Half Moon Manicures

I've been seeing alot these days in magazines and pictures of people rocking the half moon (aka the bad girl) manicures.  I have fallen completely in love with this look so thence I started the quest on trying to do it myself.  I found this handy/easy way of doing them on a blog and it works very well (Once I remember the blogger's page I will give them credit). 

What you will need:

• Two different color nail polishes (your choice)
• One clear top coat polish
• Q-Tips
• Nail Polish Remover
• Scissors
• Paper Hole Reinforcements

For my two color picks I used Sinful Colors Professionals nail polishes.  First I used Sinful Colors Professional 940 Rise and Shine (sea green/turq color) as the top coat color and Sinful Colors Professional 842 Out of This World (silver) as the base coat/half moon color.

 

1.) I started out by applying Out of this World on the whole nail.  I did two base coats and let the color dry completely.

2.) I then took the Paper Hole Reinforments and cut one single row in half to create half circles.  Then I applied the half circle onto the very lower half of my nails.  These should be around were your natural moon is on your nails. 

3.)  After making sure that the Hole Reinforcements were in the lower half moon spot and secured well (rub the corners down really well) I applied Rise and Shine to the top half of my nails.  I did two coats of this color.  Note: You don't have to be to careful about avoiding getting the top nail color on the stickers because the stickers will protect the base color underneath. 

4.) When the top coat was half way dry remove the stickers.  This will give you a chance to fix any problems you see with the shapes and also be able to pat down the top coat color that peels up alittle before it's completely dry.  This is also the time I use my Onxy Professionals 100% Pure Acetone nail polish remover along with Studio 35 Dual Tip Applicators Q-tips to clean up polish on my skin.  Warning: I really love using the Onxy because it is a very strong polish remover, but be careful were you use this remover.  It takes off varnish/polish on furniture if spilled.      

5.)  After the top coat color is completey dry I finished the look with China Glaze 914 Fast Foward Top Coat.  This gave it a nice shine while helping to protect the nails against chip.  I found it nessecary to use a glaze coat because Sinful Professionals Colors seem to always dry into a matte finish. 

I love using bright colors for summer but dark colors will also look great together.  However, I do want to stress that this takes some practice.  The first time I did this the nails did not turn out the way I'd hoped so don't get discouraged if your nails do not turn out well first shot. 

Sidenote:  I did my friend's nails using Sinful Colors Professional 842 Out of This World and OPI Simmer and Shimmer (glitter) with China Glaze 914 Fast Foward Top Coat.  It turned out really cute so I wanted to include the picture below! 



*Kelsey