Channeling the ’40s with a half-moon manicure

If I do say so myself, I’m terrifically talented at wasting time. And so I recently whiled away an hour or three on a half-moon manicure, a ’40s look that has become popular again. The “half-moon” at the base of the nail is left plain or painted in a color that contrasts with the rest of the nail. I decided to give it a whirl after admiring it on Dita Von Teese and reading a how-to by Beth Shapouri at Glamour.

Beth came up with the nifty idea of using reinforcement labels as stencils for the half-moons. (The labels are little round white stickers used to keep papers in those ancient devices called three-ring binders. You can buy them at office-supply stores.)

I started with two coats of clear base, let it dry well, then placed the labels and painted on Revlon’s Frankly Scarlet (745), $5 at drug stores. This technique is a good start, but it does take some experimentation and practice to perfect the size of the half-moons. (My nails are a tad stubby now so I wanted small-ish moons, proportionate to shorter nails.)

The lower you place the label, the smaller and more elongated the half-moon. A snag I had is that the sides of the label don’t stick especially well and they really need to lay flat so I added a bit of tape to secure them. After the red dried and I removed the labels, I still had to “tweak” (ie, a Q-tip dipped in remover and a little freehand filling in with the red polish). This would be especially problematic had I gone two-tone (a metallic or neutral instead of a clear base) as I had hoped to do with my MAC 5 Naughty Little Vices Nail Lacquer. But I decided to keep it simple until I got the hang of it.

Still, after some trial and error, and a clear top coat, my nails looked pretty good. The bottom line is if you like fussing with beauty projects, creating this retro look is a fun challenge, especially if you’re bundled up inside on a snowy or rainy day. But, if you’re an impatient painter, it’s best left to a pro. Either way, it’s definitely a nice noir twist on a manicure and Frankly Scarlet is ideal for New Year’s Eve. Now if I can just figure out, a la the WW2-era, how to paint “silk stockings” on my gams and draw fake seams on the backs of my knees. 😉

MAC nails it with five-color polish set

Santa MAC brings a bounty of nail beauty.

Looking for a last-minute gift for your favorite mani-pedi diva? MAC Cosmetics’ 5 Naughty Little Vices Nail Lacquer, $25.50, is a must-have for any polish-happy bad girl.

This limited-edition collection contains five colors in mini-size bottles. Asiatique is a fresh, crisp red that’s perfect for Christmas gatherings and sure to turn Santa’s head. That might not sit well with Mrs. Claus, but she’ll forgive and forget once she tries Beyond Jealous, a festive, modern forest-green. The grape-colored Vintage Vamp, classic and versatile, gives you lots of looks for the holidays and beyond.

Night owls will adore Nocturnelle, a gun-metal gray that with a few coats becomes a delicious pitch-black. My favorite is Vice is Nice, a soft, great-looking gold that goes with just about everything. I’m especially liking gray and gold this season, so I’ve been wearing Vice is Nice quite a bit and I’m looking forward to trying it with red or green for a vintage half-moon manicure.

MAC’s polish is light, sheer and long lasting. Two quick coats of Vintage Vamp lasted several days (and endured a trip from LAX) with no chips in sight. And the darling mad-about-plaid container in a clear-plastic pouch with ribbon means there’s no need to wrap.

For more info, visit MAC; pick it up at MAC shops or department stores.

Product Source: From my own collection; I did not receive products or compensation from MAC Cosmetics.