In acrylic extensions on tips or forms, the French is laid out with two balls: first, a camouflage is formed from pink powder, then a smile is formed from white powder. The higher the professionalism of the master, the less sawdust the finished nail requires.
For those who work with acrylic, we have prepared a selection of three training videos. From them you will learn the secrets of quickly laying out acrylic on tips and forms with minimal cutting, and also see how professionals lay out a smile the first time.
French nail polish
If you are in doubt about the best way to do a French manicure at home at minimal cost, then start with a regular one.
nail polish. Both ready-made kits and all components separately are available for sale. The kits usually include:
- base coat;
- pink camouflage;
- white nail polish for a smile;
- top coat for durability and shine.
To get an even smile line the first time, use stencils for a French manicure.
Where to start
Now that you have everything to start creating a beautiful manicure, you need to get your nails in order. You should remove the old polish, then use a nail file to give your nails the shape that suits you, as well as the same length. After this, you need to make a special nail bath. It is done very simply: pour hot water into a bowl, add a teaspoon of sea salt, a little liquid soap and two or three drops of essential oil. Keep your nails in the bath for 5 minutes. As soon as the skin of your hands has steamed and become soft, you need to wash your hands and remove all dirt. You can use a special brush for this. Afterwards, we remove the cuticle and clean off all remaining skin on the nail plates, carefully removing all rough skin.
Then, when all the manipulations are completed and your nails look great, you can proceed directly to the French manicure itself. In order for the polish to last longer on your nails, you must first polish them with a polishing file. With its help, we achieve a matte color of the nail so that it does not shine and has a natural shade. All the necessary shine is given with the help of varnish.
How to make an express French look with ready-made Dashing Diva tips
Do you urgently need a French manicure at home, but you don’t have a UV lamp and your drawing skills are failing? Keep on hand the new product from Dashing Diva - the new generation of Virtual Nails French false nails. In our video tutorial, we talk about this miracle product and show how you can “conjure up” a long-lasting manicure in a matter of minutes.
Another new product from this brand is French Wrap Plus tips. With their help, you will make an equally neat French jacket with your own hands, if you carefully look at our photo tutorial.
French gel polish
Perhaps the optimal combination of speed, durability and affordable price is French gel polish . This procedure is also most convenient from the client’s point of view:
- Fast (up to 1 hour).
- There is no unpleasant odor, as, for example, with acrylic extensions.
- The natural nail is not filed down when applying and removing the coating
- The coating polymerizes in a matter of seconds, no need to wait for it to dry.
Why does shellac from some artists last for weeks, while for others the coating begins to crack and chip off already on the third day? It's all about the subtleties and secrets of technology. For those who want to overcome peelings and delight clients (or yourself, if you do your nails at home), we have prepared lessons on French manicure with photos.
Prepare the client's hands
Remove the old covering and treat the client's hands with a disinfectant.
Prepare your natural nail
To prevent peeling at the base of the nail, carefully push back the cuticle with an orange stick. To make your work easier, apply Color Couture Entity One Cuticle Oil to the border between the nail and the skin. If the cuticle is very grown and dry, give the client a trimmed or European manicure.
Shape the free edge of the nail
Using a CND Kanga Board natural nail file, shape the free edge into an oval or square according to the client’s wishes.
Clean and degrease the nail plate
Wipe nail plate with Entity One Natural Nail Prep using Graham HandsDown Nail Wipes. This stage is needed to remove dust from the surface after sawing the free edge, fat, cuticle particles and other contaminants. Only on perfectly clean nails does French gel polish last without peeling. Be careful not to accidentally touch the client's nails with your fingers after treatment. If this happens, wipe the nail with the product again.
If the client has so-called “wet nails,” then additionally apply Entity One Nail Dehydrator. How to identify such a detail? Ask her how regular polish holds up. If even professional brands of varnish “live” on the client’s hands for 1-2 days, then the reason may be the moisture of the nail plate. Treatment with a dehydrator in this case will help make the coating more durable.
Apply primer
The primer will increase the adhesion of the gel polish to the nail plate and extend the life of the manicure. To perform French with Entity One gel polishes, you can choose between the acidic Entity One Nail Primer - for healthy nails, and the acid-free Entity One Nu Bond - for weak and damaged nails.
Apply base coat
Entity Base Coat protects nails from staining with gel polish pigments, evens out the surface and has a positive effect on durability. Apply the base in a thin layer, making sure to seal the end of the nail. Cure the coating in a UV lamp for 2 minutes or 30 seconds in an LED lamp.
Cover your nail with camouflage
Apply 1 or 2 coats of Nude Fishnets Translucent Beige/Peach Camouflage Gel Polish from Entity One Color Couture. Cure each layer in a lamp - 120 seconds for a UV lamp and 30 seconds for an LED lamp.
Use Entity One Spotlight Gel Polish to create a smile line, making sure to seal the end of the nail. It is better to make a smile in two thin layers, polymerizing each: this way the coating will lie smoothly and without bubbles. The lamp exposure time is the same: 2 minutes for a UV lamp and half a minute for LED equipment.
Masters disagree on how to paint a smile during a French manicure with gel polishes: with a brush from a bottle or with a separate thin brush? In fact, both methods have a right to exist. We have recorded for you a master class on French manicure with shellac, which shows both technologies for removing a smile. Take a look to make it easier to decide.
Treat your nails with a top coat
Entity One Color Couture, Top Coat provides additional protection against fading, damage and chipping, seals previous layers and extends wear life. Apply the top very thinly, not forgetting to cover the end. Curing time is the same as previous products.
Remove the sticky layer
Entity One Nail Prep is suitable not only for preparing the nail plate, but also for removing the dispersion layer. Place liquid onto Graham HandsDown Nail Wipes and buff your nails.
Please note that the stickiness is removed only from the top, and it remains on the previous layers, which improves the adhesion of the layers to each other.
Finish your manicure with cuticle oil.
Cuticle oil Color Couture Entity One Cuticle Oil 15 ml will provide the skin with softening, nutrition and protection. The product is suitable for sensitive skin.
French manicure with gel polish is ready.
You can order all the products used in this master class in our store with delivery to all cities of Russia.
You will also need a base tone and a white Entity One color coat.
You can select them here:
Are you using Shellac products from CND? We have made for you a review of shellac shades suitable for camouflage and a white smile, and photographed a manicure using them step by step. You can view the photo tutorial and ask any questions about CND products here.
If you or your client needs a French manicure on short nails , then be sure to watch our video tutorial on how to create the perfect French manicure on short nails.
Applying manicure
After preparing your nails for a manicure, you should apply a gel polish base to the nail, thanks to which the coating will adhere more reliably to the nail. The coating should not come into contact with the skin; all excess should be wiped off.
Important! After application, the nails are dried under a UV lamp for about a minute. Drying time depends on the lamp power.
Classic French manicure is done using natural colors: pink, beige, light pink, it is possible to use brighter shades.
The layer should be thin, just like the base coat. You should also be careful not to get on your skin. Keep under ultraviolet rays for about 2-3 minutes.
The most important and difficult step is drawing the holes. You can draw them by hand, or you can use special stencils that stick to the nail; of course, it will be much easier with them. Just like with the previous layer, you can choose the color of the varnish at your own discretion.
Drawing such a smile is difficult at first if you use a brush, but the advantage of shellac is that it can be easily corrected without spoiling the layer below. If it doesn’t turn out very smoothly and a small defect appears in the process, you can always correct everything with a cotton swab and degreaser. It is dried, like the main color, under a UV lamp. For greater color brightness, you can apply an additional layer of coating, fixing it under ultraviolet light.
All that remains is to secure the manicure with a top coat. This way the coating will last longer. The fixative is dried under ultraviolet rays. There are several types of fixatives, but recently products with a matte effect have become increasingly popular. The entire process of applying French manicure on short nails is presented step by step in the video.
At the end of the procedure, you need to remove the sticky layer with a cotton pad soaked in a degreaser and moisturize the cuticle. This is done with a moisturizer, a special cuticle product or various oils.
Especially on short nails, a Hollywood or moon jacket looks great. This is one of the most common types of French manicure. In it, not the edge of the nail, but the white hole at its base is covered with white or colored varnish.
Interesting! Many people think that it is not easy to create a beautiful French manicure on short nails, but the French manicure was created as a manicure for short nails.
New 2015 nail designs in the style of French manicure with photos
What to do if you want something new, but you’re not ready to give up your favorite French jacket? In 2014 and 2015, many new designs appeared in French nail designs for short and long nails.
How to diversify the usual design, but at the same time maintain the delicacy and color scheme of French manicure? Try combining it with the lunar one . Our master class with photos will tell you how to do this: Lunar manicure with COLOR CLUB gel polish
The fashionable “ reverse French ” design is a must-have for any craftsman. If you are interested in this drawing and doubt your skills as an artist, then you should watch our training video Reverse French on short nails. In it you will get a lot of ideas for creating designs on your nails.
Colored French manicure is catching up with the white classic in popularity, especially in the summer season and early autumn. How to combine colors and draw an even smile by performing a multi-colored French manicure - we share these and other secrets in our video Colored French manicure with Cuccio Veneer gel polishes.
Another unusual approach is drawing a double smile. In our master class with photos you will see all the stages of creating this hit manicure in 2015 fashion trends.
The white color at the edge of the nail can be shaded, creating a gradient effect. With this technology, you are insured against mistakes in creating a smile. Gradient French manicure can be done with both white and colored gels, acrylics and gel polishes.
In our store you can purchase everything you need for a French manicure with acrylic, gel or gel polishes. We stock materials, tools, equipment and accessories from brands tested by our regular customers. Select the equipment you are interested in and start shopping!
Design ideas
With the help of stripes you can create not only a classic French jacket, but also many of its other variations. As mentioned above, this could be, for example, a reverse French manicure or a moon manicure. An unusual colored jacket made in contrasting colors can also attract everyone's attention. Such stencils are also good for creating a striped design consisting of parallel stripes of different colors. The most interesting thing in this variation is the smooth stepped color gradient.
A rather abstract and avant-garde manicure can be created using bright and dense colored coatings in contrasting shades. To do this, the strips need to be glued at different angles to each other, crossed and placed one on top of the other. Using stencils in the form of an acute or right angle, you can create an interesting manicure in a graphic style.
