Inspired by fashion week, I decided to try something different on my nails, so, for the first time I had half-moons on my talons. And I settled for matte pastel blue and black, after my gold and black attempt failed.

Tip number one: paint the half-moon colour one day and the top colour the other, to avoid disappointment.  Initially, I used Barry M foil effects in gold; it is a thick polish and even though it  seems to dry really quickly, after an hour, I applied the French manicure stickers to the bottom of my nails, painted the rest black and when I peeled them, the gold came off.

So I decided to change colours and used two coats of Nails Inc in Oxford, and the following evening, I used new stickers and applied two coats of Black Barry M over it.  Application was smooth, and the Nails Inc pastel wasn’t a pain to apply, as most creamy light shades; the second coat provided a good coverage, fit for a full 24-hour solo use! The Barry M was also good,  two coats for perfect, smooth and super shiny jet black.

Now, second tip: because I wasn’t sure I wanted matte effect, I waited a bit to apply the topcoat. The adhesive on the strips was very strong, so fluff from a hand towel kinda stuck to the remainder of glue on my half-moons and it was pretty hard to get rid of. I should’ve put the topcoat immediately after painting. You live, you learn!

For the very first time I also tried Gosh’s Matte effect topcoat.  It creates a great matte effect which I loved; the idea of turning any nail varnish into matte is indeed very appealing, but after a few days of wear and tear it started to look shiny again, so a re-touch is definitely recommended after three or four days to take it back to its matte glory.

I had to put four coats of nail polish plus one topcoat. Add to that a topcoat re-touch, and you have SIX layers altogether – way too much for my liking, looks like I am growing a nail on top of my nail! It lasted surprisingly well, I really though all the layers would compromise durability, but there isn’t a single chip in sight, after four days.

Overall,  I love the half-moons; the pastel blue+black combination is great. I know they are not perfect, but I am pleased as a first attempt. I will definitely venture on to other designs, have already some things in mind, so watch this space!

Have you tried it before? How did you find it?

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