Half Moon Manicure: How to Do the Vintage Nail Style at Home

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The half moon manicure is my favorite vintage nail polish style. It’s done by leaving the bottom half of the nail, known as the fingernail moon, bare, and applying a color of nail polish to the rest of the nail. It’s an elegant manicure style that’s easy to do at home.

I’ve only had a professional manicure twice in my life—once on vacation with girlfriends and then on my honeymoon. It’s just something I haven’t considered worth budgeting for and I enjoy picking out polish colors and painting my nails. Since I haven’t had a reason to get dressed up and go out lately, I figure my nails could use a new look.

Maybe you’ve stopped frequenting your nail salon since the pandemic or are just looking for a creative way to paint your nails. This is a pretty and easy nail art style you can do at home!

Also, you can find most of the products I use to create this look in my Beauty Shop on Amazon.

How to Do the Half Moon Manicure

Doing a half moon manicure is easier than it looks. Here’s a list of what I used to create this look (I provide more details on these products in the steps below).

A nail file
Cuticle oil
Nail polish base coat
Binder hole reinforcement stickers
Color nail polish
Tweezers
Nail polish clear top coat
Cotton swab
Nail polish remover

1. File Your Nails Into an Almond Shape

First, file your nails into an almond shape. This was a popular shape in the 1950s and has come back into style. And if you need to remove old polish, I recommend Zoya Remove+ Nail Polish Remover.

For further inspiration, visit my post on 1940s Makeup and Beauty Ads to see a vintage Cutex magazine advertisement that shows the classic almond nail shape and nail polish colors that were popular at the time.

2. Treat Nails with Cuticle Oil

After shaping my nails, I treat them to The Body Shop Almond Nail and Cuticle Oil. It’s packaged like a pen with an angled cap and a paint brush tip. When you twist the pen the oil is released into the tip to brush onto your nails. I use the angled cap to push back my cuticles before massaging the oil onto my nails and cuticles. I allow the oil to fully absorb before painting my nails.

The shop associate told me that almond oil is the only oil that nails will absorb. I have not seen the science to back this claim, but the oil does seem to soften and nourish my cuticles.

3. Apply a Clear Base Coat

Now your nails are ready for their first coat of polish. Start by applying a base coat nail polish, which will help nail lacquer stick for a longer lasting manicure. It also protects your nails from being stained by the color polish. I like ORLY Bonder Ruberized Basecoat.

4. Apply Binder Hole Reinforcements Stickers to Create the Half Moon

Applying binder hole reinforcement stickers to nails for a half moon manicure

Next, apply the self-adhesive reinforcement labels, covering the bottom part of your fingernails. I apply them where the inside hole of the sticker just meets my cuticle. You can move the stickers up or down depending on how large you want the “moon” to be.

Make sure they’re really stuck and won’t move around. I also like to press into the sides of the stickers to make sure I can apply polish right up to the edges and so polish doesn’t seep under the sticker.

5. Apply Two Thin Coats of Color Nail Polish

applying red nail polish for a half moon manicure

Apply two thin coats of nail polish, letting the first coat dry before applying the second. This helps nails dry faster than applying one thicker coat of polish. You can paint right over the stickers. The corners can get tricky, so try to get as close the sticker edges as you can.

red polish on fingernails for a half moon manicure

As for what color of nail polish to use, my favorite colors are classic reds, deep magenta or plum. Two go-to classic red nail polish colors in my collection are Zoya Nail Polish in “Diana” (the shade I’m wearing in these photos) and Essie Nail Polish in “Really Red”.

6. Remove Reinforcement Stickers

removing stickers from fingernails for a half moon manicure

Before the second coat of nail polish has completely dried, use tweezers to carefully remove the reinforcement stickers. If you have any stray polish in the half moon, you can use a toothpick to smooth it out or use a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover.

7. Apply a Clear Top Coat

applying a clear top coat of nail polish for a half moon manicure

Once the color nail polish has dried, apply a clear top coat over the entire nail to seal the nail polish. I like Zoya Naked Manicure Glossy Seal Top Coat. Make sure you wait until the color nail polish is dry or the top coat brush might smudge color polish into the half moon space as you apply the top coat.