Fake a French Manicure (Quick and Easy)

Whether you go to a salon or do them at home, a French manicure is more expensive and more time-consuming than regular ones. But those brilliant white tips are a very popular look.

Pin

Fortunately, there’s a simple way fake a French manicure with far less hassle and expense. And it actually looks gorgeous and slightly more natural than the traditional version.

 

This is one of the easiest and cheapest nail looks – both to create in the first place, and to maintain for a couple of weeks or more.

This DIY technique is not only budget-friendly but so easy you could do it in a car – as long as you weren’t the one driving, of course.

Note: several magazines made a slight variation on this tip and published it a couple of months after this article originally appeared. This is a better way to do it, in my opinion, and it’s still very quick and easy.

The French Manicure Look

The French manicure is a classic nail design that involves painting the nail bed with a sheer or nude polish and then adding a white tip. It definitely requires some skill and is harder to do on yourself than on someone else.

This “fake” method lets you get the same look. With just clear nail polish and a white fingernail tip pencil, you can easily create a fake French manicure that looks just as stunning.

Does it Last?

While the nail pencil does stay on well, it’ll rub off somewhat over time, especially if you are frequently getting soap under your nails. But that’s easy to fix: keep it with you for touch-ups and apply as needed.

You can also apply several fresh coats of the Nail Envy without removing the old coats, to keep it looking like new for at least a couple of weeks. It’s actually designed to work with repeat applications because it’s a nail strengthener. Eventually, it does start to pile up, but it can go two weeks easily.

See below for more tips on making it last.

Is it really easy?

This is one of the easiest and quick ways ever to manicure your nails. I’m pretty short on patience when it comes to nail polish, because even after it’s dry, it’s still soft and easily damaged if you use your hands at all.

This is literally something you can do almost on your way out the door. Takes maybe 5 minutes to dry to a pretty decent finish, and if you do accidentally damage the polish before it dries, you can just reapply.

Convenience

You can carry the supplies for this with you in your bag so you have them on hand wherever you go. Touchups can be done anywhere. Just remember nail polish smells loudly and people around you could be annoyed by it.

 

Supplies

You’re going to need two things, both of which you can order online from Amazon:

• White nail pencil
• A pretty top coat like Opi Nail Envy in Clear
• General manicure supplies as needed, like polish remover, a nail file and a cuticle stick

Steps to a Fake French Manicure

First, if you have the time, give yourself a nice DIY nail soak.

Prepping Your Nails

As with any manicure, there are a few things you need to do first. But once you’ve done them, you can generally just touch them up each time you go to paint your nails.

• Remove any old polish
• Push back your cuticles, as needed, with a cuticle stick
• Use a nail file to shape your nails. The classic French manicure has rounded or squared-off tips.

Polish your nails with clear polish

Paint your nails – the whole nail, including the tip – with a clear coat of polish. You can add a second coat if you want.

I recommend a nail strengthener called Opi Nail Envy in Clear (a colored polish won’t work with this hack) for three reason. One, it dries so fast you can apply a second coat immediately after the first.

Two, it’s doing something good for your nails. Three: even though it’s clear, there’s a shimmer to it that really pops.

Even without the white tips, it would make your nails look beautiful. I’ve worn it alone before, and gotten compliments on my “fresh manicure.”

Use a white nail pencil under your nail tips.

I’ve used a few different brands and haven’t noticed much difference between them. Use the pencil on the underside of your nail whites to make them look brighter and whiter.

You’re just coloring in on the underside of the nail, but it will really show through the top tip and make it a beautiful white – combined with the shine from the clear coat.

You can press a little bit under the nail (toward the nail bed) to make the whites even (most of us don’t have naturally occurring perfectly even whites).

The white pencil combined with the glossy shimmer from the polish will make your nails look like real French tips. And with only a fraction of the time or expense involved in a real French manicure.

Making it Last

To keep the look for as long as possible:

1. Avoid harsh chemicals: When you’re cleaning or doing household chores, wear gloves to protect your nails from harsh chemicals that could wash away the nail pencil or dull the polish.
2. Reapply top coat: Every few days, take a look and see if you want to apply an additional layer of top coat to keep it shining and beautiful.
3. Touch up with the nail pencil: As needed, go under your nails again with the white pencil to refresh the look of the tips.
4. Be gentle with your nails: Try to avoid keeping your hands in water for too long or in contact rough surfaces that could chip or damage your manicure.

Removing It

If you decide you want to remove this look on your nails, it’s very simple. Just remove the polish and use a nail scrubbing brush to remove the white pencil from underneath your nails.