A Simple French Manicure at Home

French manicures seem to come in and out of style on a fairly regular basis, but it's a classic manicure that I love regardless of what the current trend is! I used to think a really nice french manicure could only be achieved in a salon. Many of my home attempts ended up somewhat wobbly, or too gloopy, or otherwise just plain wrong. And then suddenly, a light bulb clicked and I figured it out! Here is my 6 step guide (and a video! woohoo!) to help you create a relatively simple home french manicure that won't drive you crazy.

A Simple French Manicure

Step 1: File your nails so that they're the length and shape. I chose an almond shape for my nails. The important thing in this step is to file your nails so that your white tips are relatively uniform in size and shape relative to the size of the nail (meaning the pinky nails will obviously be smaller overall that the other nails and the thumb nail will always be a little bigger than the rest). Basically try to achieve a uniform look.

Step 2: First coat of polish is the basecoat. I used Sally Hansen Hard As Nail Hardener in Natural Tint as my basecoat, but the color doesn't really matter- both Natural and Clear look pretty similar to me. I applied it from the base of my nails all the way to the tips.

Step 3: Next up are the white tips! This is usually considered the most difficult part of a french manicure because you want the white to be smooth, opaque, with a clean curve following your natural smile line. This is virtually impossible to do if you're trying to paint it on which the tip of the nail polish brush. I tried buying french manicure kits, french manicure pens, using tape and various stick-on guides in order to get the hang of it but nothing ever seemed to be quite perfect enough. But never fear, because this is where my hack begins! First you want to choose a white polish with a nice runny consistence. I chose Revlon Pure Pearl which is a lovely bright white pearl color. It's not a flat white but ultimately that won't matter too much. I painted it on the whites of my nails, taking care to keep the coat even and thin. When you do this step make sure you cover your natural whites completely but try to to go too far beyond your smile line. Don't worry about what your edge looks like, it's okay if it's not a smooth sharp curve!

Step 4: Once you've laid down your white tips, it's time for cleanup- this is when you'll create that smooth sharp curve at the smile line. You'll need pure acetone (I found mine in CVS where the nail polish removers are) and a small, fairly short-bristled brush. I like to use a synthetic fiber brush that was part of a cheap brush set from CVS, I think originally it was intended to be a concealer brush? I dip my brush into the acetone and carefully use the tip to wipe at the white edge of the polish where I am trying to create the clean smooth smile line. I use short strokes, concentrating to making the edge as perfect as I could. The acetone is very powerful and can remove polish in seconds, so work carefully and don't take off too much! In no time at all, I was left which (near) perfect white tips. And before you ask, yes, I can do this technique using my non-dominant hand as well! It takes a little practice but it's definitely doable! Please note that this method of carving out the smile line down also tend to remove the basecoat where you're working. In our case that doesn't matter because our basecoat was essentially clear and you won't be able to tell when the manicure is finished.

Step 5: Time for the natural color- people generally go for a translucent pink and for me Sally Hansen's Rose Quartz was a perfect option. Apply one coat of this to your entire nail, including the white tip. This will even things out, creating a nice soft color and toning down the brightness of the white tips just a touch. In my case, it also obscured the pearl effect of my white tips quite a bit, which is why it wasn't a problem that I didn't have a flat white to work with. You could do a second coat of this if you wanted but every additional coat you do will make the white tips less bright white, so for me one coat was perfect.

Step 6: Topcoat to seal and smooth out everything. I swear by my Revlon Quick Dry Topcoat; it dries super fast, super shiny, and I find it to be fairly hard wearing and durable. I say "fairly" because I rarely keep a manicure long enough to truly test the durability of a polish... usually after 3 or 4 days I want a change!

And that's it! A pretty french manicure you can do at home with relative ease. If you want proper visuals of this process, check out my video on Youtube to see exactly how I "erase" a smooth curved smile line using acetone and a brush, or watch it below (but you can make the screen bigger in Youtube, so I'd recommend taking a peek there!)

*** This post is not sponsored in any way. The Amazon links may earn my a small commission if you click and make a purchase but there is no additional cost to you. The CVS link does not earn a commission and is for informational purposes only.***