Halloween nails, from a whisper to a scream
Seventeen sets from our Rome and Calhoun chairs this season, sorted by how loud you want the 31st to be.
Somewhere in the first week of October the mornings turn cool enough to see your breath on the walk to the car, and by that weekend every porch on the street has a pumpkin on it. That's usually when the screenshots start showing up at the front desk. A ghost here, a web there, and the same question every time: can you do something like this, but not too much?
We can. We've been doing it all month. Every set below actually left one of our two studios. No stock photos, nothing borrowed off Pinterest. We've sorted them the way most of you ask for them, which is by volume. Start at a whisper if you've got a board meeting on the 30th. Go straight to the scream if you've been planning your costume since July. Most people land somewhere in the middle, and the middle is where some of our favorites live.
One thing we'll say up front: Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the Thursday and Friday before will fill first. If you want hand-painted art, come a few days early. Gel art is made to wear for a couple of weeks, so a set done on the 27th still looks sharp at the party. And you won't be sitting in the chair while your costume is still in the bag.
A ghost you have to lean in to see
For the office, the Sunday pew, and dinner at your mother-in-law's.
A milk-chocolate brown, a sheer nude, and on a couple of fingers a ghost no bigger than a grain of rice. Nobody at work will clock it as Halloween until they're close enough to see, and that's the point. The gold sparkle stars are placed by hand. The pumpkin on the ring finger gets its own little stem. It reads as fall from across the room and as a wink up close.
If you want darker without going full costume, black lace painted over a nude base is the most grown-up thing on this page. It'll carry you right through Thanksgiving.
Or keep the white French you already wear and let four nails do the talking. A pup asleep on a jack-o'-lantern on each hand, a spiderweb on the finger beside it, and the other six left clean. It reads as a French manicure until somebody looks twice.
Brown, nude, and a ghost the size of a grain of rice. (Subtle Halloween nails, Rome.)
Black lace over nude. Halloween that still works in November.
A pup asleep on a jack-o'-lantern, a web beside it. (White French Halloween nails, Rome.)
More angles3
Little ghosts, all dressed up
For trunk-or-treat, the class party, and anybody with a sense of humor.
This is where it gets fun. Little ghosts in costume on a glossy black base: one in a red bikini top, one dressed as a duck, one in blue stripes, with a white crescent moon to pull it all together. That set came out of Calhoun, and it's the one people keep asking about.
From Rome, a small cast of characters scattered over nude: a wide-eyed soot sprite, a little fire spirit in orange, a pale masked face, a few black stars. Each one gets its own nail, like its own stage.
And for the one-ghost-per-finger crowd: a row of them across a sheer nude, each with big dot eyes. Two wear little red devil horns, one has a halo, a couple are carrying pumpkins, and black sparkle stars drift between them.
Bring the picture. Bring three. It's honestly easier for us to match what we can see, and "exactly what I asked for" is the only review we're after.
Ghosts in costume on black. (Cute Halloween nails, Calhoun.)
A small cast of characters, one per nail.
Ghosts in horns and halos, with pumpkins for company. (Cute ghost nails, Rome.)
More angles2
Vampire red, two ways
For the dinner, the date, and any party where the lights are low.
Vampire red isn't one color. One is a cherry chrome so glassy it looks wet, filed into a long stiletto. The other is a smoky red aura that runs deep at the cuticle and fades to almost clear at the tip, like a glass of wine held up to a candle.
If you only do one Halloween-ish thing this year, do this one. It's sultry on the 31st and still just a very good red on the 1st. Wait till they see it under string lights.
Cherry chrome, long stiletto. (Red Halloween nails, Rome.)
A smoky red aura, deep at the base and clear at the tip. Calhoun.
Black chrome, webs, and the moon
For the woman who's been waiting all year for this.
Black chrome filed into a sharp stiletto, with a silver flame that only shows when you turn your hand. Then black and white with spiderwebs, crescent moons and stars drawn freehand, every nail a little different from its neighbor. The purple chrome on the cover belongs here too.
Then the pastel-goth one, which is the sweetest scary set on this page: lavender and black, BOO and EEK spelled out on two nails, a ghost with a little smile, a melting one, a coffin, a web with its spider. The lavender keeps it from tipping into costume.
These are the sets that get you stopped in the checkout line at Kroger. Wear them with silver rings. Trust us on the silver.
Full costume, all ten fingers
For the costume party. You know who you are.
A masked slasher face in black and white, red drips running down three fingers, one spiderweb on the pinky, and a veil of glitter over all of it so it catches the porch light. Orange stilettos with tiger stripes and black spots, like something you'd see at the edge of a bonfire. Black squares stacked with red, chain, and tiny silver spikes.
And for anyone with a certain striped sweater in the closet: forest green and burgundy bands across a long almond tip, with blood dripping from the edge of every stripe. Wear it with that sweater and nobody will have to ask.
Hand-painted work takes longer than stickers ever will, so plan for a longer sit. We'll tell you the price before we start, every time, and we'll tell you honestly if a design needs more time than you've booked.
The slasher set: mask, drips, glitter, one web. (Scary Halloween nails, Rome.)
Orange and black, bonfire-bright.
Black, red, chain and spikes.
Green and burgundy stripes, blood dripping down. (Horror movie nails, Rome.)
More angles2
Ten nails, ten spells
Every so often someone sits down, holds out both hands, and says: all ten, and no two alike. This is what a good artist does with that sentence.
Read it top hand first, then the bottom hand, then the thumbs. (Witchy Halloween nails, Rome.)
Pink shimmer, glossy black, and a great many small things that catch the light. Some of it is painted, some of it stands up off the nail so you can feel it with your thumb, and every stone is set by hand. It's a long sit, and we'd rather you know that going in. Bring a mood and a few pictures (“witchy, but make it pink” is plenty to start from) and we'll tell you the price before the first stroke.
- The sunPink rays and a face on glossy black.
- The spell jarA hand-lettered label on shimmering pink, studded in black and silver.
- Purple jellyClear, set with drops of liquid chrome and stones.
- The mushroomA black cap with pink spots, on pink shimmer.
- The snakeA raised black coil over a magenta cat-eye.
- Diamond and starA glossy black diamond and an outlined star, with a crystal and a few set stones.
- The runesA pink snake drawn on black, with small symbols around it.
- The vialOutlined in black, packed with holographic glitter.
- The moonA pink crescent with a face, over black and magenta.
- The eyeBlack lashes, a tear and silver drops, on pink fading to lilac.
From the table's edge.
The thumbs: a moon with a face, and an eye with a tear.
More angles of this set4
If October's been a lot
Not everyone wants a ghost. Some of you just want an hour where nobody needs anything from you, and a color that looks the way a sweater feels. That's allowed in October too.
A deep plum. A burnt-orange cream. A brown the color of the Oostanaula after a good rain. The warm towel and the hand massage while your color cures don't change with the season. Settle in, take the long way through it, and let somebody else do the careful part for once.
- Deep
plum - Burnt-orange
cream - River
brown - Velvet
oxblood
A few notes from the front desk
Come three to five days ahead.
The 31st is a Saturday, so Thursday the 29th and Friday the 30th go first. A set done midweek is still fresh for the party.
Bring your photo, or three.
Screenshots are welcome, blurry ones included. Show us the one you love and the one you'd tone down, and we'll meet somewhere between.
Want it gone by November?
Ask for art on two accent nails over a solid color. It's the easiest road back to normal, and it still photographs like the full thing.
Hand-painted takes time.
Anything in levels four and five, and the ten-nail showpiece, deserves a longer appointment. Tell us when you book and we'll hold the chair accordingly.
Price before the first stroke.
Nail art is listed on the menu. Anything custom, we quote at the chair before we start. No surprises at the register.
Not sure which level you are?
Send us a message. We'll look at your photos and tell you what we think, honestly, the way a friend with good taste would.
Whatever level you land on, come a little before the night. We'll keep a note of what you wore this year, so next October we can pick up right where you left off.