Cosmopolitan  shares advice from celebrity manicurist Kimmie Kyees on how to master the half-moon manicure.

To prep, file nails to a rounded edge, apply a base coat, and pick two polish shades: a bright or dark color plus a metallic.

  1. Polish nails with two coats of the bright or dark polish.
  2. Dip a fine-tipped paint brush or pointy eyeliner brush into the metallic polish and create an outline of a half-mooned arc about a quarter of the way up the nail.
  3. Fill in the arc using the same polish and its regular brush from the bottle. Apply two thin coats, then apply a layer of topcoat to each  nail.
  4. Clean up any smudges with the fine tipped brush by dipping it into polish remover and wiping it across stains until they disappear.

Pro Tip: Make sure the top coat is labeled “Quick Dry,” so that it will fuse the polish layers together.

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