With Halloween coming up, I wanted to make sure this week’s Manicure Monday was spooky! Whether you dress up in full costume for Halloween or not, nail art is a great way to celebrate the holiday.  It’s a simple statement that can make a big impact.  And with Halloween, there are so many different designs you can create!  Ghosts and black cats for those who like something a little scary, pumpkins and candy corn for those who love the sweet side of the holiday – or spider webs and drops of blood! Want to see how I got the look? Read on!

For this look, I wanted to keep the base simple.  I started, as always, with Seche Natural.  I went a few manicures trying an alternative base coat, and my nails haven’t been the same.  Seche, I’ll never leave you again.  The more neutral the base, the more your nail art stands out.  I used Sally Hansen’s Maximum Growth Plus Nourishing Nail Color in Innocent Nude.  They apparently don’t make that line anymore, but the closest available polish is Sally Hansen’s Nailgrowth Miracle in Innocent Nude.  Two thin coats should suffice – it’s actually a great consistency and gives more color than you’d expect.

I started the design with my accent nail.  I really couldn’t wait to try out the design I had in mind – blood drops.  This look doesn’t always have to be so … bloody.  In fact, you could use it any other time of year if you swap dark red out for bright colors.  It’ll look like paint drops!  Creating the drops is easier than you’d think.  Create three small dots in varying places on your nail using a dark red color.  I used Essie’s Bordeaux.  Drag the dot of polish down to the tip of your nail.  Finish the look by sweeping the polish across the tip of your nail, like a French manicure.

I turned the rest of my nails into spider webs using the Kiss Nail Art Paint kit.  Taking the black nail art paint, I created three lines extending from the base of my nail.  These lines will create the base of the spider web.  To continue to design, I connected each of these three lines as shown in the image to the right.  Continue connecting the lines towards the tip of your nail.  The more lines you create, the more it looks like a spider web! And don’t worry if your lines aren’t too neat – spiders don’t seem to care, so why should we?

To add a little something extra to the look, I added silver glitter from my Kiss Nail Art Paint kit to some of the lines in the spider web.  I think it helps them to stand out and helps the look to seem more complete.  Before adding your top coat, I’d suggest letting your nails dry.  The last thing you want is to spend so much time on the details, only to have your top coat smudge it!

What manicure are you sporting for Halloween this year?