Some people may disagree with me calling a French Manicure nail art… But in my opinion, it is the first step to start experimenting with something more than simply painting your nails with just one colour.
The origin of the French Manicure is a little vague, but most of the online articles that I found attribute it to Jeff Pink — the creator of Orly.
He came up with this white-tip-and-natural-base look in the 70’s as a versatile style that would work on Hollywood movie sets, where actresses faced the nuisance of having to change their nail colour constantly to match each wardrobe change.
He later took what was originally dubbed the ‘natural nail look’ to the runways of France, which in turn grew in popularity back in the USA. And since most of us non-Europeans equate French women with simplistic and chic style, it became the style for any woman in search for a classic, classy, neutral nail.
Back in the day, the white tip for a French Mani had to be painted on using only a free-handed technique, which required a lot of practise and a very steady hand. And that usually meant a trip to the salon for most of us…
Nowadays however, we are blessed with this nifty little tool called French Tip Guides:
These are slightly curved stickers that you put on your tips, just above the line where you want your white tip to go up to. And then you simply paint the white onto your tips – and remove the guide – to leave you with a neatly curved edge to your white tip.
How to:
Step 1. – Paint on your favourite clear base coat and let it dry.
Step 2. – Paint on a coat of your preferred nude colour and let it dry completely.
Step3. – Neatly apply your French Tip Guides to your nail tips, with the bottom edge of the guide just above where you want your white tip to go up to.
Step 4. – Paint on the French white polish on your tips, using the guides to keep it neat and precise.
Step 5. – Remove the French Tip Guides carefully, before the white polish dries.
Step 6. – After the tips are dry, finish up with your favourite clear top coat.
French tip guides can be found (in a number of different brands), in Clicks, Dischem or selected pharmacies.
Or if your finger nail shape is more of a square like mine, or you are in a pinch without any French Tip Guides, regular old scotch tape will also do the trick 😉 leaving you with more of a straight edge, rather than a curved one though.
And then of course, there is the Rolls-Royce of home French Mani kits, the SensatioNail™ Invincible Gel Polish French Manicure Tips by nailene®
They have a very informative tutorial and video on their website, on how to use this product, and it is definitely my favourite for a longer lasting French Manicure.
You can also try playing with a ‘Goth’ black tip, instead of the white – Or go for something a bit more colourful…
So that’s it for this week’s Nail Art 101.
Stay tuned for more, as I go through the most popular nail art techniques out there.
And don’t forget to create your own nail art photo album here on Beauty Bulletin, and to share your French Mani creations and experiences with us here in the comment section!
Article by Mariaan Enslin