Arrgggghhhhhh!!! French manicures!

[sam78]

Hi there everyone
I am getting really frustrated, I am doing a nail course at college and we are practising our french manicures and I cant do the white tips, I am finding it really difficult. I know I need to practise and practise but my question is will it get easier and did anyone else struggle with this, and is there any tips anyone can give me which might help. I cant see myself ever being good at this????? x :cry:
Thank you x

 

[jenny2]

Hi hun, i am by no means a nail profesional and i may get slated for this one, with the nail geeks. I am also jessica trained and it would be a no go with them as what i am about to say works a treat but is slightly dehydrating on the natural nails. Ok here goes,
Paint half the nail with your white polish, yep cover half the nail plate, then take a flat ended stiff ish make up brush, dip in nail polish remover or acetone (ohh i feel the shouting coming) Take off any excess and swipe under neith to create your smile. it really works and on nail biters to
x

 

[amirose]

LOADS of people struggle with french manicures at first! In fact I would find it hard to believe you are the only person in your class to be finding it difficult.
First and foremost use a decent new polish. White polish is the worst for going thick because of everything they use to make it white. I don't normally struggle with french manicure but give me a gloopy polish and its impossible.
Most people tend to use the brush to move from side to side but if you start at the edge and then gently turn the clients finger you will get a much nicer smile line. Also don't be afraid to go over with a second coat to neaten everything up if you need to.
I have also heard of people putting on the white before the pink so that they can use remover on a cotton bud/orange stick to tidy it up after.
It will come with time, everything does! Need to keep telling myself that too - I am learning to drive and cannot fathom how any of you do it at the moment!!!

hth
Amy

 

[katie1808]

Jenny2's technique is a good way of getting a crisp finish but I have read on the forum here that a lot of techs use Scrub Fresh instead of acetone.

 

[weezie]

Try Essies marshmallow for the tip, it's more forgiving and kind of melts when you paint over it and then vanity fairest for the pink for the same reason, once you have mastered it with this you can do it with any polish. :hug:

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Hope the following links help. The pics for critique will hopefully give you inspiration.

The key is to be relaxed and your client needs to be relaxed too. No stiffies :lol:! Sweep your brush from left to right or keep your brush still and gently roll your clients finger under the brush.

I have tried to post 2 links for you to look at but it is just not working :irked:. Sorry hun.

 

[donna'sdelights]

I struggle to hun but my tutor on my manicure course suggested 2 tech. first the roll method mentioned abve hold the brush horizontalat the side of the free edge and roll the clients finger under it. or the chevron tech start at one edgeand take the brush straight down to the centre of the free egde on both sides then fill the centre section.

 

[lotus blossom]

also work quickly and with confidence!!
if you go slowly youll wobble

just go for it!!

 

[deanosnana]

Try Essies marshmallow for the tip, it's more forgiving and kind of melts when you paint over it and then vanity fairest for the pink for the same reason, once you have mastered it with this you can do it with any polish. :hug:

I second that! My French mani's are much better since switching to Essie's Marshmallow. Good luck!

 

[pippadoodle]

Nailzoo did a very good video demo on here. I use either scrubfresh and a brush to tidy up my white or Leighton Denny brush and polish corrector. xx

 

[Gilly T]

I produced my first perfect french with Essie marshmellow. It's a more natural shade. Rolling the finger slightly is a good idea, I used to practice this on my own hands, not by doing a full set but by sitting and practicing the rolling technique on one nail over and over, removing the polish inbetween.

I also bring my brush back across from right to left after the first sweep left to right, just to make sure both sides are finished properly. Also using the dehydrator (nailfresh or nail pure plus) and a sable brush to back sweep any mistakes on the smile line is a godsend (got lots of these tips from here and they really do work). Give them a try, you'll be surprised.

 

[champagne]

I have a question please dont shoot me for being dense but

If i apply a base coat...then do my white polish, then tidy with nail fresh will it take the base coat off????

 

[twid]

I have a question please dont shoot me for being dense but

If i apply a base coat...then do my white polish, then tidy with nail fresh will it take the base coat off????

Yes it will.

It does get easy eventually, just keep practising and then without you realising it all of a sudden you be doing it.

Karaxxx

 

[loubylou]

Here's a cheating way of doing it and it works a treat,
use a white striping pen to lay down the line (this will give you a guide line to follow) then use your white polish/enamel to fill the rest of the free edge :hug:

 

[geeg]

I have a question please dont shoot me for being dense but

If i apply a base coat...then do my white polish, then tidy with nail fresh will it take the base coat off????

No .. Not necessarily!! I use CND Nail Fresh rather than Scrub Fresh as nail Fresh evaporates so fast, it has done the job and evaporated before the base coat can be removed.

If you use just the point of your brush to 'detail' your smile lime if needed, then you really don't remove any base coat worth worrying about. I have never found the result to be a bad one when doing this. But I definitely recommend Nail Fresh over Scrub Fresh for this job.

 

[fifitrix]

Just have to add to this, I am not a french polish fan at all, any normal polish no probs, but a good polish (creative), and "a go for it" attitude make all the difference. If you think about it too much it goes pear shaped, for me anyway. Actually, this goes for l&p smile lines too, but then that's a whole other thread but the same ethics still apply.

 

[champagne]

I dont seem to have too many problems but my french polish line never looks 100% clean....

I have been using scrubfresh to tidy & i think this is make the line bleed.

 

[Princessstacie]

Hi, i finished this course in may and i have to tell you i really struggled with this too. In my own opinion i would say just practice! I did and now i am more confident doing a french then doing a colour! Dont be afraid to get the polish on the skin as this can just be wiped off with a cotton bud dipped in acetone free nail polish remover. Practice really does make perfect! hope this helps. x

 

[adelekeegan1]

I dont seem to have too many problems but my french polish line never looks 100% clean....

I have been using scrubfresh to tidy & i think this is make the line bleed.

Yes, I found that too, I took Gigi's advice and switched to Nailfresh a while ago and it is great

 

[sam78]

Hi

Well thanks everyone for your replies and advice. I bought a new white polish and tried it last night on a friend and I have to say there was definate improvement which has really boosted my confidence and made me smile. I couldnt belive it, I wasnt getting stressed out with like previous times and enjoyed doing it. Dont get me wrong it wasn't perfect by any means but it was a lot better than past attempts :lol:
I have my assesment in a couple of weeks so I will be practising on any nails I can get my hands on until then :lol:

Thanks again everyone x x