Cat-eye nails are taking over Instagram just in time for Halloween [1]. The trend involves a metallic polish running through the centre of the nail, creating an effect that resembles a cat's eye. If you're baffled by this trend, we don't blame you. Re-creating the look requires some unique nail tools [2].
First, paint your nails with a colour of your choosing [3]. Next, you'll need a special polish designed for this trend that contains a lot of metallic pigments to paint over your base colour. The key to making your nails look like cat eyes is moving the metallic pigments on your nail bed in your desired direction using a small magnet. Depending on how you point the magnet, the shape of the metallic polish will change.
To make the manicure look even more feline, you can shape your nails into a thin almond to resemble claws. On a black background [4], this nail look can appear especially spooky, making it the ideal October manicure to celebrate Halloween [5].
Ahead, check out some cat-eye nail ideas, as well as a few products from Amazon that will help you re-create it at home.
Born Pretty Magnetic Nail Polish 3D Cat Eye Set With Magnet
The Born Pretty Magnetic Nail Polish 3D Cat Eye Set With Magnet [6] ($27) includes six of the cat-eye polishes and a small magnet.
YaoShun Gel Polish Magnetic Cat Eye Gel Kit
Experiment with even more colours in the YaoShun Gel Polish Magnetic Cat Eye Gel Kit [7] ($20).
Nail Magnet Tool Set
The different shapes of the tools in the Nail Magnet Tool Set [8] ($8) will allow you to create a bevy of cat-eye designs.
Gellen New Trend 3D Cat Eye Gel Nail Polish Set
Pick up the affordable Gellen New Trend 3D Cat Eye Gel Nail Polish Set [9] ($12) if you're just starting out.
Frcolor Double-Head Magnet Stick Nail Art Manicure Tool
The small dual-sided Frcolor Double-Head Magnet Stick Nail Art Manicure Tool [10] ($7) makes it easy to create whatever design you want.