Secrets to a Beautiful French Manicure

These days, having beautiful nails is a must for looking and feeling beautiful inside and out. All hollywood celebrities do it, even the men! And don't forget the fashion models that walk down the runways of New York and Milan. Everyone should take care of their nails period. And having beautiful nails just makes you feel better and more confident.

Taking care of your nails doesn't have to be hard, in fact it's so easy now because of the countless nail salons that keep openning providing different techniques, treatments for your nails manicure needs.There's also a lot of manicure kits you can buy to do it yourself in the comfort of your own home or if you prefer have a nail technician pay you a visit. The choices are countless so you shouldn't have any excuses to not having beautifully manicured nails.

When getting a nails manicure, you'll be bombarded with a lot of choices. You can get the ordinary treatment, or you can have artificial nails installed or even have your nails painted with some unique and beautifully designed nail arts.

One option you can get from a nails manicure is the timeless classic French Manicure. Made famous by famous stars and fashion icons in the 1900's, this elegant and timeless look never seems outdated and a lot of women prefer this look because of its simplicity and close resemblance to looking like natural nails. Having a french manicure conveys gracefulness and elegance in its most simplest form.

A french manicure look is nails with a pastel pink coating with ivory or off white nail polish on the tips. If you have long nails or short nails it doesn't matter as a french manicure works well for almost any lenght of nails.

Nails Manicure have been around for ages. The first known evidence of nails manicure is in India 5000 years ago, where henna was used. As for French Manicure, it is believed to have originated during the 1800's and became a hit in French nail salons. During the 1920s and 1930s, french fashion drew the interests of very influential US fashion designers and this helped spread its popularity.

In the TV and movie industry, producers we're always on the lookout for a singular style that actresses could use regardless of any wardrobe. Once french manicure was applied on set, the celebrities loved it so much they had it done even off the set. This trend ofcourse popularized french manicure to the masses and this craze went on until the 1930s and continues to this day.

If you've ever wondered what the steps to a French Manicure are or wanted to do one yourself, here's a quick and easy quide to making your own French Manicure.

Preparing your nails

1. Like all other nail manicure styles, you have to first clean and prepare your nails. Prepare your nails by dipping and soaking warm water to make the cuticles soft and tender.
2. Gently push back your cuticles with an orange stick and cuticle remover. Remove overhanging nails as well.
3. Clean, trim and buff your nails.
   
4. Using acetone or nail polish remover, make sure no old nail polish is left behind on your nails.
   
5. Apply hand lotion or moisturizer on your hands and nails and let stand for 5 minutes. Wipe excess with a tissue or towel.

Applying the coatings

1. Get a thin and clear base-coat and evenly brush the whole nail surface.
2. Cover the tips of your nails with a tip guide, following the curvature of your nail.
3. Use a white or neutral nail polish and coat the uncovered parts of the nail. Make sure to apply only a thin layer as a thick layer will make your nails look bad.
4. Dry your nails first and when ready remove the nail tip guides.
5. Paint the whole nail with a beige nail polish using two strokes.
6. Apply a last layer of top-coat to protect the layers beneath. This top-coat also serves to lengthen the life of your french manicure.
7. Once finished, clean any excess or errors with an orange stick wrapped cotton dipped in acetone.
8. Dry your fingernails and don't do anything for 30 minutes to an hour.

And there you have it. Your very own French Manicure nails.

To make your French Manicure last longer, remember to apply a top coat on the nails every night.