Hey, remember that time I said I’d update about some awesome Halloween mani’s before Halloween? …Yeeaahhhh, about that.
October, sweet October. Tis the season for candy corn, pumpkin beer, and…GERMS. Friends, I found myself with a terrible cold right around the 15th and my nose is still stuffy. Every time I started to feel better, one of my lovely (aka disgusting, germ-ridden) students would sneeze on my face. Yes, on my face. (I wish I was kidding.) I was sick enough to wear some nasty chipped polish on my nails for DAYS before slapping on some last minute Halloween colors, calling it a manicure, and settling for that. I even wore the Halloween mani for a few days past Halloween…which is so tacky. Oh well. At some point, you just have to put the polish away, turn on your humidifier, take a Nyquil, and call it a night. That is exactly what I did.
I figure that since I took a [pretty crappy] picture of my Halloween nails, I might as well show them to you. While this won’t do you much good in terms of Halloween inspiration, maybe the manicure style itself will give you some ideas.
A few Sally Beauty trips ago, I spotted this awesome China Glaze color, Cross Iron 360. It is a really incredible metallic orange, but not so orange that’s it’s not wearable. It’s more of a copper orange than a candy-corn orange (if that makes sense at all). When I sat down to do my Halloween nails, I knew this color would work for so many different things. My immediate inclination (since I was feeling sick and lazy) was to slap some OPI Black Shatter over it and call it a day. I knew that would be too easy, so I decided to try something slightly more entailed. The half-moon mani (aka the reverse french manicure) is essentially an upside-down french manicure and was popular amongst celebrities in the 20s and 30s. Today’s celebrities such as Lauren Conrad, Maya, and most notably Dita Von Teese have all been spotted wearing moon-mani’s, and many runway shows have spotlighted the moon-mani, as well.
If you google “moon manicure” or “half-moon manicure,” you’ll see that the color combinations are endless. Some people choose colors that are close in shade while some people choose totally contrasting polishes. It all depends on what look you’re going for. Being that this manicure was for Halloween, I chose black as my accompanying color.
***DISCLAIMER: The tried and true way to accomplish this manicure requires those little round stickers you buy at an office supply store to reinforce punched holes. They keep the curvature and size of your ‘half-moons’ uniform. …I did not have those. Hence therefore, my half-moon mani is pretty janky. We’ll return to this manicure another time for a true tutorial.
China Glaze - Cross Iron 360, Finger Paints - Black Expressionism
To accomplish this look, I painted 2 coats of Cross Iron 360 and let it dry completely (20 minutes-ish). Then, I carefully cut small curved pieces of masking tape (what a pain in the you-know-what) and applied them to the top of my nails. (**When applying any type of tape over freshly painted nails, it is always safe to stick the tape to the palm of your hand once or twice. This lessens the stickiness factor and helps with keeping the polish underneath from being ruined when removing the tape.) After all of the curved tape was applied to my nails, I did one more smooth-over to make sure there were no wrinkles or bubbles for my black to get under. One finger at a time, I painted one coat of Finger Paints Black Expressionism over the tape and the nail. Then, I carefully removed the masking tape, revealing the orange ‘half-moons’ at the top of each finger. I finished the mani off with a coat of Seche Vite top coat (thank the sweet lord for fast drying top coats) and then curled up in bed with my Nyquil.
Voila, folks! There you have it! That’s the not so easy/proper way of accomplishing a half-moon manicure, and I think these colors made for a pretty cool Halloween effect. I got some compliments from parents at our school’s Halloween party, so I would say ‘mission accomplished!’ Next year, I’ll get fancier (providing I can breathe, talk, and function without feeling like a congested zombie).
Coming up soon (possibly even tonight): OPI MUPPETS!!!! I have been waiting for months and months to get my hands on some of the new Muppet inspired glitters and metallics, and gosh-darnit, I’VE GOT ‘EM! Stay tuned…
The Mani-Maniac 