Half Moon Tutorial

Hi Everybody!!  I decided to go with a more classic look today, well classic for me.  The half moon design has been popular for a long time.  It originated in the 20's and was the height of fashion in the 40's.  I remember my grandmother wearing her nails like this all the time. (She was so ahead of her time, she always painted the back of her nails, and she knew the secret to white iodine and your nails.)  So I have the steps for the classic half moon, but you know I had to change it up some. (The classic look-half moon color first- is nude and white, black and white or red and black.)  This is a very easy manicure, you just need to know the trick.

I Used:
China Glaze- No Plain Jane (purple/beige duochrome)
Icing- Golden Age of Glitter (gold and black glitter)
Diamond Cosmetics- Black Glitter
Pure Ice- Jaguar (gold)

So here's the finished manicure:

I started by painting two coats of China Glaze No Plain Jane.  This is such a pretty frosted purple with a slight beige shift.  This base color will be the color of your half moons.

Make sure that has dried completely, then grab your secret weapon: hole reinforcements!  Yes, those things you used in school are what you need to make this manicure perfect.  Place them down by your cuticles like in this picture:

Make sure they are down firmly so the polish doesn't leak underneath them.

Then I painted my nails with two coats of Icing Golden Age of Glitter, a gorgeous gold and black glitter in a clear base.  Because I painted two coats of Icing, I kept the hole reinforcements on until I painted the second coat.  Remove them immediately after the second coat.

To really show the half moons, I added black and gold lines.  Start with black and using a liner brush or very thin brush, follow the line made by the half moons.  Then follow the black line with the gold.  I used Pure Ice Jaguar.  It's the perfect gold and matched the glitter perfectly.  Don't forget the top coat!

So what combination are you going to use?  Let me know!  Happy Polishing!!