[Tips] DIY Half Moon / French Manicure? Easy Peasy!

Follow @charlotteg0h

We've seen many celebrities like Rihanna and Dita von Teese, wearing the half moon manicures these days:

Rihanna

Dita von Teese

Just head to your favourite nail salon and ask your favourite manicurist to do this for you

ORRRRR

you can always do this yourself! (YES! On your own!! No skills needed!)

and the secret weapon is

....

..

.

.

REINFORCEMENT RINGS!

Yeap! Its the thingy you stick onto your paper to prevent the holes at the side from tearing.

You can easily get this at any bookshop.

So, let me guide you step by step on how this should be done.

#1 'Ingredients' needed

• nail polish/es of your choice (one or two depending on whether you want a clear base or not)
• base coat of your choice
• top coat of your choice
• reinforcement rings

#2 Basic nail polish application

• Start off with a base coat to prevent staining
• One or two coats of nail lacquer depending on how opaque you want your base to be (Note: give time for each layers to dry before applying the next layer)
• Top Coat (optional)
• Wait for it to dry thoroughly - I'll usually leave it on for a day before proceeding to the next step

#3 Stick the reinforcement rings onto each of your fingers

• Make sure the edges are sealed perfectly, you don't want the 2nd nail polish to leak below the rings creating an imperfect half moon.
• It is up to you on how 'big' you want your half moon to be but make sure that the sizes are consistent for each fingers

#4 Paint the 2nd nail polish of your choice over the reinforcement rings

• You don't have to be very careful in this step, just make sure that the upper part of your nails are evenly painted
• Again, you can go for two or more coats or just settle for one. (Note: give time for each layers to dry before applying the next layer)

#5 Wait for it to dry COMPLETELY before peeling out the rings.

#6 After peeling the rings out, top it with a layer of top coat to enhance the staying power of your manicure

#7 Finito!

Voila! clean and neat!

This is one of the many ways to add a little spice to the normal monotone manicure. You can even use the reinforcement rings to do a DIY french manicure! Just place the rings slightly higher on your nails!

Products used:

• Base Colour: China Glaze's Below Deck
• Top Colour: OPI's Do You Lilac It?
• Base Coat: NailTek Maintenance Plus
• Top Coat: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Love,

Charlotte

P/S: Sorry for the chipped base, too lazy to repaint my nails! :P

Tweet