Are you a fan of Tim Burton or of The Nightmare Before Christmas? Then you might like these Jack Skellington Nails!
When I sat down to paint this, I didn’t have much time, so a nail-art design that was fast and that didn’t use too many colours was imperative.
I’m so happy to share this look with you because it’s perfect if you’re just painting your nails tonight and need something easy. This is also a design that doesn’t require too much concentration. It’s okay if the lines aren’t really straight and even. It all goes together.
I want to wish you all a very HAPPY HALLOWE’EN! Please be safe no matter what you decide to do, and HAVE FUN! 🙂
Jack Skellington Nail Art Swatches (Nightmare Before Christmas Nail Art Swatches)
All swatches have:
- CND Stickey Anchoring Base Coat
- Base Colours
- China Glaze Snow (White)
- China Glaze Liquid Leather (Black)
- White Stripes
- L.A. Colors Art Deco White
- Black Facial Details
- Milani Nail Art Black Sketch (This was provided by PR.)
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Flash Photos
This is what happens when you apply a top coat, have an itch, and absent-mindedly scratch that itch when your thumb nail is still wet. Ooooops! Haha!
Natural Light Photos
Yup, here’s the messed up thumb nail again. 🙂 When I wore this manicure for a couple of days, I didn’t bother redoing this nail. It’s okay to own your mistakes.
*~* Jack Skellington (Nightmare Before Christmas) Nail Art Tutorial *~*
What I Used:
- CND Stickey Anchoring Base Coat
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
- China Glaze Snow
- China Glaze Liquid Leather
- L.A. Colors Art Deco White
- Milani Nail Art Black Sketch
Step 1: Apply a Base Coat
Step 2: Paint the Base Colours
You could choose to just do one Jack Skellington on your accent nail if you want to save even more time.
But, if you want to recreate the same look I’ve done, you’ll need to alternate between black and white on your nails.
Wait about 5 minutes before proceeding. Your nails don’t have to be fully dry, but they just shouldn’t be very wet before you continue.
2 coats of each shade (China Glaze Snow and China Glaze Liquid Leather, respectively)
Step 3: Give Jack Sight
Using your nail striper, paint the eyes. I experimented a bit. I think that the pair of eyes on the left look better and are more menacing, so try to do that shape.
However, if your eyes turn out like the one on the right, it’s okay, too. It’ll just make Jack look friendlier…haha!
Step 4: Let Him Breathe
Using your nail striper, add two short lines to represent the nostrils.
Step 5: Begin the Creepy Grin
You’ll want to make it really wide – wider than you normally would. You want the mouth to be exaggerated. Remember, you’ll be putting stitches on top, and if the mouth is too short, you won’t be able to add as many stitches. (I think more stitches looks interesting.)
Tip: Instead of trying to paint the smile line from left to right in a single stroke, try painting from the left to the middle. Then, re-dip your brush to get more polish and then paint from the right to the middle. Re-dip your brush, and then thicken the line. I find this is much better than trying to do the smile in one stroke.
Step 6: Add Stitches
Using your nail striper, add lots of short vertical lines along the smile you just drew. This part is really fun! 🙂
Step 7: Paint Vertical Stripes
This was my favourite part of the entire manicure! (I can’t wait to wear a full manicure with just vertical lines!)
Take your white striper and paint a line near the middle of your nail. Then add vertical lines to the left and right of it.
After this, make sure you wait a minimum of 20 minutes to allow most of this design to dry. You don’t want to smear your design at the very end.
Step 8: Apply a Top Coat
Hope you enjoyed this extremely easy and fast Hallowe’en nail-art design. 🙂 Even though it was so simple and it’s not perfect, I actually got a lot of compliments on this look, even from the woman at Starbucks (because ohhh yeahhh, I was enjoying the Pumpkin Spice Latte)! 😀
Do you celebrate Hallowe’en? If so, what are you doing today? What’s your favourite thing about the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas?
GENIUS!!!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!! LOOOOOVE!!!!!!!!!!! You always have something amazing up your sleeve!!
Hey Melissa!
Thank you! 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the design so much. Please do try it out because it’s fast and easy. Plus the vertical stripes are fun to wear. I think that those who have short nails and want them to look longer will especially love the lines because they give the illusion of longer nails.
I love these! They are so fun and you did an amazing job capturing them 🙂
Stephanie recently posted: China Glaze Holiday Joy Press Release
Hey Stephanie!
Thanks! 🙂 I feel like anyone can recreate this look because it doesn’t take a whole palette of polishes. Plus you can whip it up really fast – always a plus when you’re strapped for time.
These are very cute! I did a different Jack manicure this week, too!
http://angiesphalanges.blogspot.com/2012/10/manicure-monday-jack-skellington.html
Hey Angie!
Just checked out your version, and I LOVE IT! You really translated the personality of Jack especially well! I love how one of your nails has his suit. Adorable!
These turned out great! Looks just like Nightmare Before Christmas!
Hey Tishana!
Thank you! 🙂 I need to re-watch that movie. Seems like far too long since I’ve seen it. And can you believe that one of my friends has NEVER seen it? I think that’s criminal!
These are so cute! I know I should be studying for an exam, but I really want to do festive Halloween nails! Happy Halloween!
Brianna recently posted: Music Challenge Day 10
Hey Brianna!
Hahahaha, oh no! It’s flattering, but I hope that you spend time studying. I want you to kick ass and take names on that exam! Happy Hallowe’en to you, too! 🙂
I absolutely love your Jack nails 😀
Nightmare Before Christmas is my absolute favorite movie of all time and I have probably seen it 30 times or more by this point. I saw it 6 times in the theater when it came out. This year for the first time I showed it to my 3 daughters as a special Halloween treat and they loved it too! They were asking for it again already this morning so I think I may see it another 30 times in the next few weeks 😉
Hey Heidi!
WOW, yes, you definitely DO love the movie if you saw it 6 times in the theatre! 🙂 But that movie is the kind that you can’t get tired of when you see it multiple times. It’s a modern classic, in my opinion.
Did you ever see The Corpse Bride? If so, what did you think of it? I really loved it, but not as much as The Nightmare Before Christmas. Also, you might love Coraline. Have you seen it? It’s one of my favourite movies – you can watch it soooo many times, and it’s always amazing!
I love the nailart that you do. You add that special “Mary” touch to make each design radiate “made from the heart”. I love it! Perfect for the Halloween season.
I have not seen this movie yet- can you believe it (please don’t throw polish bottle at me… or, on second though, do, then I can catch them and keep them 😉 ) lol.
I went trick-or-treating with a froggie, dragon and a unicorn… now I’m helping them eat the candy 😉
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Hey Marta!
THANK YOU – that really means so much to me that you think so! I am very passionate about self-expression and encouraging others to stay true to themselves, so I’m glad some of that comes through. Even if it only peeks out through the clouds, I’m still very happy for that!
*Gasp* Yes, Marta…go rent the movie this weekend! You. Must. Watch. That. Movie. It’s a modern classic as far as I’m concerned. You can even watch it around Christmas. It’s one of those rare Hallowe’en- and Christmas-appropriate movies!
How about I just “throw” you polish in the mail…in a padded envelope so the polishes arrive safely? 😉
Oohh, sounds like you had really fun company on Hallowe’en. And it’s awfully nice of you to help them eat the candy. That’s the hardest part. Honestly! 😉 Hehehehe!
I can def see recreating this with warm colors and using the skull as an accent nail. Love when nail art is simple to recreate. I am not Picasso! 🙂
Hey Tanyatopia!
Nail art should be enjoyed by everyone, and that’s exactly why I try to do simple designs that can be recreated. 🙂 It’s less intimidating to others that way, and it might convince someone to try their hand (for the first time) at some nail art. 🙂