Halloween Nails for People Who Can't Stand Novelty Nails

Forget the costume-shop palette. The Halloween manicure worth having lives in the same shades that fill autumn anyway: oxblood, aubergine, inky navy, bitter chocolate and a black so glossy it looks wet. A deep shade with a high-shine top coat reads as gothic glamour rather than fancy dress, and it carries straight through to Bonfire Night without anybody asking whether you forgot to take it off.

It is also less of a commitment. A spider on every nail looks odd by the 2nd of November. A glossy black cherry looks right until Christmas. If you only get one manicure this month, make it the one that works for both.

Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir. The original vampy nail. It launched in the nineties and has never really gone away, because it is the perfect blood-red-to-black shade. Expensive for a polish, but the brush is excellent and the colour is genuinely iconic. Find it at John Lewis.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. An aubergine so deep it reads black indoors and purple in daylight. Salons have been using it for decades. Lookfantastic stocks it.

Essie Wicked. Shade name, done. A rich, dark red with a cool undertone that suits almost every hand. Easy to pick up at Boots.

Essie Licorice. A proper black crème with no shimmer and no blue cast. The base for every design below.

The black French. A fine black tip over a sheer nude base. Graphic, chic and completely office-friendly. Keep the line thin. Thick black tips look like you've been gardening.

Chrome over black. The glazed-doughnut technique, moved to the dark side. Silver chrome powder buffed over a black gel gives a moonlit, mercury finish that looks expensive in candlelight.

One cobweb. A single accent nail with a fine silver or white web drawn from the corner, the rest left plain black. One nod to the theme is plenty.

The cat-eye. Magnetic polish has a shimmer that shifts like the light in a cat's eye. On a dark base it is perfectly on theme without a single drawn-on bat.

The drip French. A glossy red tip with a small drip running down the nail. The one novelty design allowed, because it is done in a single colour and looks sharp rather than silly.

Dark polish shows every mistake, so prep matters more than usual. Push back cuticles, file in one direction, then wipe each nail with remover so the polish has something to grip. Always use a base coat. Deep reds and blacks stain the nail plate, and a base coat is the only thing standing between you and yellow nails in December.

Two thin coats beat one thick one every time. Run the brush along the free edge of each nail to cap it, which stops chips starting at the tip. Finish with a quick-dry top coat like Seche Vite. Then the trick that makes the biggest difference: dip a small flat brush in remover and trace around the cuticle line. Clean edges are what make a home manicure look professional.

For designs, a fine striping brush and a dotting tool cost a couple of pounds and make webs, tips and drips far easier than the brush in the bottle.

Gel lasts around two weeks and survives a costume change. BIAB adds strength if your nails tend to snap. Dark shades look best short, in a squoval or soft almond. The long stiletto is the full-drama option and suits a witch or vampire, but it takes some getting used to. Bring a reference picture, because one person's oxblood is another person's brown. And never peel gel off. Have it removed properly, or you'll take layers of nail with it.

Dark polish chips visibly, so keep the bottle in your bag for touch-ups. A drop of cuticle oil every night keeps the skin around the nail from looking dry against a deep shade. Then match the rest of the look: our guide to Halloween make-up and our costume ideas have the rest covered.