It's October so let's share some Halloween nail art to get you ready for spooky season! The following designs were all freehanded by me. Of course, some were inspired by other people's work as well. You are welcome to recreate them or save/screenshot them to have them done at a nail salon. If you do so and end up sharing pictures of it on Instagram, hopefully you would tag me. If you share it on other platforms, you can link this blog post. Giving creators a bit of credit can actually be very helpful to us! Let's jump right in:
Halloween Disney Nail Art–Mickey Pumpkin Patch
This was inspired by Castles and Couture. They have lots of Disney themed home items and one of their most popular patterns is Pumpkin Patch. Even hiding among fellow pumpkins, Mickey pumpkins can be easily spotted. For the base, I used Arianna (158) from Angel Ariel Collections. It's in between light blue and blue-gray. The detailed pattern on top is painted using acrylic paint. I first used light blue to draw lines across the base then drew pumpkins on top.
Unlike most Halloween nail art which is always orange and black, this design uses a soft and versatile blue topped with decorative orange pumpkins. It's super cute close-up and not over-the-top from afar. It also work very well with different outfits and accessories. This is one of my favorites lately.
Pumpkins are also not just for Halloween, it would work all throughout fall. If you like colors that are even more low-key, you could also opt for a light pink base. You could even use a slightly see-through jelly polish in peach, light pink, or beige. The pumpkins would add an oomph to the simple colors so that it's modest but not boring. Honestly, I think this design is even work-appropriate! Your client might even think that they are adorable.
But then again, none of the companies I worked for ever cared about what we did to our nails. I used to work at an e-commerce company that had no dress code and I'd literally show up to work in something that resembles pajamas. Once, we had a walk-in customer and I showed up to help them like I just got out of bed. So if your company has a strict dress code... probably don't listen to me.
Halloween Disney Nail Art–Coco
Since ghosts and the dead are the theme, how can Coco not be on the list! In case you haven't seen it–which is horrendous, you need to watch it now–this movie is about Dia de Muertos, which is the Mexican Day of the Dead. I know it's not the same as Halloween but it is on 11/1–11/2 which is so close to Halloween and they share some common roots.
For the base, I used Never Have Too Mani Friends (NLH91) from OPI's Hello Kitty Collection. My go-to black color is usually OPI's Black Onyx. It is a solid and unmistakable black. In comparison, Never Have Too Many Friends seems to have a warmer tint, bringing in a hint of brown.
The patterns and details are painted with acrylic paint as usual and were inspired by Disney's Coco Mickey ears. The colorful patterns pop very well on the black background and this is also one of my most popular designs on Pinterest! It was repinned more times than any of my other posts and people are liking the Instagram post even months and years after I initially posted it.
By the way, I want to clarify that I am not being culturally insensitive or committing culture appropriation. I completely understand that Dia de Muertos is different from Halloween and is a spiritual family holiday. I genuinely appreciate their art. Also, I honestly think that culture appropriation is so contradicting that I cannot accept the existence of the concept in the first place. It is an "anti-racism" idea that can only exist if you have accepted racism. When a person of a dominant culture adopts elements form a non-dominant culture and is praised for it, while people from the non-dominant culture who do the same get discriminated, then the person from the dominant culture has committed culture appropriation. What?
Ad:
First, let's define dominant and non-dominant as mainstream and not. When someone from a dominant culture likes fashion from a non-dominant culture and mimics it, does that not show that they appreciate the non-dominant culture? How is that discrimination? Yes, they may be praised. The people that should be condemned are not those who mimic the fashion out of appreciation but the people who discriminated people from the non-dominant culture for dressing according to their own culture. I really want to know who invented this weird logic known as cultural appropriation.
Mainly, I can't accept the double standard where one party can mimic the other while the other party cannot do the same. Just like when I watch movies based on books, I like them to stick to the original. I can't stand them casting blondes as Dorian Gray. I can't stand them casting a white person as a black character, I also can't stand them casting a black person as a white character! (Yes, I said black, not African American. Whoever thinks that the latter is the politically correct term needs to understand that not all black people are American. Black is not derogatory unless you are racist and have associated negative sentiments to it.)
But the mainstream media seem committed to this doubled standard, not realizing that their actions are in fact benevolent racism or reverse racism. And honestly, I think that's worse because that's what perpetuates discrimination.
Halloween Disney Nail Art–Ghost Mickey
It's Halloween so Mickey gotta trick or treat, too! Throwing on a bedsheet as a ghost costume is literally the laziest Halloween costume in the book but I'm sure Mickey would still get his fair share of candy! He is incredibly cute even under a bedsheet.
For the base, I used a brick red with a hint of orange, perfect for Halloween and autumn. This is Alyssa (179) from Angel Ariel Collection's fall/winter collection of 2018. Mickey is, of course, painted with acrylic paint.
I like how simple and cute this design is. The closer that Mickey's ears and the top of his head are to perfect circles and curves, the more adorable he would look. His eyes shining from the holes he poked in the bedsheet look endearingly naughty. Even with a bedsheet over his head, Mickey is highly recognizable.
If you don't want to paint something on every finger and would like to leave some of them blank, this is perfect for you! Also, the design is basically in black and white, so if you would like to change the base into a different color, anything would work.
Halloween Disney Nail Art–PIXAR Jack O' Lanterns
I love Disney but I love Pixar even more! If you held a gun to my head and said that I could only pick one, I would no doubt pick Pixar. Though with tears in my eyes. One of the main reasons why I feel good about Apple products is because I thought that Steve Jobs must have exceptional taste being one of the founders of Pixar.
Since Disney spent 74 billion buying Pixar, I can now officially list this under Disney Halloween designs.
There are a few Pixar characters with really round heads and would look really cute as Jack O' Lanterns. Here I chose Jack Jack from The Incredibles for my middle finger. On my ring finger, I used Mike Wazowski from Monster's Inc. He is so round that I dressed him up as a pumpkin for Halloween.
The base color is a beautiful gray-blue with a hint of purple. It's Laurie Laurence from Et Seq's Little Women collection. I thought that it was perfect to serve as the Halloween night sky. I topped it off with Matte About You from OPI and I honestly think it brought the whole design up a notch.
Halloween Disney Nail Art–The Evil Queen
How can villains miss out on this Halloween compilation! The most classic villain of all is the Evil Queen from Snow White. I really love her primarily because I find Snow White pretty annoying...
I took elements from her clothing, using purple, red, and yellow. They are all from OPI, respectively Funky Dunkey, Got The Mean Reds from the Breakfast at Tiffany's Collection and The It Color from the Charlie Brown Collection. I just love how name these colors.
I painted the Evil Queen before and after she transformed herself on my middle and ring finger. Drawing just half of her face on each so that they can piece together into a complete face, perfectly demonstrating her two sides.
And that's a wrap of my 5 favorite Disney Halloween designs!
--
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!
For more nail art: https://www.instagram.com/nails_by_aria/
Lifestyle, workout, doggies: https://www.instagram.com/cheriearia/