The weird, wild, and the beautiful? Not. The new age of beauty demands that we wear our heart on our sleeves, but not in the way one would think. There are no pretty little mantras; no painting the world in all that is good and golden. What we have in its place instead, is the desire to showcase it all, no matter how ‘alternative’ or unorthodox a look may lean. Beauty is increasingly understood as one of the most freeing forms of creative expression, no matter what you choose to put on display. It’s why the anti-hot movement and its corresponding wave of man-repelling make-up took off in the way it did, where women lean towards unconventional standards, opting for beauty notes that do not seek to please anyone but themselves.
Call it catharsis, if you will. Yet some will seek to push the parameters even more, with expressions that dig deep into the depths of their souls to put it all on display: the despair, the decay, the desolation. And where best to carry around your darkest of feelings than on your talons, the ultimate canvas for self-expression? Enter an intriguing wave of manicure designs that draw from the macabre and the morbid, with designs that play with more unconventional—some terrifying, even—elements.
Some challenge the original nail shape in the first place, applying angular cuts or adding oddly shaped beds into the mix. Some are obsessed with the horror of body decay; think textures that reflect rotting skin or bitter and moldy nails; or gory concepts that lean into the exhausting strain of everyday life, exhibiting skeletal ribs and strained eye pupils in the bloodiest of manners. The bug life calls upon some too: with designs that are centred around insects, larvae and reptiles which many often have an aversion to.
Should this intrigue you—or you’re gearing up for the horror-doused time of the year—take a look at some of the most haunting and grotesque nail art that’s already out there, with only more to come. We bid you proceed with caution.
Bug off
View this post on Instagram
The Venus flytrap in all its glory. As far as entrapments go, we’ll give ourselves to the carnivorous plant and its harrowing elements, from blotches of blood to the insects it’ll devour in no time.
Shedding skin
View this post on Instagram
What if we purged our past—and made way for new beginnings? The idea of rebirth might take on another aesthetic together, with shedding snake skin, incense ash and the nail artist’s (@zaddybigclaws) actual hair being used throughout the manicure.
Moss and mold
View this post on Instagram
If a monster lives within, then let this be a sign—and unleash your own claws. This one belongs deep in the forest: with mossy, earthy textures all mixed with the perchance of mold.
Gorecore
View this post on Instagram
What makes us human? All the physical, raw aspects that make us mortal is put on full display here, and it’s certainly uncanny valley—from bleeding eyeballs to intestines smeared on.
In the lab
View this post on Instagram
Growing mold and specks of dirt that looks like they’ve been encased into test tubes as if an experiment has gone very wrong (or very right); perhaps this is one way to get a clear manicure that actually feels purposeful.
Decay all over
View this post on Instagram
Bones, melting skin, and exoskeletal imagery. It’s a wild ride with @meltedmanicures‘s vision, as every nail bed takes inspiration from a different type of decaying matter, curved contortions, or rotten skin textures.
In an antsy mood
View this post on Instagram
Even grotesque can have a minimal twist to it. No one likes to see scurrying ants in their midst—and this particular insect-centred manicure might capture that mood precisely.
