Tutorial: French mani w/ black tips and glitter lining.

I'm a lover of the french manicure design. It's simple, clean, and sophisticated. I got an acrylic french mani when I was younger for my aunt's wedding, and boy did I hate the effects it had on my nails. They took forever to grow out, and left my nails dry and brittle. I also didn't like the fact that if one nail chips off, it makes the rest of the hand look less elegant. Acrylic nails are also expensive for my budget, and in my opinion, not worth the $20-$35 you might be spending. Painting on the french mani design gives you pretty much the same look for waaaay less than half the cost! Most of the time I like to put my own twist on it by choosing different color tips, adding nail jewels, or brushing on designs.

What I used:

• Jordana, Nails Be Strong Strengthener.
  
  It doubles as a base and topcoat!
  I bought this at a local Savemart. They always have this deal where you can buy any 4 Jordana cosmetic product for $5! I like to mix and match nail polishes which brings each bottle of polish I buy from there to be $1.25!
  

• Winmax, Black.
  
  Sadly, this bottle of Winmax nail polish doesn't have an exact name for this shade of black, so I just named it black. Don't let this unknown brand discourage you from buying it! It's one of the best shades of black I ever bought. It comes out really dark the first time, unlike most other brands I've tried which took coats and coats to get as black as what one coat of this bottle took. Where can you get this? Daiso Japan for just $2! Check a nearby mall! Most malls I've been to has this cute little store :)
  

• OPI, Bubble Bath.

I actually got this along with another bottle of OPI Alpine Snow as a birthday gift from T! You might be able to find this color in your local nail salon or beauty supply store for about $5+ dollars. However, I've seen it being sold online for about $4.50.

• Jordana, Pop Art Designer Brush.
  

Unfortunately, this bottle of Jordana polish doesn't have a name either. So I just named it after what was on the sticker. This bottle is packed with glitter of all sorts of colors: red, blue, green, silver, etc. My head spins just looking at how many colors are in this bottle. To be honest, I didn't like the brush very much. It was too thick in my opinion, which dragged too much of the glittery goodness across my nail. Other than that, I love the color! This was also part of the 4 for $5 deal I got at Savemart :)

• 2 coats of each color
  

1. Winmax, Black

2. OPI, Bubble Bath

3. Jordana, Pop Art Designer Brush

4. Jordana, Nails Be Strong Strengthener

• Steps
  (Prep nails with Jordana, Nails Be Strong Strengthener as basecoat)
  

1. Paint one coat of OPI, Bubble Bath.

2. Paint tips with Winmax, Black.

3. Carefully line the border under your black tips with Jordana, Pop Art Designer Brush.

4. Finish off with Jordana, Nails Be Strong Strengthener as topcoat.