the Gasm

I think I’ve figured out the easiest, most foolproof way to do a french tip nail!

There are a million tutorials on french tips online but I’ve never found anything that wasn’t overly complicated or didn’t require special tools to get the job done. The above french tip was done without tape, acetone-tricks, or anything fancy, and I didn’t take long at all!

Here’s how I did it + the materials I used
** pictures to accompany tutorial coming soon

Clean off nails with acetone and/or soapy water
File nails down to desired shape
Push cuticles back
Apply a clear base coat (Beauty Secrets Base Coat)
Apply a flesh-colored polish all over nail (Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color – 62 I Do)
(MY TRICK!) Paint on your french tip using Acrylic Nail Base Coat — sweep across (left to right & right to left) to coat the natural white tip of your nail (OPI Acrylic Nail Base Coat)
If necessary, you can actually lightly clean and scratch away at the shape if there are any big mess-ups.
Go over the acrylic nail base coat with a white nail polish (OPI Nail Lacquer – Bride’s Bouquet)
Apply a top coat (Beauty Secrets Top Coat)

Why does this work? The Acrylic Base Coat acts as a pencil would if you were sketching something in pencil for an ink drawing. The acrylic base coat allows room for error. It dries to a sheer matte white and is a great guide to use when going over it with white nail polish.

GENERAL NAIL TIPS

Always allow some time between coats of polish, including base and top coats, before moving on to the next coat.
When applying paint to your dominant hand, try moving the dominant hand against the brush instead of sweeping the brush against the nail. This gives you more precision and control.
Not sure how to shape your nails? An easy way to choose a flattering nail/french tip is to file/paint using your cuticle shape as a guide. (example: my pointer finger nail is slightly more rounded than my thumb or ring finger)
Save your thumbs for last! This will allow you to use your thumbs to clean the edges of your other nails and fingers
Try to make sure that the tips of each nail are generally the same size
When prepping your nails, it is good to soak your hands in soapy water for a couple minutes to soften cuticles and moisturize your nails