sparklyshell: French Tip Tutorial

In this entry I am going to cover how to do a french tip nail using only nail polish. No tape or any kind of extra fussy tools needed!

I realise I do not have 'perfect' nails. I don't have the money to get them done at the salon all the time. I did my best with this tutorial all the same and I think I got the overall idea portrayed. I've never been able to grow my nails really long because they tend to break with my lifestyle. I'm just not much of a manicure girl anyway, I file them and polish them and that's it. Like I said, I did my best for you anyway.

What is a 'French Tip'?

The traditional french tip is a base coat, baby pink nail with a white tip and a clear coat to finish. Generally this is the most natural type if you don't want to look like you are wearing highly pigmented nail polish. Particularly useful for making your nails look pretty in a professional setting like school or work. The idea of the natural french tip is to create a pretty looking NATURAL nail. The white is used to fake a longer, whiter nail and the pink and clear coat makes the whole nail appear healthier.

It is best to do tips on nails that have been allowed to grow a little and that have been shaped. Falsies are also an option but it is entirely up to you.

Now that there are so many colours available you can do ANY colour tip you want. It's all about PERSONAL PREFERENCE. Most importantly, have fun with it!

I am going to cover both a traditional french tip in this tutorial and a few more brightly coloured ones for fun :)

You can buy the polishes required separately or you can buy them in sets. French tip manicure sets are available everywhere and some include both a base coat and a top coat like mine here:

I got this set as part of a nail set and it was given to me as a gift a long time ago. I could not tell you where I got it from sorry! But places like Debenhams or any good department store will sell them. Make up counters may even stock them.

I also apologise in advance for the appearance of the white nail polish in the end photo. My nail white nail polish sucks and I didn't have any other to use.

Quick Tips

* NEVER pick your nail polish off. This will damage the surface of your nails and leave them dull looking and brittle. Always use a good nail polish remover.

* Use a moisturiser on your hands daily. Give them a break. The skin on your hands goes through a ton of crap day after day. If you have any kind of skin condition on your hands then see your doctor.

* Shaping your nails regularly helps to keep them strong and prevents splitting.

How To Do A Traditional Natural French Tip

What You Will Need:

Clear nail polish (To use as both a base and top coat but if you have top coat nail polish then use that instead)

Baby pink nail polish

White nail polish

Step One: Prepare!

* Work on a flat, hard surface like a desk or dressing table for stability purposes. Tidy up your area so you have a clear surface to work on. You don't want to be trying to grab your bottle of polish through the mounds of junk that have piled up on your table.

* Place some kind of protection down for the area you're working on. I personally just rest my hand on the back of an old A4 writing pad/notebook because the rough cardboard prevents my hands from slipping and sliding. I wouldn't recommend newspaper because if you spill anything it will go straight thorough and might leave black smudges on your table. Old gift paper or an old magazine opened up (flatten it out to stop any pages flying about) does the job. Or you can be like me and use the back of an old writing pad.

* Make sure you have good lighting. Whether it's natural or artificial doesn't matter much but it's necessary to be able to see what you're doing.

Quickies Nail Polish Remover Pads With Vitamin B5 - Available in most good supermarkets and drugstores:

Tesco Cotton Buds - 29p :D :D :D

* Keep some nail polish remover and cotton buds handy in case you make a mistake. Fill a small plastic cap (you can use the cap of your nail polish remover bottle or any spare small cap/container you have) with nail some nail polish remover and keep it handy so you can just dip your cotton buds in there when you need to. Using dipped cotton buds is a much more precise method for correcting mistakes than using cotton balls as these tend to leave 'bits' behind and they're too big to offer precision. Nail polish remover pads are okay to use also. When I have been out of nail polish remover or when I am feeling lazy I just dab my cotton buds on one of these pads and it dampens them just fine.

* Shape and prepare your nails. Filing your nails stops them from weakening (very long nails tend to break more easily) and keeps them looking great. It's no use creating a beautiful tip only to find your nail is jagged needs to be filed. You'll have to start all over again and that's a pain! Get a good nail filer and sweep in ONE direction to shape your nails. I start one one side and file in ONE direction toward the other side until I am happy with the shape. Whatever shape you want is up to you. Rounded nails make fingers look longer and square nails make fingers look shorter. DON'T go back and forth with your nail filer when filing because you'll end up either breaking your nails or making them brittle.

Step Two: Base

Using a clear base coat will insure your polish lasts longer so apply one coat of clear polish to the entire nail and allow to dry.

Step Three: Pink Is My Favourite Colour

Once your clear coat is dry, add a coat of baby pink nail polish to the entire nail and leave to dry. Then add another over the top and leave to dry.

Start at the sides of the nails and work toward the centre. So swipe once on one side then once on the other side and then swipe the centre. Some people start in the centre but I personally find my finish is more even when I start at the sides and work inwards. I also feel I have more control using this method.

Step Four: White Tip

Now for the tip part of your french tip. This involves applying the white polish to the nail tip only to create a whiter looking nail tip. Always make sure you start with very little polish on your brush with whatever method you use because otherwise the polish will gloop everywhere and look messy and uneven. It is better to build the colour by using small amounts at a time for a smoother finish and to make correcting mistakes easier along the way. If you try to use too much at once it can cause the polish to gloop everywhere and then you'll have the tough/messy job of removing it all. You won't have much control with tons of polish on your brush either.

I tend to start on one side with a very small amount of polish on my brush and do small sweeps all the way over to the other side and then I go over that line to strengthen the colour and smooth the line. Sometimes I also sweep from one side to the other in one clean sweep but this takes practice and a steady hand to get right.

If you don't have a steady hand try resting your entire lower arm and wrist on a hard surface and then using your hand to apply the polish. By laying your arm flat it will have some support and you won't get so much 'shakey hand' syndrome. Then line the tip with polish by starting from one side and sweeping to the centre and then sweep up from the other side to meet the centre. I have tried to demonstrate this in the photo below. After you have done this you can go over the line to smooth it out until the colour is to your satisfaction.

Step Five: Finishing Touch

Once the tip has dried apply another coat of clear nail polish over the top and allow to dry. This will give a nice shiny finish and offers a stronger staying power for your nail polish.

Coloured Tips:

What You Will Need:

Clear nail polish (It's optional if you want to apply a base coat first but this will help to prevent staining when using highly pigmented nail polishes. It will also help the staying power of your coloured polish)

Any coloured nail polish

Step One: Base

Apply the clear nail polish to the entire nail and allow to dry

Step Two: Colour Me Beautiful

Apply the coloured nail polish to the tip of your nail using the same method as explained above. Follow the same instructions for using only a small amount of colour at a time so that your polish doesn't go everywhere and end up looking messy.

Step Three: Clear Finish

Once your coloured polish has dried, apply clear nail polish over the top for a shiny, longer lasting finish.

Here's a couple of coloured tips I did :) I apologise for the blur in some of them but that was my camera and couldn't be fixed.

No 17 Fast Finish in 'Purple Wonder'