To French or Not To French

You already know how much I love nail designs. From cupcakes to gradient I love them all. I adore changing my polish on the reg. In fact, some people think I may have a problem. But, what can I say? The nails make the girl! Different colors and designs have the ability to pull together an outfit perfectly.

With that said, sometimes you need a polished look. (Daddy wasn't in love with the frosting dipped design, when I met him at the Harvard Club before the opera. In my opinion, a French mani, is the perfect, polished look. I did this manicure for the launch of Ann Dexter-Jones design.

Durring fashion house's Spring 2013 Paris Fashion Week, models for Chanel had classic French manicured nails. Now, you know how much I love Deborah Lippmann, I had already told you that I wear her polish all the time! But, Deborah and I disagree on classic, French manicures. She told Elle "A traditional French manicure with pink and white is no longer fashion forward." While I love her idea of using bright, neon colors for a Frech manicure twist, I don't want to turn my back on the classic French manicure! If it's good enough for Chanel, it's good enough for me!

I created the perfect French manicure by using Kiss’s Everlasting PRO LED GEL Lamp and their Everlasting Gel Polish French Manicure Kit. I can continue to reuse the LED lamp for future at home gel manicures, it’s much cheaper than getting regular gel manicures at a salon!

The first step is to file and (gently) buff your nails. This will ensure that the gel polish adheres better and lasts longer. Follow by (gently again!) pushing back your cuticles.

Next, you will want to use the included gel cleanser and pads to wipe all of your nails.

After your nails have been cleaned you need to hold up the French tips to each nail to find the perfect size.

Now that you have laid out all ten tips, one for each finger, you will need to use the brush on gel glue. Apply the gel glue and stick on the French tip at the edge of your nail. Press down firmly until it is completely attached.

Time to remove the plastic tip – just press down on the edge of the plastic tip. It will pop off, leaving on the white strip on your nail.

After you have removed the plastic tip from each nail, you will need to use nail clippers to snip off the tiny white tab on the edge of your nail. Follow with the gel cleanser again.

Use the gel base coat to paint a thin coat over all of your nails.

Place your hand in the LED lamp for 30 seconds. Don’t worry, it will beep when time is up. You will only be able to fit four fingers in at a time, so do your thumb separately.

The best part is that there isn’t any drying time between steps! So you are ready to start painting the color on. For this step, you will paint a thin coat of the color and dry under the LED light for one minute. You can only use one coat of the color; I chose to do two coats. (But, place hands under the light for one minute, and repeat the process for the second coat.)

Only one step to go! Use the top coat and leave under the LED light for 30 seconds. This will ensure that your nails are super shiny! Remove any excess with the remover and wash your hands.

Yay! You’re finished and you can enjoy your professional manicure, never having left your couch.

Perfectly Glossed Kisses,

Sutton