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French Manicure Instructions Guide to the Right Design and
Polish for a Natural Look Without Going to the Nail Salon
The French manicure is often considered the most elegant thing
you can do with your fingernails, since it combines perfect
polish with a natural look that looks smooth and classy. If
you're going for a job interview or just want perfect hands to
show off a new ring, the French manicure is ideal. The French
manicure can easily be done at home, with some patience and
the right tools.
Tips for Beginning any Salon Quality Manicure at Home
Any manicure starts with scrubbing your hands, filing your
nails and caring for your cuticles. Use a diamond file instead
of the cheaper metal ones: it's about a dollar more expensive,
but it files much quicker and smoother. For a classic French
manicure, your nails shouldn't be dragon-lady long, but should
have a smooth, oval shape that's slightly elongated to make
the most of the white nail tips. You're going to need:
Instruction Guide to a French Manicure
A base coat in a subtle, neutral color like pale peach, nearly-
not-there pink, or beige. The contrast comes with the white
nail tips, which point up the hint of color in the base coat.
1.White polish for the tips.
2.Nail tip guide strips
3.A clear top coat.
After filing your nails and tending to your cuticles by
softening them and pushing them back away from the half-moons,
paint your entire nail with the base coat color and let it dry.
If you have chronic problems with getting the nails on your
second hand painted cleanly, you may want to start by putting
a little petroleum jelly on the skin of your fingers around the
nail. The petroleum jelly keeps the polish from sticking to
your skin if you should slip up while painting, making for easy
clean-up and a neater look overall.
Using French Manicure Stencil or Template Products
Once the base coat of polish is completely dry?never try to
rush this step?put the nail tip guides on your fingernails.
Apply the strip guide to the area where your actual finger
ends. The white tip of your nail shouldn't comprise more than
20% of the overall fingernail when you're done. Make sure to
place the guide strips on each finger so that the tips of your
nails are the same length for each.
Once the guides are in place, you can brush white polish onto
your fingernails. This is a time for especial care, so that you
stay with the guides and get no white polish on the lower part
of the nail. Don't remove the guides until the white polish is
completely dry, or you'll ruin the tips.
Once the white tips are dry, remove the guides. If they leave
any sticky residue behind, use rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball
to take it off. Don't forget and use nail polish remover or
you'll ruin your whole manicure!
Professional Salon Finish to Any Mani or Pedi
Finish your French manicure by painting the entire nail with
the clear top coat of polish. This does two things: it helps
your manicure stay fresh longer by protecting it, and it gives
a shiny and unified gloss to each nail.
You can buy a manicure in a kit, great for the new DIY nail
maven, because they come with designs, color options, style
ideas, instructions and all the products you need for a
manicure or pedicure. You can try the new manicure polish pen,
buy fun stencils and templates or go for a natural look with a
brand like Sephora, Opi or Sally Hansen. For professional
looking fingers and toes, you don't need a history of salon
work: you can get everything you need online or from your local
drugstore. And for a quick version of the French look, you can
buy a nail whitening pencil. Slide it under the edge of your
nail to white the tip, et viola?instant (not as elegant, but
very nice) manicure!
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