Halo manicure

I've seen this called a Halo Manicure, a Framed Manicure and an Outline Manicure. Since I think "halo mani" sounds nicest, that's what I'm going with.

I was pretty hesitant about this design when it first started popping up all over Pinterest and Glamour and nail blogs. It's definitely different, and very interesting. It's all over the red carpet and runways, so it's fashionable. But the black seeping in from the skin looks almost a little bit morbid... I actually surprised myself when I decided to try it out myself.

The verdict: I love it. Like, seriously, it's one my favorite designs ever. Chic, simple, classy.

I paired the popular halo design with a black french tip.

I started with a base coat of my favorite base, Revlon Multi-Care 965. Then I did two coats of a polish I've had for some time but have never used before.

It's the prettiest, nudest nude I've ever worn. It has a really pretty pearlescent shine to it. Two coats of this polish is perfect! I could definitely see this beautiful color being worn on it's own if you do three coats of it. It's so shiny it doesn't even need a top coat, IMO.

Then, I painted black French tips. Since I painted free-hand tips, it's easiest to paint straight across the tip of the nail and let the paint get on your skin. That's an easy post-mani clean up.

Then, using a straight-tipped nail art brush, I carefully painted the edges of my nail closest to the cuticles.
Easy peasy!

Finally, a top coat of Seche Vite and ta-da! it's done!

When I asked my husband what he thought of my finished mani, he called it "businessy." I like it so much more on my own hands than I did in the photos on Pinterest. Photos really don't do justice to this gorgeous design. I feel like the design paired with the high contrast of nude and black together is very high-fashion and chic.

Base coat: Revlon Multi-Care 965
Nude: The Color Workshop Nala nail color in Nude
Black: Sinful Colors Black on Black
Top coat: Seche Vite