HALLOWEEN NAIL ART: Spooky Grungy Voodoo Doll Nails

by - October 22, 2021


Did I 100% buy the stamping plate I used for today's mani specifically because I've been wanted to do some version of VooDoo doll nails for years? Yes, I did. Did I have any idea how I was going to actually do it once I had the plate in hand? Absolutely I did not. One issue that I have with wanting to center an entire design around one smaller image is that it can be hard to think of a cohesive way to fill out the rest of the design. That said, this spooky season I have definitely leaned into a vibe of "everything Halloween is improved with more spiderwebs," and I definitely think that mindset served me well with this design.

Keep reading for more!


When I was figuring out what I wanted to do with this mani, I decided that I wanted the background to have a sort of tattered textile sort of vibe to it to really lean into the idea of the voodoo doll. I decided to go with a sort of canvas kind of a vibe. To start, I applied two coats of a pale beige nude over all of my nails and let that dry down. Next, I took a makeup sponge that I had previously used to do a gradient and I tore off the end with my fingers to get an uneven sponge surface. Next, I drybrushed the polishes for my grunge design - the base polish along with darker, sort of creamy coffee shade as well as a crisp white stage - onto the uneven surface of the sponge. Next, I very gently dabbed the sponge onto the nails to get a textured, grungy base. Honestly, I love this technique and it makes for a really quick and simple grunge look to the nails. 


As I said above, I really leaned in to keep the rest of the mani simple with some spiderweb stamping so that the voodoo doll on my ring finger was the real star. Luckily, on this plate was a pretty unique spiderweb design that I was able to manipulate the placement of in order to make sure every nail looked different. I also decided to add some blood drips to my middle two nails for a little bit more of the red pop to go with the heart of the voodoo doll.

For the voodoo doll, I picked it up in black stamping polish and filled the heart with the red stamping polish that I used for the blood drips. To fill in the actual body of the doll, I decided to blend the beige and white polishes that I used in the base to create a custom color with some subtle marble texture through it. I let that dry down on the stamper until it was dry to the touch and then transferred it onto the nail after applying a sticky base coat and letting it dry down to a tacky consistency.

Once I was happy with the design overall, I sealed it in with a layer of nail art top coat and then finished with a matte top coat to take down the shine and really give that textile vibe that I was looking for. And voila!


All Products Used
OPI - Coconuts Over OPI
OPI - Alpine Snow
Essence - Meant To Be
Whats Up Nails - Neither Noir
Whats Up Nails - Box Of Whine 
Apipla Smudge Free Top Coat
Anchor & Heart Sea Glass Top Coat
Pueen Latex Tape Liquid Peel Off Cuticle Guard
Pict You PY-F008 Stamping Plate
Whats Up Nails Magnified Clear Stamper
NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool**

** PR Gifted from NailStuff.ca - new customers use affiliate code TRYSH for 10% off.


I'm obsessed. I'm not even going to beat around the bush, I'm so completely in love with how this design turned out and I feel like it has a really cohesive vibe. I also think that despite the fact that the voodoo doll is such a small part of the design, it really does stand out as the true theme. I just love it so much and I don't mind tooting my horn a little bit on this one.

Be sure to check back here on the blog every day in October for more Halloween themed nail art designs and head over to follow me @pblnails for video tutorials for every mani I post here as well as some occasional bonus nails!

Thanks for reading!


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