DIY French Manicure

 

(Sorry if my enlarged fingers scare you)

Update: Alright, so in less than 10 hours I'm starting school again. I'm kind of excited for school, and yet kind of dreading it because it's going to be extra challenging this semester. I'm also kind of bummed that summer break is over. *Sigh* Kind of, kind of, kind of, kind of--AGHH!!! What's wrong with me. Why do I sound so 13 and indecisive? No offense, you 13 year olds...It's not you, it's me.

Back to Business: So, I'm not gonna lie--a DIY french manicure requires a bit of time and hand-eye coordination. However, in my opinion, it is one of the most clean and elegant nail looks.

Nail Polish: I selected this set of O.P.I nail polishes specifically for doing French manicures (you absolutely don't need to have this specific brand--I'm just showing you what I use). I personally prefer displaying the natural nailbed colors as much as possible (need to see that capillary refill!), so the cloudy polish is barely opaque.  

 

(From left to right: O.P.I. Top Coat, O.P.I. Natural Nail Base Coat, Sephora by O.P.I. "Bare to be Different", & O.P.I. "Alpine Snow")

Step 1* Trim, File, and Clean your nails (if necessary). As you can see, my nails aren't very long. I paint my manicure a bit steeper than the natural line of my nail to create that illusion of length=D 

(This looks super scary, no? Looks like a surgical set.)

 (Haha--one hand was already done)

(All naturale. Sorry, I know I have wrinkly old-lady hands.)

Step 2* Paint base coat. I would do both hands at a time for this first coating. Usually the base coat drys fairly quickly (~5 min max). However, after this step, I do one hand at a time.

Step 3* Paint the 1st coat of your white tip (O.P.I. "Alpine Snow", in this case). Follow the natural curve of your nail line to create your "tip". As I mentioned I made my tip a bit steeper than my natural nail line since my nails are a bit short at the moment--to be honest I like them this length. Oh very important point! You must let each coat dry for 10-15 min from this point onwards! The white nail polish usually globs on a bit thickly so it needs a longer time to dry...Ok, so unless you are an amazing artist or a gentically enhanced human being, the "tip" is not going to look perfect up close. It's going to look squiggly and weird. Don't be discouraged! The second coat of white nail polish is going to make it look better! And...it might take a few times before you get the hang of it.

(I did my index finger last for demonstration found above)

Step 4* Apply the 2nd coat of your white tip. Just paint right over the 1st coat, and use this as an opportunity to smooth over any of the squiggly parts. Let dry for 10-15 min. I would suggest that you do this whilst watching a movie or something. It requires time and patience. Now I'm lazy and impatient and sloppy, so I don't bother with using tape or anything to shield my skin from the nail polish, and of course it gets all over me and looks like a disaster.

But fear not! That's what nail polish remover is for (this is probably from the dollar store).

And it works beautifully!

 Step 5* Apply the "cloudy" color (I'm using the O.P.I. "Bare to be Different" color). Now this coating serves to slightly diminish the overpowering brightness of the white tip, and also to make the nails look more blended and whole. Apply one layer over the entire surface of the nail (including the white tip) and let dry for 10-15 minutes.

 

Oh, and I'd suggest not eating Italian ice during this process. It was divine--but, O the cost... (i.e. smudged nails..) 

Step 6* Apply a clear top coat (I used O.P.I Top Coat). This will seal in your previous layers of coating and leave you with a glistening finish. Wow, that last line was really commercial worthy... Anyways, let it dry for 10-15 min as well.

Step 7* (Optional) Glove finished hand and finish painting the unfinished hand. Since I'm a bit sloppy I like to do one hand at a time (although I've done both at the same time and it worked out fine). So, I glove the finished hand once it is completely dried in order to protect it from getting messy when I do the other hand. The danger with this, however, is that if the nails aren't fully dried they will smudge under the glove. But, I'm just telling you my strange way of doing things...

(Calm down...it's not that funny!)

 

The End.

Oh wait. I wanted to show you all my elephant necklace that I'm wearing (well one of them--I have a horrible addiction). I love it. My sister bought it for me from Forever 21 (love that store!).