How to Do Ghost Nails: Easy Minimalist Halloween Nail Art

Ghost nails are the Halloween mani for people who don't love Halloween manis. They're cute, not creepy, and they take about ten minutes once your base is down. All you need is a white, a black, and a steady-ish hand. Here's how to do them, plus four easy twists.

What you'll need

• Gel Base Coat
• Frenchie, a crisp, opaque white for the ghost
• Luxxe, a jet black for the eyes
• Gel Diamond Shine Top Coat (or Velvet Matte for a softer look)
• A dotting tool or a toothpick, and a thin detail brush
• An LED lamp

How to do ghost nails

1. Prep. Push back cuticles, buff lightly, and wipe each nail with alcohol. The full prep is in our at-home manicure guide.
2. Base coat. One thin coat of Gel Base Coat, then cure.
3. Paint the ghost. With Frenchie on your detail brush, paint a soft rounded blob, like a dome, with a wavy bottom edge. Keep it off-center or tucked into a corner so plenty of nail shows around it. Two thin coats beat one thick one. Cure between coats.
4. Add the face. Dip a dotting tool or toothpick in Luxxe and press two small dots for eyes. Add a tiny oval below for a surprised "boo" mouth if you like. Cure.
5. Seal it. Diamond Shine Top Coat, capped over the free edge, then cure.

Tip: do the ghost on one or two accent nails per hand and leave the rest bare, milky, or black. It reads more polished than ten ghosts.

Ghost accent nails, design and video by @cutieclesandcurls

4 ways to switch it up

• Glow-in-the-dark ghost: paint the ghost in Electric Blue, So Extra, or Electronica, our glow-in-the-dark shades, so it lights up when the lights go down.
• Matte ghost: finish with Velvet Matte Top Coat for a soft, suede look.
• Ghost French: a milky Blyss base, a thin Luxxe tip, and one tiny ghost peeking up from the tip line.
• Black-base ghost: Luxxe on the whole nail, a Frenchie ghost on top, and eyes in Luxxe. The ghost pops even more.

Make the curves easier

If freehand curves feel wobbly, practice the shape first. Our basic brush strokes guide covers dots and curves, and the printable nail art templates let you sketch the ghost life-size before it goes on your nail.

More Halloween nail ideas

Want more than ghosts? Our 14 Halloween nail ideas post has blood drip French, matte black stiletto, silver flames, and more, all in shades that still look good in November.

Made a ghost mani? Tag @barbella_co on Instagram so we can see it.

Every BarBella Co gel polish is vegan, 10-free, HEMA-free, and Leaping Bunny Certified cruelty-free. Where nail care, health & conscience go hand in hand!