Halloween Half Moon Manicure

I am obsessed with half moon manicures. I love the vintage 1930s/1940s look and since I'm a huge fan of Dita von Teese, who is always seen rocking a classic red and white half moon manicure, I love to do this design even more. I decided to be festive and do my favorite manicure with classic Halloween colors. 

I start off using a base coat from China Glaze to stop any staining to my nails from the colored polish.

Next, to get the orange moon, apply a thick layer of orange nail polish, it doesn't have to cover the whole nail to the very tip since that part of the nail will be covered with a black color later. I used Confetti Nail Color in Conga Line. You want the area where the moon will be to be super opaque. With the polish I used, I had to do two coats to get it opaque.

For the next step where a hole reinforcement is applied as a stencil to cover the top of the nail that will be the moon, you want to be sure that your previous color of orange polish is completely dry or the reinforcer template will make a mess of the polish and peel it off. I use the clear reinforcers because they are thinner than the paper ones. The clear reinforcements create a crisp barrier and can get in the very corners of the nail creating a very clean look.

Place a reinforcer on your nail at the very top of your nail. You want the reinforcer to cover about 1/4 of your nail at the top. Press it onto your nail, making sure the corners where your nails meets the skin is covered to get a very clean finish.
I do one nail at a time and add the reinforcement to each nail as I go.

Paint your nail with a black polish, I used Hello Kitty Liquid Nail Art polish in Night Sparkle. It's an opaque black polish with gold and green shimmer. I like the depth and sparkle it gives, especially in natural light. I apply one thick, opaque coat because I peel the stencil off of my nail right after I paint the last color. I find it creates a super clean line and it is easier to clean up or touch up any fresh polish if needed.

After I peel off the reinforcer, I usually take a cheap but fairly precise synthetic paint brush and clean up or touch up anything that looks messy, including areas where the stencil may have missed or areas of the moon that don't look as complete as I want it to be.

Finish with a clear top coat, I used China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat, and you are done.

You can use any color combination with the half moon design. I personally love a natural moon with a beautiful burgundy polish but my favorite is a shimmery silver moon and glossy black polish. ^_^