A good few years ago, I started growing my nails and painting them. I even did my own nails for my prom!
I was really into doing DIY French Manicures and got quite good at them. Then when I started working, I got out of the routine and haven't done them since. But a couple of weeks ago I decided to do it again and realised it is still super easy! So I thought I would do my first 'beauty related' blog post, so here goes!
When I do my french manicures, I use 4 different nail varnish's/polishes.
After filing my nails to the shape I want, I use a base coat. The one I use is a Superdrug own brand 3 in 1 base coat, ridge filler and growth enhancer. My nails grow very fast so I don't need the growth enhancement but my nails are always very battered from all the constant painting so to me this is a great, cheap base coat that will give your nails a smooth finish. I paint all of my nails with a generous layer and leave to dry, around 1 minute. I picked this up for £2.99 in Superdrug.
The next product I use is the Rimmel Nail Tip Whitener. This is just your average white nail varnish but the brush applicator is a lot thinner and more precise than your regular brush. This makes it easy for getting a straight and precise line across the tops of your nails. I apply this to all of my nails, let that dry, then apply another coat to get that perfectly white finish. I find laying your hands on a flat surface and rolling your finger at the same time as brushing will make it easier to get a straight and precise line. I picked this up for £4.59 in Boots.
Once your white tips are dry, normally around 2-3 minutes, I then apply the colour aspect. I have 2 nail varnishes that I tend to use but for this I decided to stick with Rimmel and use their French Manicure Nail Varnish in 445 French Rose, this is a light baby pink colour that comes across very natural on the nail. I apply this to the whole of the nail, even over the white tips, leave to dry then apply a second coat. I was worried about the white tips turning pink, but they don't which is great. I picked this up at Boots for £4.59.
Once all of that is dry, I tend to leave it all for 8-10 minutes just to be careful and then apply my top coat. I never use to use a top coat but I picked this one up by mistake when buying the above products, thinking it was a regular top coat. This varnish is in fact a Matte Finish Top Coat by Rimmel. Now this is an incredible product and I'm so glad I picked this up, even if it was by mistake! It leaves your nails with an extremely smooth and matte finish, as you would expect, but it takes seconds. As you apply the varnish to your last finger on your first hand, the previous nails are already Matte! It literally takes seconds. Obviously this is what I chose to use but if you like the shiny look then go for a regular top coat, such as the Rimmel Pro Superwear Top Coat. Both top coats are £4.59 from Boots.
Once you've left that to dry, about 5-7 minutes your nails are ready to go. I'm still getting the hang of doing it again but the picture below was my second attempt and I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I hope you have found this helpful and I will be back soon with some more beauty related posts.
Thanks for reading,
Ashleigh xxx
