They say, “It’s going to be a great day when the hardest decision you have to make is what color nail polish to use.” As if to say picking the color of nail polish wasn’t hard enough, the manicure industry has come a long way since.
With a wide variety of nail art to choose from, there is more to your nails than just picking a shade of nail paint.
Women today have to think of the shape of their nails (it reflects on their personality), the length (with so many chores to run), and the style (French manicures are so classy). That sounds like a whole lot of fun, but only if you have the right canvas aka nails does all of this make sense.
Talking about the right canvas, women these days are opting for acrylic nails. These artificial nails made with a mixture of powder polymer and a liquid monomer, are now widely available in salons worldwide. (You can also get acrylic nails at home with kits like these). These nails are durable and allow you to experiment with different styles easily, especially if you have brittle nails. These nails last for over a month if you care for them properly. You can go back to your salon when you’ve had enough of them, and get your technician to take them off.
Quick Trivia: Did you know extended nails are not a new invention? Back in the day women of the high society used bone, ivory, and gold to add length to their nails.
Now that you have that amazingly durable canvas you can get going with styling them just the way you want. One of the most popular and sought-after manicure styles till date remains to be the French Manicure. It is understated, neutral, and goes with almost everything. The nude base with those crisp white tips are said to be a trend that should have been lost last decade, but women till date walk into salons asking for it.
It is such a versatile style that goes with just about any outfit and is appropriate for just any occasion. It can be done on any nail shape and suits any skin tone.
Originally a French manicure was done with a pink or beige base, and white tips, but today nail technicians’ experiment with different colors and textures, and it’s beautiful!
Quick Trivia: Did you know that the so-called “French manicure”, might not be French at all? While some believe that the Parisians were the first to sport this style, others say Max Factor invented it and added the “French” tag to it because anything French in the cosmetic market sells.
The combination of acrylic nails and French manicure can never go wrong. If you haven’t tried it yet, you have just got to try it. We’ve put together an exhaustive list of French tip acrylic nail designs for you to try today. Take a look at them, they are irresistible. You’ll be left wanting to try them all, and with these easy steps, it’s going to be a cakewalk.
Let’s get started..
12 Amazing French Tip Acrylic Nail Ideas Every Woman Must Try Today
1. French Tip Acrylic Nails With Glitter
Just like the French manicure, glitter is another trend that never goes out of fashion. In fact, research shows that women of all ages are always attracted to glitter. Glitter is a perfect way to jazz up your look.
Whether you are attending a party, celebrating a festival, or getting ready for your own wedding, adding a little glitter can add just the right amount of oomph.
Wondering where to add that glitter? How about your nails?
You can weave in glitter very easily into your beloved French manicure. Here’s how!
What You Will Need:
- Nail polish remover
- Nail File
- Base coat nail polish
- Neutral color nail polish
- Clear top coat nail polish
- White French tip nail polish
- Gold/Silver Glitter
- Stencil/ cello tape (optional)
How To Do It:
- Once your technician does your acrylic nails, it will last you over a month. Then it is entirely up to you to style your nails. You can even reduce the length of the nails and file it to the shape you like it. If you have old nail polish on, it is best you clean your acrylic nails and remove the old nail polish using cotton and remover.
- Apply a base coat nail polish. This is important as this coat creates a smooth base ensuring that the nail paint spreads evenly. It also allows the paint to stick better thereby making your manicure more durable.
- Apply a neutral color of nail polish once the base coat dries. Neutral shades come in different textures. Usually, a sheer coat is preferred as it gives a more natural look. But if you feel like trying something chic and edgy you could even try a matte shade. You have many options when it comes to neutral shades. You can pick anything from pink to peach. Usually, the pinks suit lighter skin tones and peaches suit the darker ones. It is best to try a few shades and decide what suits you best. Apply two coats of the neutral shade and allow it to dry.
- Now comes the fun part, the French tip! If you are experienced, you can go ahead and use a free hand. There are also many stencils available in the market, that can help you with the French tip. But if you don’t want to invest in them you could make do with cello tape. All you have to do is carefully mark out the tip and cover the rest of the nail with cello tape.
- Now pick your choice of gold or silver glitter and paint the tips. You could really experiment here – either make the entire tip dense with glitter or give an ombre effect with the extreme edge of the nail dense and then reducing the amount of glitter as you move up.
- Once dry add a layer of top coat or clear nail polish to finish off your manicure. A top coat has many benefits. It keeps your manicure fresh and glossy for a long time. It prevents chipping and even hides flaws.
You Can Do More:
With glitter, there are no limits. You can really go out and do as much as possible with it. Here are a few alternatives to the previous glitter tutorial.
2. Acrylic French Tip With A Silver Lining
This is a nice way to incorporate glitter into the traditional elements of a French tip.
Follow the steps as mentioned above from 1 to 3. Then once you tape your nail to secure the base use the white French tip nail polish and paint the tips. Allow it to dry. Then tape a tiny bit of white and paint the remaining edge with silver or gold glitter. Once it dries, add the top coat.
3. The Reverse French Acrylic Tip
When you are getting creative with your nails, the sky is the limit. This is another style that looks very elegant and classy. And although it deviates from the traditional French tip, the concept is similar so it does come under the French category.
This is how you do it. Follow the above steps, from 1 to 3, and then tape the entire nail leaving a crescent near your cuticle. Paint the part of your nail that is not taped, with gold or silver glitter. Allow it to dry, and add a top coat.
4. Glitter Base Acrylic French Tip
With manicures, there are options for everyone! If you love glitter, this is something you can try.
Prepare your nails, and then instead of a neutral base coat, paint your nails with gold or silver glitter. Add two coats and allow it to dry. Tape your nails and paint the tip of your nails white. Let it dry and add the top coat.
5. French Tip Acrylic Nails With Various Colors
A pop of color brings cheer in everyone’s life, irrespective of who they are or what their age is. Color is a power which directly influences the soul, and they say, “there is a reason why we don’t see the world in black and white”.
If you are confused about whether to go with a coat of colored paint or a French manicure, pick both! This style allows you to do just that. It is a casual, everyday style that can go with any mood. If you love
What You Will Need:
- Nail polish remover
- Nail File
- Base coat nail polish
- Neutral color nail polish
- Clear top coat nail polish
- White French tip nail polish
- Nail polish in different colors of your choice
- Stencil/ cello tape (optional)
How To Do It:
- Prep your acrylic nails and get them ready for your manicure.
- Apply a base coat nail polish, and allow it to dry.
- Apply a neutral color of nail polish of your choice. Allow it to dry.
- Tape the entire nail with cello tape, leaving only a curved line at the edge of the nail.
- Use the color/colors of your choice and paint the tips.
- Add a top coat and allow it to dry.
- How amazing do those nails look!
You Can Do More:
Using color on your acrylic nails to do a French tip really leaves you spoilt for choice. You can play around with color to do many different things and work on your nails to make them look absolutely gorgeous. Here are some more ideas.
6. The Color Blocked Acrylic French Tip
Color blocking is an amazing “happy” trend. Bold patches of beautifully contrasting colors can never go out of fashion. That is what this style is all about.
All you need to do is pick two of your favorite colors, either from the same family or colors from across the color wheel, and get started. Once you are done with your base coat, paint your nails with one of the two colors, and then let it dry. Tape your nails leaving the edges and paint the tips with the second color. Apply the top coat and there you have it – beautiful, bright nails!
7. The Shadow French Tip
If going bold is not your thing, then this style is probably for you. It is an understated French manicure – very easy to do it and it looks so pretty. Just keep in mind that this style can be done with light colors only. You can use pinks, peaches, and yellows. Even lighter shades of blue and purple could work.
All you need to do is apply the base coat of nail polish. Once it dries, apply white nail paint on the edges of your nails. Two generous coats should do. Once it dries, take the color of your choice and apply a single coat over the entire nail (the white edge included). A single coat will do. Allow it to dry and then add the top coat.
French Tip Acrylic Nails In Different Shapes..
Did you know that the shape of your nails says a lot about you? You might have a natural nail shape, but acrylic nails give you the opportunity to play around with different shapes.
Let’s take a look and how the French tip looks with different shapes, and what those shapes say about you!
8. French Tip Acrylic Nails – Square
If you naturally favor square nails, you are a true minimalist at heart. Being a complete chiller, you would rather watch Netflix than drive around your local bar for dinner and drinks.
Acrylic nails make it so easy to shape your nails differently. It just depends on how you file them. French tips look amazing on square nails and you can totally play around with how you style the edges.
Once you prep your acrylic nails, apply the base coat and the neutral nail paint on your nails. Then comes the taping, here you can decide if you want a straight or rounded border where the edge begins. It can make a huge difference in how your nails look.
9. French Tip Acrylic Nails – Round
If you have this natural affinity for rounded edges when it comes to your nails, you are a true classic at heart. You stick to timeless pieces and like to abide by your routine.
These nails are the easiest. You don’t even need the help of your salon lady to file them. Once your acrylic nails are in place, just file the edges while rounding them in, leaving a trailing tip.
With the rounded nail, the arched tip looks best. Although you could go ahead and flatten the tip, an arched tip is classic.
10. French Tip Acrylic Nails – Coffin
Coffin nails also called the ballerina’s nails, are just stiletto nails squared at the tips. These nails are basically long, and you will have to keep filing them every two weeks as your natural nails keep growing from under your acrylic nails.
Coffin nails are quite the trend and many women are opting for this style. It is not the most practical, given that the style itself requires your nails to be long, but it looks great so you can definitely wear these nails to that much-awaited party and eventually trim them off.
With this style, you can really flaunt your French tip, given the real estate you have on the nail. Arching the white portion where your natural nail ends, and squaring it off where the edge of the acrylic nail ends is going to look great. You can try this out with the glitter, and color as well. Given the space on the nail, you can also add designs to amp up those talons.
11. French Tip Acrylic Chevron Nails
When you talk about French manicures on acrylic nails, you cannot miss the Chevron. The picture above is a double Chevron. It looks absolutely gorgeous. Chevron is basically a ‘v’ shape. This style looks best on a square shaped nail, but you could try it out on a rounded or a coffin nail as well.
Apply the base and the neutral coats. Use tape to mark out a ‘v’ shape on your nail, or a double ‘v’, if you want the same style as the image above. Paint the clear areas in white. Once it dries apply the top coat.
12. French Tip Acrylic Chrome Nails
So you’ve got your acrylic nails which are so in done, you are opting for the timeless French manicure, but you still want something trendy? Try the chrome nail tips.
Chrome nails are basically highly reflective metallic nail colors. These aren’t your traditional bottled nail paints. You apply your usual base coat and then apply a chrome powder that gives this amazing reflective 3D effect. The texture is extremely smooth, and it is way more luminescent than the usual metallic colors. Although it is not very easy to apply the chrome powder, it is something you can perfect with just a little bit of practice.
You could try the chrome tip with a neutral base shade or a dark edgy matte shade. It is going to look fabulous!
This sums up the different shapes and styles of French tips that you can try on acrylic nails. You can never go wrong with a French tip on acrylic nails. If you have been confused about it, I hope this article reassures you, because irrespective of your style you cannot go wrong with this combination. All you need to do is take a pick!!
Cover Image: trec_lit via Flickr cc2.0
Shirin Mehdi is a fashion and beauty expert who completed her Diploma in Fashion Merchandising & Marketing at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. She worked as an editorial intern for a fashion magazine namely Beaumont Publishing Pvt. Ltd., (Singapore) and later joined as a full-time content writer for the famous emagazine Stylecraze. Shirin loves writing content and shares social media posts on beauty and fashion..
Amazing french nails! Great post Shirin!