Where did painted nails originate from and what was it's original reason behind doing it?

Today all girls, and some guys, paint there nails but where did it originate from? Dye's used on nails ect.





Very intrugueing question I'd like to know about.Where did painted nails originate from and what was it's original reason behind doing it?
Looks like they were tinting their nails even in the 1800's. But here is what I found out. . . 1925 Nail polish enters the market in a sheer rosy red shade and is applied only to the centre of the nail. The moon and the free edge are left colourless. The mid-'20s and '30s are the age of what Beatrice Kaye, manicurist at MGM, calls the ';moon manicure.'; The cuticles are cut, the free edges filed into points, and polish applied to the nail but not to the moon. Sometimes the tip is left uncovered as well. However, etiquette books of the time warn women against painting their nails with ';garish colours.';Where did painted nails originate from and what was it's original reason behind doing it?
Nail polish goes all the way back to ancient China and Egypt. Wikipedia's entry states that nail polish was used to mark different social classes:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_polish