DIY - Home French Manicure.

Today's post is for all you professional gals out there. Whilst changing up one's nail polish can be fun and expressive, the ability to have a default manicure to fall back on is always useful. It's definitely one of those nail looks that can go with every occasion and would never be considered too much because it's not intended to make your nails stand out. That being said, the traditional French manicure can get a little demure and boring, so feel free to change up the colours to make it more daring depending on your taste. I've used a darker nude pink than your traditional baby pink base colour for this look, which I really like, and seems to work well for a professional yet trendy look.

Some tips before we get started:

1. Sit at a table/desk to paint your nails. You can use the edge of the surface to paint your thumb and then lay the rest of your fingers flat to paint them.
2. Don't be in a rush (as I am always am) when you do you nails. My best advice would be to do them before you go to bed, with enough time to let them dry to the touch, but overnight they can harden completely.
3. I always seem to find/have a million things to do when I paint my nails so distract yourself between coats so that you are less likely to damage them. Try and do something sedentary that doesn't require using your hands e.g. watch 10 minutes of tv between coats. The longer the time you allow them to dry between coats, the better.
4. Use as few strokes as possible especially when painting with your non-dominant hand. You are less likely to make a mistake with less strokes.
5. Always use a top coat (and a base coat) - this clear coat will chip first before you notice your nail polish chipping.
6. Washing your hands a few times will get rid of any polish that gets on your skin around your nail.
7. Higher quality polish will, in theory, give you a better wear time so it may be wise to invest in a colour you love in a more expensive brand, than just opting for the cheapest option.  
8. Prepare anything you anticipate you will need during "drying time" like a snack. Painting your nails when you're hungry and then starting to prepare food is a recipe for disaster!
9. Use gloves when washing dishes, doing laundry, gardening or cleaning the house to prolong your manicure. You went to all this trouble you may as well look after it! 

OK Shew.. let's get into it!

For this look I used four nail polishes.. I know it's a lot but you only really see two of them. From left to right: Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat; Zoya's Pandora; Rimmel French White Tip Pro; and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 160 Shell We Dance?

I used Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat for both a base and top coat as the name suggests, however for a top coat I typically use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat but I ran out of it so the Double Duty had to do just that!

 Shape your nails as you desire and then apply the clear base coat.

After applying the base coat, allow the nails to try 100% (good foundations will stand you in good stead) and then apply your base manicure colour. I love Zoya's Pandora because it's not super pink as traditional French pinks are and it has kind of a matte effect on the nails. Wearing it on it's own, I have found it to be long-lasting and very chic-looking. In addition, Zoya is a natural nail polish which means it's non-toxic and better for your nails.  

Then it's time for the actual white tip. Without a doubt the best white tip nail polish that I have found is Rimmel's French White Tip Pro courtesy of FleurDeForce. Because of it's very narrow brush, you can sweep the white tip across your nail in one go and use the breadth of the bristles as your guide. I recommend aiming to paint the tip in one motion by rolling your finger nail under the brush (especially when your less steady hand is doing the painting) - the less touch-ups, the better.

 

 

If you do mess up at any point, instead of using the traditional cotton wool to remove your nail polish, use an ear bud or Q-tip to remove the polish only from the offending nail. By having something longer to hold onto, you won't mess with the rest of your painted nails when using the nail polish remover. The style of the Q-tips shown above, have a rounded end and a pointy end. The pointy end is very useful for cleaning up any excess polish under the nail or around the cuticle.

 

 

Once you have white-tipped all your nails, allow this to dry completely. The white tends to go on fairly thick so you may have to wait a little longer for this step to dry. It's worth waiting for, trust me, otherwise you'll be re-doing all these steps again! Paint a layer of sheer pink over the nail. If you were to use the Zoya polish again, you would block the white tip, so ensure you have a sheer polish that will gently allow the white to show through. This step also provides an additional layer of protection against chips and helps keep your manicure looking great for longer.

Finish with a final top coat layer for additional anti-chip and shine. Some top-coats will also speed up the drying process so you won't be twiddling your thumbs (which I don't recommend) waiting to use your hands! 

Here is the finished look! If you look closely, you can see it's not perfect but it's a pretty clean look for a home-do. Provided you don't swim in nail-polish remover, this should last you at least 3-5 days, maybe longer if you're really careful. You can always touch-up or re-do a nail if it wears more than others. Let me know if any of you try this at home, I would love to hear and see the results!

 "Ready for my manicure!"