Nailing it for Halloween: Long Islanders are dressing up their nails

Arielle Atlas, 37, of Great Neck,  says that she's positively batty over Halloween and she has the fingernails to prove it. Of late, hers feature artful black bats in flying mode set on a shimmering gold background.

These won’t be her final spooky salute to the big night. She plans on getting at least two other eerie sets pre-Oct. 31. “Halloween is my favorite holiday,” says Atlas. “Nobody judges you. I work remotely but part of what brings me true joy is that I get to look at my nails all day while I’m looking at my emails.”

And she says her graphic digits get people talking. “Strangers at places like CVS stop me and ask about them.”

She is, by a long shot, not the only person celebrating Halloween at her fingertips. Nail artists, and there are a multitude of talented ones across Long Island, are going into creative overdrive to design the artiest, scariest and most delightful miniature masterpieces. “This year, for sure, people are trying to get into the Halloween spirit. It’s  bigger than ever,” says Cindy Correa, 36, a nail artist on Instagram @cinfulnails and at boutique nail art studio Polish Me Please in Hewlett.

“A lot of my clients work in the corporate world and maybe they’re thinking, ‘I’m not going to dress up so extravagantly, but will make up for it and show personality with my nails,’” she says adding that she’s seen a run on spider webs and ghosts this season.

Atlas’ bat nails are the work of Farah Ishtiyaque, 34, the chief nail artist at The Nailvault (@thenailvaultny) in Carle Place. Ishtiyaque says elaborately decorated nails are a way that women “can express their creative and spooky side. They’re such a conversation starter and it gives a little window into their persona.” Another of her clients, Jane Inglima, 34, a librarian from Huntington, says, “I try to be relatively conservative in the way I dress,” but she says her nails “do show I have a sense of fashion, and color and fun.”

According to several professionals in the industry, nail clients are deeply involved in the process.

Cassie McLeod, 29, of Cass Pro Studios (@cassprostudios) in Oakdale says, “Mostly my clients come in with inspirational pictures and I collaborate with them.” Likewise Correa says that sometimes her customers bring in several different photos and they pick and choose a design from each.

“I ask a lot of questions; What colors are they looking for? What are they trying to achieve?” Ishtiyaque works up mock ups for her clients before they get there, talks them through and adapts them during the appointment.

Keep in mind that if you’re hankering for some mega flashy fingers for fright night you’re going to need time and money. The process takes from an hour to two or more depending on the complexity of the design and runs from $70 to $200-plus. The good news is that these, mostly gel manicures stay fresh-looking for up to three weeks and sometimes beyond, but the technicians don’t advise going much longer.

Bottom line, many of the nail artists are just as excited as you are when it comes to producing fanciful and fun Halloween manicures. McLeod says her clients, “are expecting something that’s going to wow them.” And she often does.