Halloween nails: 13 ideas by skill level, from one coat of black to a full glow menu
The easiest Halloween nails are one glossy color in black or pumpkin orange, or a glow in the dark top coat over the shade you already wear. Each one takes a single bottle and no art skills. Below are 13 Halloween nail ideas, from a first-timer at home to a full salon menu, with the exact product behind each one.
Easy Halloween nails for beginners
These four need no brushes, no magnets and no drawing. If you can paint one color evenly, you can do all of them, in gel polish or regular lacquer.
Glossy black, one color
Black is the Halloween shade that never looks like a costume. Two thin coats under a shiny top coat look sharp on short nails and dramatic on long ones, and the set still works in November.
Gelixir Gel Polish 89 Black Night, 0.5oz
$4a bottle
A soak off black gel at $4, so it is an easy first bottle for a practice set or for every station in a salon.
See Black Night, $4
Pumpkin orange
Orange is the other half of the classic Halloween pair. Wear it on all ten nails, or paint black and orange on alternate fingers for the quickest two-color set there is.
DND Duo Matching Color 277 Pumpkin Patch
$6.50for the pair
Gel polish and nail lacquer in the same orange, HEMA free and TPO free, so hands and toes can match.
See Pumpkin Patch, $6.50
A glow in the dark top coat over any color
Paint your usual color, then use a glow top coat as the last layer instead of a clear one. Turn the lights off and the nails glow. The glow shows brightest over white and pale shades. For a color that glows on its own, see the glow in the dark nail polish shelf.
Cre8tion Glow in the Dark Top Coat 01, 0.5oz
$8.95or 6 for $51
One bottle turns every set you already know how to do into a Halloween set. Salons can take six at $8.50 each.
See Glow Top Coat 01, $8.95
One sticker accent nail
Paint all ten nails one color, press a sticker onto the ring finger, and seal it under top coat. It looks like hand-painted art and takes a minute or two. C8 has more designs on the nail art stickers shelf.
Cre8tion Nail Art Stickers, Halloween (14 Styles)
$2.50a sheet, all 14 for $27.30
Fourteen sheets of Halloween designs. One sheet covers several accent nails.
See the 14 styles, from $2.50
What colors are Halloween nails?
Five colors read as Halloween on their own: black, pumpkin orange, blood red, witch green and a deep midnight purple or navy. Wear one, pair two (black with orange is the classic, black with green is the witchy one), or add a glow top coat to any of them.
Vampire red
A deep red looks like Halloween next to black and like date night on its own, so the set keeps working after October 31.
Kiara Sky Gel Pro 124 Kiss Of Death, 0.5oz
$13.99
A blood red gel polish, HEMA free and TPO free. The name does half the work on a Halloween menu.
See Kiss Of Death, $13.99
Witch green
Deep olive green looks witchy next to black and wears well into November on its own. It is one of over 850 items of OPI nail polish and gel at C8.
OPI Intelli-Gel HPR05 Witch O'clock, 0.5oz
$14.95
A deep olive green gel color from OPI, HEMA free and TPO free.
See Witch O'clock, $14.95
Halloween nail ideas with one art tool
Each of these adds one tool to a plain gel manicure: a line gel, a magnet or a jar of chrome powder. Do them on one or two accent nails first, then on all ten once your hand is steady.
Spider web accent nail
Spider gel is a stringy gel made for thin lines. Touch the brush to the nail and pull away, and it leaves a fine thread. Draw four lines out from one corner, join them with short curves, cure, and you have a web. Black on orange or white on black are the two that show best.
Cre8tion Perfect Line / Spider Design Gel, 0.26oz
$11.95a color, all 5 for $55
White, black, silver, gold and clear. Black and white cover most Halloween webs.
See the spider gel, from $11.95
Blood red cat eye
Cat eye gel carries magnetic shimmer. Hold a magnet over the uncured layer for a few seconds and the shine gathers into one bright line, then cure. In a deep red it looks like a ruby. Our cat eye guide covers magnet placement, and C8 carries over 700 items of cat eye gel polish.
DND DC 9D Cat Eye Smoothie 03 Ruby Mirage
$12.50
A ruby cat eye gel in a 0.6oz bottle. One shade is enough for a full set.
See Ruby Mirage, $12.50
Chrome over black
Paint black, cure a no wipe top coat, then rub the chrome powder on with a sponge tip or your fingertip until it turns to a mirror. Seal it with another top coat. Over black, an aurora chrome shifts between purple, blue and green as the hand moves. More finishes are on the chrome nail powder shelf, and if you cannot choose, our chrome or cat eye post helps you pick.
Nacy Ultra Shine Chrome, Aurora Mirror Nail Pigment, 0.5oz
$11.95
Use it over the black from the first idea for a color-shifting finish, or over white for a soft pearl.
See Aurora chrome, $11.95
How do you do Halloween nails with gel polish?
Every idea above follows the same gel manicure. Only the art step changes.
Prep. Push back the cuticle, buff the shine off the nail and wipe it clean, so the base can grip.
Base. One thin coat, cured in your LED or UV lamp for the time printed on the bottle.
Color. Two thin coats, each one cured. Thin coats cure all the way through; thick ones can wrinkle.
Art. Stickers and spider gel lines go on the cured color. Cat eye gets the magnet before it cures. Chrome powder goes on a cured no wipe top coat.
Top coat. Seal everything with a clear top coat, or with a glow in the dark top coat if you want the set to glow.
After Halloween. Soak the gel off, never peel it. Our guide to removing gel polish safely has the steps.
Halloween nails for nail techs and salons
For a salon, Halloween is a menu, not one set. These four full sets each cover a whole station, with a chart or display clients can point at.
A full glow menu
Cre8tion Glow in the Dark Gel, Full Set of 36 Colors
$28836 colors, 3 glow top coats, 1 chart
Clients choose by the daylight color on the chart and get the glow as the surprise.
See the glow full set, $288
C8's whole glow in the dark nails shelf has 80 items, from single bottles to full sets in gel, dip and lacquer.
Ruby cat eye for the whole season
Cre8tion Cat Eye Gel Ruby Glam Kit, 20 Colors
$175
Twenty reds and wines in cat eye, HEMA free and TPO free. Halloween vampire sets now, holiday reds in December.
See Ruby Glam, $175
Midnight shades
PLA Gel Polish Eternal Night Collection, 18 Colors
$180with 1 color chart
Navy, plum, wine, deep green and black, a few with shimmer. The midnight purple and navy side of the Halloween colors.
See Eternal Night, $180
Glow dip for dip clients
Chisel Glow in the Dark Dipping Powder 2oz, Full Set of 24
$262.80#GL01 to #GL24
For clients who wear dip instead of gel: 24 glow powders in 2oz jars.
See the Chisel glow set, $262.80
What Halloween nails can a salon do in 30 minutes?
Most of the easy ideas fit a regular gel manicure slot, because they add one step or none:
- One color in black, pumpkin orange, red or green: no extra time.
- A glow top coat in place of the clear top coat: no extra time.
- One sticker accent nail: a minute or two.
- Cat eye on all ten: a few seconds with the magnet on each nail before it cures.
Spider webs, hand-painted art and full chrome take longer, so price them as nail art add-ons. The 36 Halloween picks are a good shelf to build the menu from.
Halloween nail questions
What are easy Halloween nails for beginners?
One glossy color in black or pumpkin orange, a glow in the dark top coat over any shade, or a single sticker accent nail. None of them needs drawing, and each takes one product.
What colors are Halloween nails?
Black, pumpkin orange, blood red, witch green and deep midnight purple or navy. Black with orange is the classic pair, and black with green is the witchy one.
Can you put a glow in the dark top coat over any color?
Yes. Use it as the last layer instead of a clear top coat. The glow shows brightest over white and pale shades and is softer over dark ones.
Do glow in the dark gels need a special lamp?
No. Glow gel cures in the same LED or UV lamp as your other gel polish. To glow, it needs to take in light first, so a few minutes in bright light before you go out helps.
How do you remove Halloween gel nails?
Soak them off in acetone, never peel. Peeling takes layers of the natural nail with the gel. Spider gel lines, stickers and chrome come off with the gel underneath them.