The next Hallowe’en nail art: Skull Nails! They’re really easy and fast to do. Plus you’ll only need two colours, so hopefully more of you will decide to replicate this!
Yes, the teeth are super long, but you can tweak this design as you see fit. You could make your skulls smile, you could add some stitches, or you can go the lazy route like me and just draw vertical lines.
Even though it’s not perfect, I think that this is a fun design you can do in a snap.
Also, with just a few easy modifications, I can see how you could turn this into ghost nail art. (I’ll probably try this out later, too!)
P.S. Later on, I may try to do skull nail art that looks more menacing like The Punisher. We’ll see!
Skull Nail Art Swatches
All swatches have:
- OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- 3 coats of OPI Alpine Snow
- Eyes & Nose: China Glaze Liquid Leather
- Teeth: NYX Ink Nail Art in Black
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Note: The sun wasn’t out when I wore this, so I just have natural light and flash photos for you.
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*~* Skull Nails Tutorial *~*
What I Used:
- OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
- OPI Alpine Snow
- China Glaze Liquid Leather
- NYX Ink Nail Art in Black
- Daniel Stone Art Tool #5
- Daniel Stone Art Tool #1
- Piece of foil
Step 1: Apply a Base Coat
Step 2: Paint Your Nails White
I used OPI Alpine Snow. It took 3 coats to achieve the opacity you see in the below photo.
Wait 10-15 minutes to allow time for it to dry a bit before proceeding to the next step.
Step 3: Add the Eye Sockets
I added a few drops of China Glaze Liquid Leather onto my piece of foil. Then I dipped my Daniel Stone Art Tool #5 into it and placed the eye sockets near the top of my nail.
Ideally, you’ll want to make the dots more like the ones on my index finger instead of more rounded like on my other fingers. I think when they’re more like ovals instead of circles, they look cooler for skulls.
Step 4: Add the Nose
Dipping my Daniel Stone Art Tool #1 into the same bit of China Glaze Liquid Leather, I put 2 dots beneath the eyes to create an upside-down heart shape.
Step 5: Add the Teeth
I used my NYX Ink Nail Art striper brush to draw vertical lines to represent the teeth. You could make them shorter or even add a curved line through the middle to make them look like they’re smiling if that looks better to you.
Wait about 10-15 minutes to allow for this to dry before continuing to the next step.
Step 6: Add a Top Coat
See how simple that was? I bet that yours will turn out better than mine. I actually did this spontaneously while I was talking on the phone. If you put in more effort than I did, you could make it look more eerie and Hallowe’eny. 🙂
Will you be wearing skulls on your nails? Do you own any skull necklaces? Have you thought about what you’re going to dress up as for Hallowe’en yet?
How fun!!! I love it and will definitely replicate it!!
xoxox
Alexis recently posted: DO NOT CROSS!!!
Hey Alexis!
YAY! Please take photos because I’d love to see how yours turn out…and how long/short you make the teeth. 😉
Skulls! On nails! Just two colors! I love it. This is going on my must try list. In fact, I think I’m going to do it today. (I need something fun to get me out of this gloomy funk the weather keeps putting me into) 🙂
PS. Punisher nails would be even better than skull nails. Or how about Ghost Rider nails? Glowing skulls, anyone? 😀
Carmela recently posted: NYC In A New York Minute in Spring Street
Hey Carmela!
Yeah, the weather has been depressing: cold and spitting rain. Not a fan.
Please be sure to take photos – I must see what your skull nails look like!
Ooohh….glowing skulls!
As always, this is so cool! I love the simplicity of the lines for the teeth. The whole effect is very cool, like an alien skull!
mellinail recently posted: Just in Time for Breast Cancer Awareness
Hey mellinail!
That’s definitely what I was going for! YAY! 🙂
Awesome idea! I think if you’re super lazy, you could stop at step 2 (painting the eyes) and it’ll look like ghost nails. 😛
Hey Vivian!
Hehe, I actually almost did stop there! This whole design is ideal for the nailphile who wants fast Hallowe’en nail art.
Wait wait wait I REALLY like this, I need to try it sometime!
lulu recently posted: Day 3: Yellow Nails
Yellow: OPI The “It” GirlWhite: Essie…
Hey lulu!
I’m waiting! You definitely need to try this one. Super easy to do and they look menacing. Plus, who doesn’t want to take 10 skulls wherever you go? 😉
I’m really not so talented at the whole nail art thing, but I think this is simple enough that even I could pull it off! Great job!
Ashley recently posted: Enchanted Eye Cream by Lush
Hey Ashley!
I’m sure it’ll turn out great if you get it a whirl. 🙂 Glad you might try it!
The top half of these look like the Misfits logo! lol
Emily Jurow recently posted: CVS Nail Polish Haul- Glitter freaking tastic.
Hey Emily!
Haha, you’re right! They do!
So simple and so adorable!
imfeelingnail-venturous recently posted: Halloween Nail Design
Hey imfeelingnail-venturous!
Thank you! Hope you try it out this month. 🙂
Mary! These are spooooktacular!!!
You know… Now I’m curious… Do you wear your nail art or do you showcase it, enjoy it at home and then keep swatching?
Thank you for sharing this tutorial with us! I like how the little skulls already seem to be smiling at me… or maybe that is me projecting my smile at them? (what would Freud say?)
Uhm… I’m not a fan of skulls and spooky stuff, but I wouldn’t mind having a posse of these skeletals on my nails! 🙂
ps. you know what would be really fun!?! To add a glow in the dark coat on top of all of these (or just a chosen one)… My wall mart had one more bottle of the glow-in-the-dark colour… hmmm 🙂
xxx
Marta recently posted: Black and White with bling… Concert time!
Hey Marta!
I wear my nail art out the vast majority of the time. Swatching a polish and then just removing it doesn’t make me happy because I feel that if I put in time and effort into a design (or even just painting my nails one colour), I should wear it for at least a day (but usually I wear it for longer, especially if it’s a colour I adore or a design that I’m really proud of).
Oh, by the way, I was going to wear Chanel Peridot until it chipped, but…haha, it lasted for 5 days on me and was perfect still! However, I wanted to do another Hallowe’en nail-art design, so I removed it. I’m pretty sure Chanel is upset. 😛 And now I’m wondering how long it would’ve lasted if I just kept wearing it. I’m so impressed by the formula because I had always heard about Chanel being chiptastic.
Yes, if it glowed in the dark, that would be realllllly cool! I have a couple of glow-in-the-dark polishes (China Glaze and OPI) that I still haven’t tried. Hope I get around to them before Hallowe’en!
I love these, great idea!!!
Michelle Miller recently posted: It Cosmetics Brow Power Lift Anti-Aging Dual End Pencil
Hey Michelle!
Thank you! I had fun and they were finished in a snap. 🙂
I just wanted to tell you that I l LOVE your site!!!! I’m obsessed with nails and doing designs, even though Im not that great lol. Im getting better though. I found your site on beautylish. Your nail designs are awesome!!
Kelly
http://www/beautyobsessed2@blogspot.com
Kelly recently posted: Wednesday’s Beauty Tip
Hey Kelly!
Thank you so much. I’m glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying Swatch And Learn! 🙂
I think the biggest thing is just trying nail designs. 🙂 Practice, practice, practice! And also, it’s important to remember that perfection isn’t the goal – happiness is! 🙂 When I had that perspective, it made such a huge difference and I started trying more nail art. 🙂
I really really love this and will be doing to sometime this month for SURE.
Pam recently posted: Pumpkin by Icing, and black shatter
Hey Pam!
Thanks! 🙂 Glad you liked the design enough to try it. If you take photos of your manicure, I’d love to see how it turns out.
totally want to do this!!
Hey thepaigest!
You should definitely try it. It’s a snap to do. 🙂 You’ll have a blast doing it, too.
SOO awesome!! I am definitely doing these when Halloween comes around!! 😀
Hey Ruthe!
You definitely should. I’m sure you’ll do a great job! 🙂
I love the skulls!!! They look easy enough that I MAY be able to do them on my right hand! haha. I’ve seen lots of Halloween nail art and this is definitely one of my favorites. I also LOVE your candy corn one! Great job!
Nic recently posted: Ulta Jungle Look Polish- Review
Hey Nic!
Thank you so much for saying that! There are so many amazing Hallowe’en designs I want to do, but there just isn’t enough time…hehe!
Yes, they are REALLLLY simple to do. You should definitely try them because the finished look is so dramatic.
i know im young but i love to do designs on my nails and this is PERFECT for halloween. mine were a bit messy but its because my white isnt very new…i love it and caint wait to show my friends at school. thank you for the idea.
-kyleigh 🙂
Hey kyleigh!
Nail art has no age limitations! As long as it makes you happy, go for it, I say!
I’m so excited for you to show your friends, too. 😀
This person on Facebook has stolen one of your photos and is claiming it as her own art, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Exclusive-Nail-Art-By-FarIa/115682311918288 You’re not the only person she’s doing this to either.
Hey Christy!
Thanks for letting me know about it. It makes me feel pretty sad. I love encouraging people to try different nail art and nail polishes, so this bugs me. It’s hard to see a lot of people’s hard work just stolen like that.