New Tips And Triks For You

I want to start by saying that, while this is probably the most ambitious nail project I've attempted, this technique was surprisingly easy once I got the hang of it. I was inspired by the nails from Nicole Miller's show during New York Fashion Week. This mani is being touted at the next generation of half moon manicures, and was created by lead manicurist Katie Jane Hughes.

To begin, I typically wipe my nails down with nail varnish remover to get rid of any excess oils. I then trim and lightly buff to create a smooth surface. This time around I also used Julep Essential Oil on my cuticles to soften them to push them back. I have some false nails on here due to an unfortunate nail-ripping incident (trust me, you don't want to know) which forced me to cut my nails down to the quick, so no judgement.

According to Harpers Bazaar, Katie used A black polish underneath. I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Black Out.

After letting the initial layer dry, I applied Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat to take away the shine. I have to say, I am obsessed with this stuff. It works really well and having a matte option basically doubles my nail polish options. Squeee! The matte in this manicure really helps to bring out the contrast between the two colors later on.

After letting the matte layer dry, I started the top layer. For the Nicole Miller show, Katie used a metallic red polish as the top tone ( LONDON Nail Lacquer in Knees Up), but I chose a brighter gold color to better show the contrast (and so you can see what I'm doing better).

I chose Color Club in Disco Nap, and used a thin striping brush to paint flamey-feathery strokes of paint up from the cuticle. You can paint in any direction you want to make this work. Katie painted in upward strokes towards the middle, but I did mine towards the side. It really doesn't matter as long as the strokes are neat and even.

The best part of this manicure is how the matte black contrasts with the metallic paint to create a vampy, high impact look that will work great with fall's muter jewel tones and deep plums, as seen in the Nicole Miller NYFW show. Toss in a great smoky eye and some dark, tailored clothes and you've got a great going out look. But when it's done with less extreme colors (perhaps a metallic dark blue or grey) this can totally be work appropriate, depending on how casual your office or workplace is.