A Twist on a French Manicure

So, going along with my post from WAY too early this morning (could not fall asleep all night!) I decided to follow up on some of my girly-ness.  So today, I present a simple and easy way to do a French manicure dual tone.

I have been getting better at my nail techniques, but I'll be honest, I don't have any of the tools, if they are not included with a bottle of nail polish.  I have completed French manicures on myself, but without the brushes and skill, the tip of my nails always had a lot of extra polish, which made it easier to chip.  Taking a cue from the latest styles I have seen on the other ladies around me, I've seen that neat/pristine is not seen nearly as much as "messy".  That's what I am trying to incorporate.

What you will need:
2 colors of nail polish, top and base coats, make up/foundation sponge, 1 small apple/pecan pie tin

1. Decide what two colors to use.  I personally think the lighter color would look better on the lower portion of the nail, and the darker on top.  Not in every situation, but in the majority of them.
Today I used OPI's Kyoto Pearl and Black Oynx.  I never pay more than $7 per bottle.  It is more expensive, but this brand is worth it, and I can normally get 2 weeks wear before I need to redo my nails.  Normally with free shipping, it's cheaper than going to Walmart or Target.

2. Apply your base coat and 2 coats of your base color.
Because of the pearl nature of the polish I chose, I used 3 coats.


3. Get your pie pan (or if you are more sensible than me, a piece of foil, or a paper plate, whatever is handy) and place a couple of drops of your second color on the foil. Don't use any more than 2-3 drops because the polish will dry quickly.

4. Take your makeup sponge and cut it down to a small triangle. Dip the corner of the sponge in your color.  Going around the natural cure of your nail, just dab the sponge on the tip of your nail. Messy is ok.  Encouraged even.   It's that simple.  The color can be as dark as you want, or as light and see through.  That's what is fun about this technique.

5. Don't forget the top coat, as this significantly reduces the chipping of your polish.

6. Now, this is completely optional, but I highly recommend using a quick drying solution.  Most quick drying polishes (the dry in 60 seconds) are notorious for chipping way too easily.  Using the OPI Nail Drops is worth it.  Nails are dry to the touch within 60 seconds and set within 5 minutes. Like I said earlier, I normally do a new color every other week.  So, the chipping factor is not an issue.  I know there are other products out there, but I have not ventured to try them as this works really well.  When I am flush again, I may branch out and see if anything else might be better.

7. Cleanup of the nails is actually really simple.  I can, for the most part, stay withing my natural nail, but as you can see from the pictures above, when using this technique, as this is my first time doing this, I was outside the natural line.  I don't worry too much, as the next day in the shower, the excess can come easily off the skin.  If it honestly were not this easy, never would I do this.


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Oh, and why I say apple or pecan pie?  Because it is just as expensive as a candy bar, if not less.  ($0.68 at Walmart) and it's a pie!  So, this whole (what I deem as awesome) nail thing is due to my ability to get myself a yummy pie... ...  errr...  two...  yeah.