9 mins
Bewitching & Boo-tiful
Show nail clients your wickedly wonderful creative skills this Halloween & get them in the spirit of the season with topical salon accessories
HELENA BIGGS REPORTS
As the autumn season takes hold and nights grow longer, it’s time to show off the dark side of nail styling and embrace Halloween. From ghostly designs to horror film-inspired creations, Scratch has rounded up artistic looks that are equal parts eerie and chic, to excite clients and get their nails noticed.
SET THE SCENE
Catch the eyes of passers-by and get clients in the Halloween spirit by decorating your nail space with themed products. Additions don’t have to be pricey: add ornaments, wreaths or bunting, or swap out your storage pots for orange and black containers for a nod to the season at the nail desk.
Whether they choose subtle nods to the season or bold, eye-catching designs, there’s a nail style for every Halloween fan – and the benefits of marking the event extend beyond nail creations. “Halloween is an ideal opportunity to showcase your skills, upsell designs and create amazing content for social media,” shares Monika Ferreira, Gelish master educator for Northampton. “It’s easy to get lost in standard applications and lose your passion for art, but Halloween is a great opportunity to experiment with your creativity and share your talent.
“Posting designs on social media can attract new clients, too. Consider live demos and showcasing a different Halloween design each day in October to build excitement,” Monika continues
Monika Ferreira
Halloween-themed items feature alongside retail products in the waiting area at Nailspa, Huddersfield.
Welcome My Pretties Witch Hat Cushion
£5.99 inc VAT www.home.bargains
Jessica Price is an OPI freelancer & senior tech at Nailspa in Huddersfield, Scratch Stars Nail & Beauty Salon of the Year 2024. She comments: “At Nailspa, we add seasonal décor minimally to ensure we can maintain our high cleaning standards, as nail services can create dusty environments. Decorations are simple and classy, and sweets are available over the Halloween period for clients to enjoy.”
Halloween Bunting
£6 inc VAT www.matalan.co.uk
Boo LED Neon Light £12 inc VAT www.studio.co.uk
Holly Rodgers of Hr Beauty, Morton, vamps up her nail space with ghost and pumpkin ornaments and sweet treats for clients.
The Witch Is In Hanging Plaque
£1.49 inc VAT www.home.bargains
GET THE LOOK
Little Ghost With Pumpkin Ornament £1.49 inc VAT www.home.bargains
Halloween decorative lights
£6.99 inc VAT www.homesense.com
Monika Ferreira (@mjallure_beauty) decorates her nail space with a garland, spider web fabric and Halloween-themed accessories.
Ceramic Jar
£5 inc VAT each www.bmstores.co.uk
Halo Gel Polish in Moss
£6.35 + VAT www.purenails.co.uk
MOVIE MACABRE
Quiz clients on their favourite horror films and cartoons, and use the answers to inspire their nail designs. From animations with intriguing characters to creepy key figures, experiment with portrait skills on feature nails for a striking mani finish.
Light Elegance ButterCream in Dark Secret
£17.95 + VAT www.lightelegance.co.uk
Lecenté creator, Amanda Trivett, depicts the iconic red balloon from the film, It, alongside portraits of Pennywise the clown and Freddie Krueger. The nail artist painted the design using Lecenté Create Gel Polish shades.
Home-based nail tech, Natasha Sebastianelli of Nails By Tash, Bristol, offers a nod to Beetlejuice with this style, featuring the character’s signature stripes and purple and green shades.
The GelBottle Inc Gel Polish in West End
£14.50 + VAT www.thegelbottle.com
Erin Searle
TOP TIPS
“Invest in good quality nail art brushes and highly pigmented art gels,” shares Erin Searle, product & social development manager at Katie Barnes Academy. “Set realistic expectations with clients when they book their Halloween appointments, and if they give you briefs prior to their visits, break these into sections to explore the simplest way to create them. Draw designs on paper, then practice on tips and decide on your colour palette. This will reduce pressure and stress at the nail desk.”
HD Pro Nails DESIGN IT! Colour Gel in Apple Cider
£12.49 + VAT www.hazeldixonnails.com
Erin Searle creates a monster mash-up design, featuring drips and ghosts alongside Jack Skellington, the King of ‘Halloween Town’ from film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Gelish Cream Gel Palette in Getting Reddy
£19.99 + VAT www.gelishmorgantaylor.co.uk
Light Elegance ambassador, Angela Lee, crafted this Saw-themed design on her own nails, first creating enhancements using Light Elegance’s Clear Extreme Lexy Line Builder Gel, before using a variety of ButterCream shades. “I would charge clients £52 for this design,” she shares.
Multi award-winning nail artist & Kirsty Meakin ambassador, Scarlett Senter, paints elements of the Scream franchise onto enhanced nails.
HALLOWEEN TREATS
Seize the opportunity to retail spooktacular items to boost your income. Choose products in shades suited to the occasion, and consider donning fancy dress items to excite clients for the season.
Studex Sensitive Gold Plated Earrings in Ruby (2 pairs)
£5.75 + VAT www.studexuk.com
Disney Nightmare Before Christmas Body & Hand Wash
£POA/RRP £8.99 www.madbeauty.com
Nailchemy Rockin’ Halloween Mug
£8.99 + VAT www.nailchemy.co.uk
Mii HydraBoost LipLover Lipstick in Fireside
£9.25 + VAT/RRP £18.50 www.gerrardinternational.com
Nailchemy Slugs, Snails & Magical Nails Short Sleeve Tee
£21.99 + VAT www.nailchemy.co.uk >
CND Vinylux™
(£5.95 + VAT) and CND Shellac™
(£14.95 + VAT) in Apribot
www.sweetsquared.com
PUMPKIN DELIGHTS
Pumpkins are a versatile and salon-friendly design option that can be jazzed up with pigments or sparkling details. Consider changing up colours used for a fun twist on the typical orange hue, and toy with the placement of your pumpkin designs: randomly across nails or at the tips.
Danish nail artist, Fie Pedersen (@
fiepedersen.dk), serves up cute pumpkins in the aptly named Pumpkin Iridescent Glitter from Lecenté.
Pumpkins and bats are cleverly combined in this alternative French design, created by Lennor Grandison, Light Elegance UK brand ambassador & owner of The Little Nail Beaut-ique, Camelford. “This manicure was a rebalance, and I charged £48,” she reveals.
Lecenté Iridescent Glitter in Pumpkin
£3.99 + VAT www.lecente.com
Derby nail pro, Jessica Morris of @byjessicamorris, crafts a chic take on pumpkin nail art, swapping the traditional orange hue for versatile beige tones.
This short nail style by Magpie Beauty ambassador, Alice Sanderson of @onenailtorulethemall, is super sweet: showcasing smiling pumpkins alongside stars, bats and black ‘Halloween splatter’.
Glitterbels HEMA Free Gel Polish in Cold Brew
£14.99 inc VAT www.glitterbels.com
Nailchemy brand ambassador, Laura Bennett of @laurabsnails, shares three fun nail designs featuring a spider web, pumpkin and drips. She created the styles using Nailchemy’s Neon Pigments and White and Gold Artisan UV/LED Gel Paints, atop a base of Nailchemy HEMA Free Gel Polish in Crow.
Nailchemy Neon Pigment Set £12.99 + VAT www.nailchemy.co.uk
GHOSTS & GHOULS
Make clients go ‘ooh’ with ghostly depictions and ghoulish creations across nails. Consider adding glow-in-the-dark elements and embellishments to stand out on a dark, dark night.
Artistic Nail Design Art Paint in White
£3.95 + VAT www.sweetsquared.com
INK London educator, Vicki Leigh Nelson, charged £45 for this black and white nail style: £30 for the gel polish mani and £15 for nail art. She used INK London iLac Gel Polishes in i-161 Asgard and i-156 Retort White with the Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo nail art brushes.
INK London Pro Art Series Nail Art Brush in Michelangelo
£11.67 + VAT www.inknails.com
INK London iLac Gel Polish in i-156 Retort White
£10 + VAT www.inknails.com
California’s @heynicenails paints Halloween characters across the nails of client, Wes, adding a matte top coat to finish.
Ghosts feature in golden frames, holding candles and balloons, in this sparkling manicure by Middlesborough pro, Stacey Lowrie (@sl_yournailgal).
Sunderland’s @spellbound.nailartistry adorns each of her client’s nails with a ghost and gives them different characters, from lovestruck to devilish – and even a cowboy theme!
OPI Infinite Shine
Glow-in-the-dark Lacquer in OPI’m Phosphorescent £9.30 + VAT/RRP £18 uk.wella.professionalstore.com
Taryn VanAlfen (@taryns.nails) offers a sweet take on Halloween nail styling, using pastel shades to paint pumpkins, smiling ghosts and the word ‘boo’ on the ring fingernail.
Halo Create Nail Art Charms in Halloween
£2.69 + VAT www.purenails.co.uk
Nailchemy Lumos FX Gel Polish in Lava
£8.99 + VAT www.nailchemy.co.uk
Sharna Boghurst, Nailchemy brand ambassador & tutor, uses the brand’s Lumos FX Gel Polish collection to create glow-in-the-dark ghouls on nail tips.
TOP TIP
“Post images or videos on your social media platforms with spooky-themed music, to engage clients and serve as a reminder that they should book Halloween nail art appointments,” shares Jessica Price, OPI freelancer & senior nail tech at Nailspa, Huddersfield. “Clients may share your work with others, or save it as inspiration. Use the opportunity to showcase your skill level and create awareness of the time and costs involved.”
Jessica Price
OPI GelColor Intelli-Gel™ in Alpine Snow
£19.90 + VAT uk.wella.professionalstore.com
Halloween-themed nails by Jessica Price using OPI GelColor Intelli-Gel shades in Lady in Black, Alpine Snow and I Mic Be Dreaming.
Silver skulls and embellishments adorn dagger-shaped nails in this smoky nail poster, created by Essex-based pro, Georgina Takács, for Nailympia London 2023.
WEBS & WONDERS
Experiment with nail shapes to offer an intriguing base for Halloween nail art, and add charms and embellishments to bring designs to life. If you’re short on time, fashion a feature nail with a simple spider design or work a web into the manicure, perhaps using speedy stamping techniques.
Artistic GelOn Xtensions in Long Coffin (110pcs)
£5.95 + VAT www.sweetsquared.com
Scarlett Senter combines a blood red hue with black shading, creating an eerie base for hand-painted webs and drips.
Gelish Cat Eye Magnetic Reflections Gel Polish in Green Lights Only
£16.95 + VAT www.gelishmorgantaylor.co.uk
Hara Professional Gel Polish in Vampire’s Kiss
£6.95 + VAT www.haraprofessional.com
Monika Ferreira created this sultry nail style on Gelish Soft Gel Tips in Medium Stiletto. She used Gelish Soak-off Gel Polish in Black Shadow with Matte Top It Off Top Coat as a base, then painted webs using Black Art Form Gel. To create the spider feature nail, Monika used the Green Neon shade from the Gelish Cream Gel Palette in Neon & On & On for the legs, and Gelish Cat Eye Gel Polish in Green Lights Only for the body. She would charge around £65 for the service.
The Manicure Company Gel Polish in Sapphire
£8.55 inc VAT www.themanicurecompany.com
Lecenté Create Gel Polish in Black Magic
£11.99 + VAT www.lecente.com
BRATZ characters get a Halloween makeover in this eye-catching nail design by Devin Strebler of @nailz_by_dev. The Florida pro used products from her own range, NAILZ BY DEV, to create the look.
Moyra Stamping Plate in A135 Macabre
£9.90 inc VAT www.moyrauk.co.uk
Staffordshire-based Glitterbels ambassador, Stacy Machin, is behind this alternative French style, using shades of pink, white and black with Halloween-themed details. The pro painted bats, spiders and ghosts using Unbelievabel Gels in White, Black, Ruby, Hot Shot and I Love You.
Glitterbels Unbelievabel Gel in Ruby
£9.95 + VAT www.glitterbels.com
Nail artist & content creator, Katie Alice (@katiealice_nail_design), painted webs using Lecenté Mirror Chrome Detail Paint, onto a base of glossy Lecenté Create shade, Black Magic.
The GelBottle Inc Studio Effects Flashing Pigment in Pillarbox
£10 + VAT www.thegelbottle.com