The look – spotted on numerous celebrities, including Hilary Duff and Lauren Conrad – is great for expressing yourself and being creative, says Vanessa Buckley who runs the Magnetic Nail Training Academy from her Greetland home.

"It's an extremely glamorous and very fashionable look and is known in the world of the WAGs as the moon manicure. You can try it with a variety of colours so the options are endless," she says.

There are three versions. In the case of the classic reverse, the moon of the nail bed is painted a colour or left natural and the tips are painted a contrasting colour. "Usually the colour is more outrageous than the pinks and flesh tones associated with the classic French manicure. Blues and bright reds are quite popular when it comes to getting this type of flashy nail treatment," says Vanessa.

The second type was seen at lots of the spring designer shows. With this version the moons of the nail are painted bright white and the rest of the nail is painted a vivid colour like black, bright blue or dark red.

According to Vanessa, who has been a nail technician for 20 years, pastels do not enter into the picture.

In the third design, which is street-led, the moons of the nails are painted bright white or a colour and so are the tips. The body of the nail is filled in with another shade.

"The colours for the reverse French manicure are more vivid than you would expect.

"Solid primary colours look best. The most fashionable colour is black but many women are wearing chocolate brown. This follows with the general trend in fashion at the moment that brown is the new black.

Vanessa, who runs a nail salon alongside her academy, charges £20 for reverse French on natural nails and £8 on top of a full set of extensions. She is also doing half-day courses, at £40, for nail technicians. For more details, ring her on 07796 688571.

If you want to have a go at home, try Vanessa's step-by-step guide:
1 To begin, take a soft nail file. File nail into desired
2 After buffing the surface of the nail to create a smooth canvas, apply a layer of base coat
3 Apply the one coat of chosen base colour, you could experiment with golds, whites and greys, which are having a serious beauty moment. Just make sure the base is pale enough to create a contrast with the top colour
4 Wait for base colour to dry then apply hole reinforcers which are available from stationery shops to cover the moon area
5 For the central section, deep, dark tones work best. For the catwalk-to-reality version, opt for black against nude. Dark red works equally well. Apply two coats until opaque
6 Clean up mistakes with a cotton bud dipped in water while the polish is still wet
7 Wait for at least half an hour for polish to dry then peel off hole reinforcers
8 To finish, add a layer of chip-resistant top coat. Wait another 30 minutes to ensure your nails are dry
9 Remember four coats of nail enamel take a lot of drying
10 Add a coat of glitter polish to cover any imperfections