A very classy modern take on the french tip nails, mixing up matt and shiny textures. This is one of my favourite ways to wear my nails and you can do this easily at home (or even ask your manicurist). Please click on the picture to enlarge.

You will need:

1. Your favourite Base Coat (so it lasts longer, I currently use one by Sally Hansen to strenghten my nails as they aren’t too strong)
2. Black Nail Polish such as OPI “Black Onyx”, Chanel “Black Satin” or Nails INC “Black Taxi”
3. Matte top coat (I used Essie “Matte About You”)
4. A Shiny top coat or clear nail polish of your choice.

This look works better on short nails I find, since the shiny tips are subtle and not over the top. Shape your nails square and short-ish, and put your undercoat or nail treatment on.

Once it’s dry, procceed to apply 2-3 coats of your black nail polish (or a colour of your choice if you prefer) and wait for it to dry.

Then apply over the whole nails the Matte top coat. You will know it’s dry as it will become completely matt.

After this, take your shiny clear top coat and paint your tips as you would paint your french tips. A easy way to do this is hold the brush still against your nail tip, and then rotate your nail till it coats the tip.

And you are done!

If you haven’t got much practice and end up covering your fingers of black nail polish, an easy way to get rid of it is, wait for an hour or so till it’s completely dry, and submerge your nails in the sink  filled with warm water for a minute, after that, as your skin softens, the paint will peel off, and voila! perfect manicured nails

Hope this helps to any of you or encourages you to try something new. If you have any questions or requests I would love to hear from you!

Morgana