I love the way a nicely done french manicure looks on a woman, it just looks so clean & pretty.  I have attempted many times  to do this on myself, always failing miserably  :'(  I am wondering if anybody has any tips, suggestions, or secrets on how to do this yourself and have it look nice.  I have bought the kits that come with the two different polishes (the white for the tips and the sheer pink for the rest of the nail), and also the guide strips- it seems like it should be so easy, but not when I try!  OK, this is what I do, so someone can tell me if I'm doing something wrong...

First I apply a clear base coat & let dry.  Then I put the sticky guide strips on and apply the white to the tips and let dry.  Now, next you're supposed to pull the strips off and apply the sheer pink over the entire nail to seal in the white tip- but when I peel my strips off there is not a clean line at the edge of the white polish.  There is a sharp ridge at the edge, & usually some of the white manages to get under the strip and leave smudgy blotches.  So, I never even bother w/ the pink part, because I always end up with the nail polish remover taking the white tips back off, and extremely frustrated that I even wasted my time (again)!  

I'm hoping that one (or some) of you hair divas are nail divas too, and can shed some light on this manicure mystery for me!  TIA!  

as a nail challenged person, I'm afraid I have no suggestions for you.  But I wish you luck in perfecting your technique!

Thanks BB, the quest goes on........

I have never tried to give myself a French manicure, although I would love to try sometime!
However, in the UK and US, Bourjois I think have released a nail varnish with a differently shaped brush which supposedly makes it easier to do the tips: I suggest buy a bottle of the white and use cheaper pink (better value for money that way!)

Well my nails are "perfect" so I rarely get a manicure myself. however, when you put on the guiding strips, do you do it after the pink part has dried, because I think it's supposed to be ike that. or you might try painting the white part firsta nd then putting the in the pink. I also see that the left had or the weaker hand gives people trouble when it's time to use it.

I used to give myself French manicures, and never used the guide strips since they just made a mess.  Sometimes I would have to redo some nails, but I would recommend just practicing freehand until you get it down.  It took some time, but I did get pretty good at it.  Left handed was tougher but still possible.  

Make sure you brace the wrist you are holding the brush with on the edge of the table to keep your hand steady, and try to swoop the white polish in a single curving stroke across the end of your nail.  Use the end of your finger that you see through the nail as a guideline.  A nail corrector pen can be helpful, especially on your first tries.  

Let the white part dry then apply the sheer over the top.  Once you get this down, it will only be a bit thicker on the tip than the rest of the nail. A couple coats of clear usually filled that in for me.  The strips always left that ugly ridge, another reason I learned to do without them.

Just take your time and be sure your hands are both steadied or braced. With practice you will soon be giving yourself gorgeous French manicures.

Good luck!

That's a good idea! i tried it once freehand and it worked!

Thanks Sara and Sasha  ;D  I have tried it freehand before, and you are right, the results are nicer if you can keep your hand steady (the hardest part!).  What I would do is actually hold the brush still and roll my finger while on a table top- the left hand looked beautiful, but the right hand- well- looked like my left hand did it!  So, I think I'll ditch the strips and practice on the freehand- only practice makes perfect, right?  My sis-in-law gave me a tip, she said she uses acrylic craft paint for the tips instead of nail polish, and plain-ol' clear tape as a guide.  She said the paint is whiter, smoother and faster drying, and she doesn't have the "ridge" problem with the tape.  Then she seals it w/ a few coats of clear.  I'm going to give this a shot & see how it checks out, I'll let you know the results.  Thanks!  ;D

First of all, maggie, I must say that you are one lucky lady if your nails are long and healthy enough to do a French manicure on in the first place.  :)

Secondly, when I did my own French manicures, many years ago, I would do just the opposite and cover the entire nail with the sheer pink first, then let it dry and apply the sticky strips. Then apply the white tips and let them dry completely. This may be where your problems come into play. You have to allow the tips ample time to dry! Then finish with a clear coat all over, and you're good to go.

The last time I tried to do this, however, I noticed that they started making the strips a lot thicker and stickier, so it's harder to pull them off without completely ruining your delicate work! Dear me...

These days, I'm perfectly happy with blood red and black.  ;)

Exactly Angel Spun thats what I meant before we mentioned free hand.

A long time ago, I tried strips and freehand.  Strips are definitely hard to work with.  

I found this page that shows how to do it by first applying the white (doesn't have to be perfect) then you use a different brush and acetone to slowly remove the paint and form the tip shape.  

http://trangalang.com/tuts/cosmetics/french.php

Cynde

Thanks for the link khrome, I wish she'd change the background color so it's easier to read, though!  Now that's throwing a whole different method into the mix....hmmmmm.......which one to try?  I spent a few minutes last night cutting and filing my nails, getting ready for the "big experiment" - (now I know your thinking "getting ready???", but quite often I have to do even the simplest things in stages do to lack of time <and focus?>, I'm sure I'm not alone here...am I?)  So having that much done, I'm hoping to try out the free-hand method tonight, hope it turns out, I like having nice (real) nails...makes me feel like pointing....makes me feel like DISCO DANCING!

(not really, sounds fun, though!)

lol maggie, you're definitely not alone on the "getting ready" point. I totally hear you there.

What sux most (I think) is waiting and waiting for your nails to dry. Meanwhile, you have countless things to do, all of which require the use of your hands.  :-/

But indeed, you are lucky to be able to grow your nails long naturally. Your hair must be in excellent shape!  ;)

My nails are so thin that all I can do is keep them short....which works because as an artist/typist/musician, I work with my hands a lot.  ;)

Best of luck on the freehand method. Let us know how it turns out!

Yes, I am fortunate in the manner that I have very strong nails and it is fairly easy for me to grow them long, but same as you, I depend on my hands for my living- so my nails do endure quite a bit of abuse.  However, thru all the adhesives, glues, paints, thinners and use of small tools, they still manage to survive!  My hair is in a very healthy state right now, I just had quite a few inches taken off  :'(, it was necessary, but I sure miss the length!  It'll grow back (I have to keep reminding myself)!

Ok, I finally gave it another shot.  What I did is I put on a base coat of clear ridge filler (Avon Smooth Beginnings), then put a coat of a sheer neutral shade on, let dry well, and then did the tips last (using the free hand method).  But, instead of using bright white, I used a french vanilla, which doesn't stand out as much (wich means the imperfections don't either!)  I was really happy with the results, except my lack of patience kept them from staying nice for very long.  Tip:  don't decide to do laundry like 4 minutes after carefully painting your nails...just does not work out.  Nope, not at all.  Not in the least.  At all.  Nope.

LOL!

Sounds like you suffer as much from compulsive impatience as I do. *shrug* Better luck next time.

:-[  thanks!   :-[

I love french manicures as well, but it's not very often that I have the time to sit and make my nails look nice, and it's rare when they're all long enough for this.

I love having girl nights, get all the friends over, do each others' nails. Good times for all.

Well, I guess unfortunately for this matter, most of my friends happen to be male - so no girl's night for me!  My very best (girl) friend lives out of state now, and we only get short visits once every few months  :'(  I guess I'll just have to teach the guys how to paint nails!  ;D

lol I had a friend that would XD;;; but he hated being called queer ;;;>_>. Well I tried the french tip before but I did it with other colors (black and a metalic white) clear eveyday tape might work better it's probably difficult cause your nail is curved and the tape is stright.

wrote on Oct 19^th, 2005 at 12:26am:

lol I had a friend that would XD;;; but he hated being called queer ;;;>_>. Well I tried the french tip before but I did it with other colors (black and a metalic white) clear eveyday tape might work better it's probably difficult cause your nail is curved and the tape is stright.

I've tried it with everyday tape before and it turned out quite nicely, it just takes a little patience to get to tape on so you get the right lines.

I suppose if you used that magic tape (I think that's what it's called), the kind that's not really clear, it's more frosty looking and peels off easier it wouldn't be so hard.  I haven't tried this method yet.  I'm still riding out my last bad attempt- that's right, I'm walkin' around with smudgy painty nail tips - and LOVIN" it!  Not really...just too lazy to take it off!  I'll get there!

Oh!  I saw another cool idea in an avon catalog a while ago, the lady had the moons of her nails painted white and the rest of her nail a dark red- it looked really nice.  I don't think I'm ready to attempt this one yet - one challenge at a time!