Halloween is almost here

I almost cannot believe that Halloween is almost here. Due to the fact that I was born in Central Europe this holiday was introduced to me through movies. Since I live in the USA, I am surrounded by the atmosphere of Halloween every year. And this year I was inspired by the spirit of this holiday by creating Halloween manicures.

For my manicures I usually use nail polish that is easily accessible either in drugstore or online (for most of my purchases I use www.8ty8beauty.com). Main part of my collection consists of China Glaze polishes but I have a great selection of other brands as well. My favorite thing to do is stamping and my favorite brands are without any question Winstonia, Pueen, Bundle Monster, Cheeky, MoYou London, Mash and Shany. You can find all these brands online; either on their direct website or Amazon.

This year I accepted the 31 day nail challenge and Bundle Monster's Monster Scream challenge. These were all so much fun to do. I was able to complete almost all of the themes in the month of October and I was were proud of myself to come up with different ideas. Thus I decided to share some of them with you on my blog as well. As mentioned previously, I am mostly active on Instagram where you can find me under username nailsby_judinka 123 (http://instagram.com/nailsby_judinka123).

Black cat Halloween manicure

I absolutely love how this manicure turned out. All I did was a simple french manicure with white tips using striping tape from a manicure kit I bought at a local Walgreens. And because I was clumsy enough, I managed to smudge my ring finger; thus I decided to place a black stone to cover up my mistake.

Bundle Monster - stamping plate; black Konad stamping polish; white - Sally Hansen polish and striper

All I did after my manicure was dry I stamped over few black cats. I do know that the manicure may appear a bit busy with the rhinestone but I needed to find a quick solution to safe what I could. All in all I am extremely happy with the way the entire mani came out. This took only few minutes (longest part is to wait for the nail polish to dry so that you don't smudge it when you attempt your stamping).

Skulls Halloween manicure

Another absolutely simple mani using different stamping plates (if I can find them all I will note it in the capture part of the picture). For this manicure I applies 1 coat of an Essence nail polish and then for my stamping I used White On from Sally Hansen. I have to say that is my favorite while nail polish for stamping. This is also widely available in all drug stores. With the Essence brand in general, the only place I can find them is Ulta in USA.
 

Essence nail polish; various stamping plates

The little guy on my ring finger is smudged a lil bit because I was not patient enough for the nail polish to dry completely. It takes a little practice to know when you polish is ready. It also depends on the brand that you are using and the type of nail polish. What I prefer to do is paint my nails the day before (usually before bed) and then do the stamping the following day. You can also try gently touching the nail polish to see if it leaves any finger prints in it but that is still not a guarantee your polish is ready for stamping. Let me know what is your secret to get a nice and clean stamping image on your nails.

Bats Halloween mani

Well, not sure where to start with this one...lol. As you can see went for another stamping manicure attempting a free hand bat. My husband said it looks like our dog when it is giving us that creepy look...hahaha...and he is right! But I tried my best as I am not a nail artist and I am definitely one of those people whose drawings look like painted by a 5 year old child. Still like the was it turned out.

Bundle Monster stamping plates and China Glaze nail polish

For the base I used one of the red colors from China Glaze but you can literally use any red nail polish you have available. For stamping I used a gold polish and I usually alternate between Maybelline's Bold Gold and Wet'n'Wild Pot of Gold. They are both great for stamping purposes and you should be easily able to find them in the drugstore.

Candy Corn

For this manicure I originally thought I would do stamping...but then I received my Julep box and they included these Candy Corn candies. So I did a simple Gradient. For some reason I cannot remember what brand(s) or name colors I used for this manicure but what I did was using a white nail polish as a base and then using a make up sponge I created the gradient effect applying a white, orange and yellow color. You can do as many layers as you need; I usually prefer 2 coats or as needed (I am very inpatient when it comes to wait time for the nail polish to dry).

Candy Corn was in my Julep subscription box. I tend to skip my monthly box but this time I really liked the colors. P.S. - the candy itself wasn't too good but looks good in the picture ;)

With the middle finger I only did 3 simple stripes creating a vertical effect on the nail. The main "problem" I ran into when creating this manicure was the yellow polish. Even though I have a decent collection, I have maybe 3 or 4 yellow polishes only!

Ghosts Halloween manicure

This is one of my husband's favorites. And again, this was easy as 1,2,3. For my base I used a Color Club holographic nail polish. I absolutely love and adore the holo polishes from this brand. I used one coat on my nails and it was completely opaque. For stamping I used a plate from Bundle Monster and white polish from Sally Hansen and black one from Konad.

Bundle Monster stamping plate; Sally Hansen - White On; Color Club - Kismet and black stamping polish from Konad

The ringer finger has a free hand painted ghost. All I did was using White On from Sally Hansen and applying it over 3/4 of my nail. Then I took my dotting tools and added eyes and a mouth. Does my ghost look spooky? lol

Spider Halloween manicure

Well, with this one I went a little crazy. Besides stamping I used few of my butterfly femos that I got a long time ago of Amazon. And though I love them lot, let's be honest. They are really not too practical, especially if you have things to do (challenges like putting on pantie hose, cooking, etc.). But for a Halloween challenge nail art and Halloween in general, I think they compliment this silly manicure.

China Glaze - At the Vase Value; stamping - black Konad polish and gold Maybelline; femos - ordered from Amazon

For my base I used this gorgeous color from China Glaze - At the Vase Value and then gold and black polish for the spider and spider webs. Then using a little bit of top coat, I added the trapped butterflies. These would be also great if you have bald spots or streaky nail polish. For this mani I used 2 coats of this polishes but to be honest, if you are planning to wear this color on its own, I would do at least 3 coats. Never the less, I am happy with the way this looks.

You can find many more ideas on Instagram under username: nailsby_judinka123; so don't forget to go over and check them out. If you celebrate Halloween, then Happy Halloween. Let me know what is your favorite Halloween candy. Stay tuned for more manicures. Thank you all for being here today.