A wind of madness is blowing on the manicure. After the resounding success of the French manicure, the famous technique is getting a makeover in 2020 by replacing the famous white line with plenty of color. A true fashion accessory, it allows her nails to match her look. Some trendy girls like Kylie Jenner even go so far as to use the colors of the rainbow for each nail. As pretty as it is fun, discover all our tips for adopting the colorful French manicure trend.
A great classic of manicure, the French technique consists of applying a line of opaque white varnish to the contour of the nail, then covering it with a nude lacquer. A discreet and elegant makeover that met with dazzling success in the 90s before running out of steam. The influence of nail art and the spread of new nail polish colors have given some ideas: bringing the French manicure up to date, revised and corrected in a colorful version. This new, pop and original manicure awakens the look. Just replace the white line with a flashy or pastel varnish. Guaranteed graphic effect! Shall we get started?
Step 1: Prepare your nails
The right material
- A nail file (Nail files, Sephora Collection – € 3.99 Eshop)
- A boxwood stick (Mini boxwood stick Peggy Sage – € 2.10 Eshop)
- A cuticle cutter or pliers (Cuticle cutter, Kiko – € 2.99 Eshop)
- A cuticle oil (Cuticle oil, Sally Hansen – € 5.22 Eshop)
- A polisher (Nail polisher block, Nailmatic – 5 € Eshop)
- A scrub for the hands (Shea Hand Scrub, L’Occitane – € 14 Eshop)
- A nourishing cream (Youthful hand cream, Clarins – € 22.50 Eshop / Youth hand cream, Condensé Paris – 19 € Eshop)
To get a nice finish, the nail preparation step is essential. It starts with filing the nails. Depending on the shape and length desired, the whole is made uniform with a file. When the nails are properly aligned, we attack small skin types. Using a boxwood stick, push back the cuticles and remove the excess with a cuticle pliers. It is recommended to apply an oil beforehand to soften them. Finally, we can polish the nails to make them more shiny. As a subsidiary step, if there is enough time, the hands are exfoliated to remove dead skin and a nourishing cream is applied. A facelift for hands particularly exposed to external aggressions.
Step 2: We draw a colored line
The right material
- Adhesive tape or self-adhesive stickers for French manicure (French Manicure Stickers, L’Onglerie – € 3.10 Eshop)
- One colored varnish or several as desired (1 second varnish, Bourjois – € 9.50 Eshop)
Available on Amazon, in supermarkets or at certain nail brands, stickers allow you to create the colored (or white) arc of the French manicure in no time at all. These products facilitate the application of the varnish without misstep. The more seasoned can of course do without using just the brush. The principle ? Apply a patch to the nail, at the border between pink and white, to delimit the area to be varnished. This allows the arc to be painted in the color of your choice without overflowing. The most difficult thing in this operation is choosing your color (s)! We repeat the operation on all ten fingers and wait until the varnish is completely dry. The same is true if you have drawn the arc yourself. When the varnish is dry, we move on to the next step.
Step 3: We finalize the manicure
The right material
- A nude varnish (Rose Quartz Varnish, Kure Bazaar – Eshop / Vernis Le nude, D’âme nature – € 4.25 Eshop)
- A top coat (Prostay Gloss top coat, OPI – € 17 Eshop)
The colorful French manicure is almost finalized. Now you just need to apply two coats of nude hairspray (pink or beige depending on what you like). We wait a few minutes then we apply a top coat to make the manicure shine and keep it better. Tadaa, the coolest manicure around is right at your fingertips.
Good to know :
- It is quite possible to achieve this colored manicure with semi-permanent varnish, at home (if you have the necessary equipment) or in a beauty salon. (Beauty Bar Gloss'Up, more info here / NailBar Color Forever, more info here)
- You can easily switch a colored varnish with a glitter varnish, very fashionable for the end of the year celebrations. (Mavala Twist & Shine nail polish collection, € 5.90 – Eshop)
- The French manicure has also inspired another trend: that of the "baby boomer" manicure. It acts like the French manicure of a nail art with a nude base and a white end. The difference lies in the border between the two shades which is blended, there is no demarcation. This technique can be performed on natural nails with semi-permanent varnish or with a gel extension. (Instituts Before Beauty Bar, more info here)