Frenchified! 6 Ways to Spice Up the Classic French Manicure

June 15, 2012

Reverse candy pink: If you love the color pink as much as I do, then you will definitely love the all-pink French manicure. Like the classic French, it still uses a base coat of a soft pink. The first step would be to apply two coats of your light pink base to all your nails. Then, instead of adding a white tip to the nail like the classic French, the tip would be a darker shade of pink. I love to use “Watermelon” by Essie for this look!

Neon tipped: If you’re a trendy girl, then you already know that this summer, neon will be everywhere. This is another great way to spice up the French manicure. You can use a base coat of white (or even soft pink if you prefer) and then add neon colored tip. A gorgeous color to use on your tips is “Funky Limelight” by Essie or the Instadry Sally Hansen “Lightening”.

Mint green stripe: Another super cute look is by picking a color scheme. The first thing to do is to pick a base coat and a tip color, and then apply it. Once you’ve got that done, you can pick any little kind of design/detail to add to your ring finger! I especially like something simple like diagonal stripes across the nail!

Metallic ocean tipped: Instead of putting your lighter color as your base coat, you use it as your tip and the darker color as your base coat. The contrast looks just as good reversed. This especially looks good if you use colors within the same tones.

Polka dot pink: I love the classic French manicure with tiny red polka dots, it’s a blast of color but still an elegant nail. Have fun with colors, but be sure to keep it neat. (Try using a toothpick dipped in your polish color of choice when applying the polka dots.)

Reverse blue moon: But of course, one more super cool way to spice up your classic French manicure is to do it upside down. This is a little tricky but looks so, so good! After applying a base coat, all you have left to do is add your tips. Instead of making your French tip at the end/tip of your nail, make a thick line at the start of your nail, closer to your skin. This usually looks super good when the tip is a lighter color!

Remember that nails are always to be dressed to impress, just as your outfits are! These are only 6 great ways to spice up your classic French manicure, just keep in mind to always add a little touch of you to your nails.

- Valerie Choucroun