Floral Half-Moons with Zoya Eden!

Good morning, readers! I have a fun mani for you today that I created for the Zoya Spring Nail Art Challenge! I love half-moon manis, especially if the half moon is some form of nail art. For this look, my half-moons are simple florals that complement the pink base (Zoya Eden from the spring 2015 Delight Collection). Although this would work well on all nail lengths, I think it really shines on shorter nails by bringing the attention to the cuticle instead of the nail tip. Continue reading below for a complete tutorial on how you can recreate this easy spring look.

Here is what the full mani looks like:

Zoya Eden is such a fun pink and I really enjoyed using it as the base instead of the flower color for a change.

Let's get started!

Polishes used: Zoyas- Marley, Wednesday, Eden, Hudson, Satin Seal Top Coat (optional).

Tools used: Striper brush (Pure Color No.10), detail brush (Pure Color Glamor No. 1), small dotting tool. You can certainly get away with one nail art brush for this design, I just prefer using different ones for different tasks.

Step 1) Paint the entire nail with 2-3 coats of Zoya Eden and let dry.

Step 2) Using your striper brush and Zoya Marley, paint a half moon shape at your cuticle line and fill in. (note: you can use french tip guides/half moon guide stickers for this if you aren't comfortable painting this free handed.) 

Step 3) Use the same striper brush and Zoya Wednesday to do an outline of the half moon.

Step 4) Use the detail brush and Zoya Wednesday to make 3 flower petal half circles and fill them in. It's okay if they are a little uneven, the top coat will smooth it out in the end. 

Step 5) Take the small dotting tool and dip it into a puddle of Zoya Hudson on your work surface. Add random dots to the center of the flower.

Step 6) Add top coat. I haven't tested the new Zoya Satin Seal top coat for smearing yet, so I'm showing one coat of a thick quick dry top coat (KBShimmer Clearly On Top) plus one coat of Zoya Satin Seal Top Coat to take away some of the shine. Generally speaking, any matte effect top coats that I've tried have smeared nail art so I didn't bother trying with this one. I recommend a thick coat without the brush bristles touching the design, but more like hovering over the surface gently spreading the bead of top coat over the nail.

What are your thoughts on this design? It is simple and fun, and I think perfect for spring! If you aren't comfortable with free hand petals, you can definitely just do a line of dots with a larger dotting tool around the half moon shape for a similar effect. 

Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you try my design! If you do, I would love for you to tag me on Instagram and Twitter or share on my Facebook Page! Have a great weekend!