- Seal with your top coat. A glossy top keeps the drips looking fresh.
2. Vampire reds: oxblood and black cherry
For anyone who wants a Halloween manicure with no nail art at all. Very deep reds look vampy on the 31st and like a classic autumn red for the rest of the season.
404 Black Beans Muffin is a true oxblood, a red so deep it turns almost black in low light. 478 Vino Tinto is a rich burgundy with full coverage. 393 Sparkling Black Cherry is the party version: dark cherry with a fine shimmer.
Tip
Deep, heavily pigmented shades go on best in 2 thin coats. A thick coat can wrinkle under the lamp. For a night out, finish with Sparkle Diamond top for a fine glitter over the red.
3. Matte black with a fine web
Matte black is the base of every gothic set. Keep the web to one or two accent nails and the whole hand looks considered.
Matte black with smoky marble, a spider and two web accents.
- Paint 2 thin coats of 031 Black Diamond, curing each one.
- On the accent nail, use White Decor Gel and the fine brush. Start in one corner and draw 4 or 5 straight lines fanning out across the nail.
- Join neighbouring lines with short curves that dip towards the corner. Three rows is plenty. Cure.
- Finish every nail with Top Mat Total No Wipe. One layer gives a strong matte finish.
No steady hand? Black Lace transfer foil with Foil Glue gives you a lace pattern without drawing. It shows up best over white, nude and grey.
4. Midnight cat eye
Cat eye polish is full of magnetic particles that gather into a line of light, and over black that line turns silver-white. It takes one extra step: hold a magnet over the wet polish before you cure. Our cat eye guide covers the magnet positions.
Charcoal shimmer with a spider on the accent nail.
959 Disco Black is charcoal-black with fine silver shimmer, a night sky without any magnet. 456 Spectacular Night goes further: a deep sparkly green that looks black until the light hits it. 951 Silver Magnetic is semi-transparent, so painting it over 031 Black Diamond gives the strongest silver line. For a glassy finish on a colour you already own, use the magnetic top Silver Gloss T35 over oxblood or black.
5. Cute spooky in pink
Not everyone wants a black manicure. The pink side of Halloween swaps gore for ghosts, tiny spiders and fine webs on a pink or nude base.
Pink drips, silver shimmer, a fine web and a little spider.
Use 442 Trick or Pink, a candy pink jelly that also glows in the dark. For a ghost, paint a rounded shape with a wavy bottom edge in White Decor Gel and cure. Add two dots of 031 Black Diamond for eyes with the tip of your fine brush, cure again and top coat.
6. Glow in the dark tips
The party trick. In daylight the nails look like an ordinary pink or blue manicure. Switch the lights off and they glow.
442 Trick or Pink in daylight (left) and with the lights down (right).
Wear 442 Trick or Pink or 443 Spooky Blue, a cool full-coverage blue, as French tips over a nude base, or paint them all over. Cure them in your usual lamp like any other colour.
Make it glow brighter
Glow pigments need light before they shine. Give your hands a few minutes in daylight or under a bright lamp before you go out. The glow fades slowly through the night and comes back once the nails have been in the light again.
More glow ideas are in our glow in the dark nails post.
7. Pumpkins in caramel and rust
Pumpkins are still the favourite motif, painted in softer, spicier oranges. Two ways to wear them:
The minimal version: orange tips and a tiny pumpkin.
Pumpkin French. Over a nude base, paint a thin orange tip with the fine brush. On one or two nails, add a small round pumpkin and a short stem in 031 Black Diamond.
More jack-o’-lantern faces, with mummy, web, ghost and spider accents.
Matte jack-o'-lanterns. Paint the full nail orange, cure, then draw the eyes and mouth in black. Cure, then finish with Top Mat Total No Wipe so the nails look like real pumpkin skin.
600 Apricot Crush is a soft caramel orange, 417 Safari Sunset is a burnt rust, and 446 Yolo Orange is the bright, classic pumpkin.
Wear it past 31 October
Halloween is one night, and a Semilac gel manicure is made for 21 days of wear. Plan the set so it still looks right on Bonfire Night and the weeks after.
That is why the art goes on one or two accent nails. Oxblood, black cherry, Disco Black and the caramel and rust oranges all sit naturally with a winter coat, so the rest of the hand carries on as an autumn manicure.
What you need for every look
A base, a top coat and a UV LED lamp, plus the shades you pick above. The Base and Top No Wipe bundle covers the first two. For drips, webs and faces, add the Perfect Line N01 brush and White Decor Gel. Delivery is free on orders over £25.
Halloween nails: your questions
How do I make Halloween nails look classy?
Use one deep shade on most nails and keep the detail to one or two accent nails. Matte black, oxblood and fine single-line art look the most grown-up.
Which Halloween nail colours can I wear after Halloween?
Oxblood (404 Black Beans Muffin), burgundy (478 Vino Tinto), dark cherry (393 Sparkling Black Cherry), charcoal shimmer (959 Disco Black) and caramel or rust orange all work through November.
Can I do Halloween nail art at home as a beginner?
Yes. A drip, a simple web or a pumpkin tip needs one fine brush and a few practice strokes. Try the design on one accent nail first.
Do glow in the dark gel polishes need a special lamp?
No. Cure them in your usual UV LED lamp like any Semilac colour. To glow, they need time in daylight or under a bright light first.
How long does a gel Halloween manicure last?
Semilac gel polish is made for 21 days of wear when you apply it over a base and seal it with a top coat.
