Make no bones about it, but Bone Nail Art is easy to incorporate into any spooky design for a Hallowe’en manicure.

You don’t need any special colours – just black and white. Those are pretty much staples for most nail art, and any nailphile probably already has them in their collection.

I used OPI My Gondola or Yours?, which is a glossy black from the Venice Collection. For the white, I reached for Pretty Serious Presence.

The only additional tools you’ll need are a dotting tool and a striping brush. However, if you don’t have a dotting tool, using the end of an old makeup brush or pen can do the trick in a pinch.

As for the striping brush, you don’t need one that’s specifically for nail art. You can get an inexpensive set of brushes from the Dollar Store’s craft section and then use scissors to trim the bristles to narrow the width to your needs. Easy peasy!

Haha, also, don’t forget to add the rounded areas on either ends of the bones. If you accidentally only do one side, well, it’ll make some pretty risqué adult nail art for a bachelorette party, I suppose! 😉

I hope that you enjoy my step-by-step tutorial with written instructions and photos near the bottom. I love sharing simple and quick nail designs that anyone can recreate. The more we all can spread the joy of painting, the better!

Bone Nail Art Swatches

All swatches have:

• OPI Nail Envy – Maintenance version (Used as a base coat)
• 2 coats of OPI My Gondola or Yours? (Black)
• Pretty Serious Presence (White)
• Pretty Serious Aqua Coat Top Coat

Artificial Light Photos

Natural Light Photos

*~* Bone Nail Art Tutorial *~*

What I Used:

• OPI Nail Envy (Maintenance version)
• Pretty Serious Aqua Coat Top Coat
• OPI My Gondola or Yours?
• Pretty Serious Presence
• Daniel Stone Art Tool #1
• Nail striping brush

Step 1: Apply your favourite base coat

Step 2: Paint the base colour

After allowing your base coat to dry, apply whichever base colour you want.

I suggest using a dark shade, so the white bones will be easier to see with more contrast.

Here, I used two coats of OPI My Gondola or Yours?, which is from the Venice Collection.

Step 3: Start creating the bones

Using a striping brush dipped into an opaque white nail polish, apply long lines in different directions on each nail.

Make sure that you leave space near the ends, and avoid having them touch.

Don’t worry if the thickness isn’t even. After all, bones come in all sizes and aren’t completely symmetrical. (Plus remember my life philosophy that I keep harping about? Happiness is more important than perfection, so as long as you’re happy wearing your nail art, that’s what matters the most!)

The white I used was Pretty Serious Presence, and I didn’t need to go over the lines a second time.

Step 4: Put the finishing touch on the bones

With your dotting tool dipped into the white nail polish, add two touching dots to either end of the lines you painted.

Step 5: Add a shiny or matte top coat to seal in the design

Make sure that you wait for the design to dry a little on its own before you slap on a top coat. (If you’re too hasty, you’ll smudge all your hard work. Patience pays off!) I recommend waiting about 15 minutes or longer.

Step 6: Tell someone that you have a bone to pick with them

Bone Up on Adding Bones to Your Nail Art

Maybe you don’t want to wear bones by themselves. No problem! There are other ways to add them to fun Hallowe’en nail art. For instance, remember the silly Chicken Drumstick Nail Art (from 2011) and the Neon Skull Nail Art (from 2012) that I did? It’d be easy to add a few extra bones as accents.

Disclosure: OPI My Gondola or Yours?, Pretty Serious Presence, and Pretty Serious Aqua Coat Top Coat were provided by me by PR or the company.

Have you decided what you’ll be sporting for your Hallowe’en manicure? What’s your favourite spooky nail design that you’ve worn or seen?