How to Do a French Manicure

Co-authored by Marta Nagorska and Glenn Carreau

Want to give your nails some Parisian flair right at home without paying big money at a salon? No problem! French manicures look elegant, but they’re super simple to do—even without the help of a professional stylist. Read on for a comprehensive guide to a DIY French manicure, complete with alternate methods to ensure you get perfectly even nail tips.

Things You Should Know

Prepare your nails by cleaning and trimming them, then shaping them with a file. Push back your cuticles and buff your nails for extra shine!
Start the manicure with a base coat, then paint on your French tips. Follow up with a sheer pink coat, and finish it off with a top coat.
Use French tip guides if freehanding the tips is difficult. You can also try manicure pens, a nail art striper, or clean up lines with nail polish remover.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Your Nails Ready

1
Wash your hands with soap and remove the old polish from your nails. Dip a cotton swab into some nail polish remover and scrub away all of the old nail polish, even if it's clear. Clean the polish around the edges of your nails, too, since you'll be able to see other colors through the pale French manicure polish.^{[1]
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- If you’re having trouble reaching polish stuck around the edges of your nails, dip an orange wood stick with the end covered in cotton into your polish remover and use it to remove the stuck polish.
- Acetone in nail polish remover can dry and damage your nails, so consider choosing a non-acetone nail polish remover that doesn't contain any.
2
Trim your nails to an even length and shape them with a nail file. Avoid trimming them all the way down to your fingertips; keep your nails a little long, cutting them just enough to get a uniform length. Then, grab a nail file and smooth them down, so they have a smooth, crescent-shaped edge. File your nails into a square or rounded shape, depending on your preference.^{[2]
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- Gently drag the nail file across your nails without pushing them down—that can damage them.
- If you have shorter nails, you can still do a French manicure! Instead of wide tips, simply draw a thinner white line along the free edge of your nail when it’s time to paint on French tips.
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3
Push back your cuticles to make your nails look longer. Soak your hands in a warm bowl of water mixed with cuticle oil (or olive oil) for 5 to 10 minutes; it’ll soften your cuticles and makes them easier to push back. Dry your hands and use a cuticle pusher to push your cuticles back, then finish by massaging some cuticle oil into your nails.^{[3]
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- Hydrate your hands at the same time! Apply some hand cream after you’re done pushing back your cuticles.
- Don't trim your cuticles; this leaves your nail matrix (the area your nails grow from) open to infection and can cause deformities on your nails, like ridges or discoloration.
4
Buff your nails to prepare them for polish. Use a high-grit nail buffer to gently buff the surface of your nails. Maintain a light touch throughout the process and focus on the cuticle area of each nail. Gently buffed nails help polish stay on for longer!^{[4]
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- Don’t use a low-grit buffer or put a lot of pressure on your nails as you buff. Either can actually strip away layers of your nails and damage them.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Applying the Nail Polish

1
Put a clear base coat on your fingernails. Paint your nails from the cuticles to the tips. Angle the polish brush forward as you work and fill in each fingernail using smooth, even strokes. The base coat is an important part of any manicure, as it preserves the rest of the nail polish longer. Wait for 1 to 2 minutes for the polish to dry completely before moving to the next step!^{[5]
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- You can buy a French manicure kit that comes with a classic base coat color, a tip color, and other equipment designed to help you create a perfect manicure.
2
Paint French tips with bright white nail polish. Rest your hand on a flat surface to keep it steady, and paint a white strip across the tips of your nails. Start from one side of each nail and slowly turn your finger as you paint, letting the curve with your natural nail and creating a crescent-shaped line from one side of the nail to the other. Then, wait another 2 minutes for the white polish to dry.^{[6]
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- Turning your finger to create white tips is a lot easier than moving the brush, especially when you’re holding the brush in your non-dominant hand.
- Try balancing your pinky under the finger you’re painting to keep your hand from getting shaky, too!
- You can also use a striper brush to paint the tips onto your nails.
3
Add a layer of sheer pink polish over the base coat. Apply the sheer pink nail polish evenly across the surface of your nails to give them a soft pink shade that makes the French mani look natural and hide any discoloration on your nails. Most French manicures are done with a soft, pastel pink color—although you could also use a sheer cream-colored polish for this coat if you prefer. Let this coat dry for 2 minutes before moving on.^{[7]
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- If you want to stray from the classic French mani, choose a color that isn't pink or cream. You could go with red, purple, blue, green, or any other color you like, and use white nail polish or another contrasting color for the tips.
4
Seal and set the manicure with a top coat. Paint a thin layer of top coat polish over your beautified nails, covering them from root to tip. A good top coat protects the look of your freshly painted nails and helps the manicure last longer, too. Once the top coat is finished, just wait for your nails to dry and your manicure is finished!^{[8]
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- With several layers of nail polish including top and base coats, it can take a couple of hours for the manicure to fully dry. Alternatively, use a UV nail lamp to dry your nails in just a few minutes.
- Before applying the topcoat, clean up stray polish on the sides of your nails with a Q-tip soaked in nail polish remover. It’s harder to remove if you wait until after you’re done with the manicure!

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Ways to Get Perfect French Tips

1
Use French tip guides to get smooth, even tip edges. French tip guides are small sticker strips designed to fit the curve of your fingernail and act as a stencil for painting tips. Lay a French tip guide right below the line where the white of your natural nail meets the pink. Apply white polish to the tip of your nail and over the sticker, then peel off the sticker before the polish dries.^{[9]
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- When the sticker peels away, you’ll have flawlessly straight French tips! After they dry, proceed with the sheer coat and top coat of nail polish as usual.
2
Use scotch tape or painter’s tape if you’d rather not buy tip guides. Sometimes it’s easier to use something you already have lying around the house! Wait for the base coat on your nails to dry completely, then place a small piece of scotch tape or painter’s tape over the nail like a stencil, with the edge of the tape lining up with the space where the white of your nail meets the pink.
- After that, paint your white tips just like you would using French tip guides. Peel off the tape when you’re done, let the polish dry, then continue with the rest of the manicure.
3
Apply tips with a white nail art striper for precision detailing. A white nail art striper is essentially a fine, thin brush designed to create precise lines and more complex nail art. Do this just like you would with a standard nail polish brush: start at one side of your nail and rotate your finger, painting a line across the nail with the movement. Then, color in the rest of the nail tip.^{[10]
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- Similarly, consider using a nail art stamper to apply white tips. A French tip nail stamper is a simple device; just gently press the tips of your nails into it to get a perfectly even manicure.
4
Draw on your tips with a French manicure pen. Do things slightly out of order by painting the sheer pink (or beige) coat after your base coat dries, then adding white tips with the manicure pen. Use the French manicure pen to draw a line along the border between the white and pink of each nail, then color in the remaining tip. The manicure pen works well because it’s a little easier to control than a standard brush.^{[11]
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- Choose this method if you want the white of your nail tips to be a little softer and more natural-looking. Manicure pens aren’t as bright and stark-white as regular nail polish.
5
Paint your tips freehand and use nail polish remover to even them out. If you’d rather not buy any extra supplies, cleaning up the tips afterward works too! Skip the base coat and start right with adding white tips to your nails. Paint on the tips, then grab a small detail paintbrush and dip it in nail polish remover. Gently scrub away extra white polish to create the smooth tip lines you’re looking for!^{[12]
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- Be sure to lightly wipe the brush on the side of the nail polish remover bottle before using it, since you don’t want polish dripping all over your nails.
- After the tips are painted and dried, add your sheer pink or beige layer and the top coat. Once they’re dry, voilà! You’re all done.

Community Q&A

Question

Can you still do a French manicure if you have short nails?

Community Answer

Yes, you can. Doing it might be a little more difficult as there is less nail to paint, but once it's done it will still look fabulous.
Question

Does the polish need to be perfectly clear, or can it be a clear cream or clear pink color?

Community Answer

It can be whatever color you want it to be. Some nail designs even have neon colors with French tips; the tips themselves are often a different color too. For a classic French tip, you typically would use a light color, such as cream, pink, or even clear.
Question

What do I do if I'm really bad at doing my right hand?

Community Answer

Put a little piece of tape on your nail that covers what you don't want white on. Then, paint the tip and peel back the tape while the paint is still wet.