How to Do a French Manicure With Several Colors
A French manicure is a classic way to paint nails. It creates distinctive natural look consisting of a light pink nail bed and white tip, with a half-moon shape above the nail bed. Manicurists use three colors for a typical French manicure: a light French pink polish for the nail bed, a white polish for the tip, and a clear top coat to cover and seal the entire nail. You can use any combination of colors you wish, provided that you keep to the conventional French shape. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Nail polish
- Clear top coat
- Base coat
- Nail polish remover
- Nail forms
- Scotch tape
- Cotton balls
- Emery board
Instructions
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1
Soak a cotton ball with nail polish remover, and use it to clean all old polish and any grease from your nails.
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2
Shape your nails using the emery board to file them down. File straight across the tip of the nail -- using firm, smooth motions. Round the edges by filing them smooth with the fine-grained side of the emery board. Use an emery board with a grit specifically made for natural nails, to prevent damage.
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3
Apply a base coat all over your nails, and allow it to dry.
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4
Apply the color -- or colors, if you will be using several -- to be used for the nail bed. For a traditional French manicure, you would apply the French pink polish to the nail, covering either the entire nail or from the base up to the free edge -- where you would form the half-moon shape. Use the same method, but substitute your chosen color for the French pink polish. Allow the polish to dry.
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5
Place a nail form over the nail at the point where the free edge joins the tip -- or wherever you wish to create your half-moon shape. The nail form covers the bed of the nail which has already been polished and allows you to paint a perfect half-moon tip with your white polish, or choice of color. Use a piece of scotch tape if you do not have a nail form, or paint the tip color freehand, depending on your level of experience. Allow the nail polish to dry.
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6
Apply any decorations or nail art appliqués you wish, to add an extra splash of color to the manicure.
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Apply a layer of clear top coat to the nail. Be sure to brush a layer of it over the top edge of the nail as well, to seal the polish and prevent cracking and chipping.
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Tips & Warnings
Common color variations of the French manicure include using black polish for the tip and a bright color for the bed, or using two different colors for the basic manicure and a special “cracked” effect or shimmer polish for the top coat.
You may wish to apply the tip color before the base color, depending on the effect you wish to achieve.
References
Resources
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