When people ask me how I can do a french manicure so perfectly by myself, I tell them “I’m asian, it’s in my genes!”
😉
No, seriously, I’ve been doing them for myself for over 12+ years now. I can do it in no time flat, just as easily as painting my nails one solid color. It wasn’t this easy for me when I first started. But, after countless fits over them not being right, I was able to come up with a trick that leaves them flawless every time!
Wanna know my secret?
Bandaids.
Yup, bandaids.
Watch my segment on San Antonio Living as I demonstrate the process. Follow along on my step by step tutorial to see what I’m talking about.
To start, gather all your supplies
- white nail polish, or color of your choice
- top coat of your choice (clear, baby pink, shimmer clear, etc…)
- rounded edged bandaids
- nail polish remover
- Q-tips/cotton balls
Make sure your nails are clean. I always give them a quick swipe with a nail polish remover soaked cotton ball.
Take the bandaids and rip the ends off.
Align and stick the rounded edge on your nail leaving as much of your nail showing as you want to paint. Make sure you the bandaid is tightly stuck on your nail, and the corners have been pushed in to fit around you nail.
Paint the tip.
Wait for the polish to completely dry before peeling off. Repeat this procedure with all of your nails. When they’re all dry, seal it with your top coat. And you’re done!
What do you think? Pretty perfect!
And you don’t just have to use bandaids. Anything rounded and sticky will work. For example, my son has a sheet of smiley face stickers that’ll work like a charm!
Once you do it so many times and get the hang of it, you won’t need the bandaids anymore and you’ll be a french manicure pro!
Genius? Love it? Can’t wait to try it out? Please be sure to let me know! I love knowing my trick’s come in handy for someonone else!
Check out some of my other nail art here, here, and here
Happy polishing!
66 Comments
This is a really cool idea! I’ve always gone for using scotch tape, but the pre rounded edge would give a better tip! Have never heard of using band aids before, thanks!
I love sharing my tips! Thanks for the comment letting me know you like it 🙂 please don’t forget to subscribe, I just followed you an entered your contest!
Genious…
Simple but effective! Thanks for following along on my blog, be sure and spread the word! 🙂
This did not work for me.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out. What problem did you face? We’re your band aids too sticky or not sticky enough?
This is also a really cool idea/trick!
[…] white polish came with the artsy thin brush to do lines and designs so it made it very easy! Use my secret to getting a perfect french manicure, and then use the thin brush to trace right over that line to get is as close to perfect as […]
I’ve tried circular stickers before, but my thumbs are too wide for them! This idea is genius!
Thanks Emily, glad you found it helpful! Band aids are so great because all the different sizes available for every size nail!
do the band aids leave a sticky residue?
I’ve never had a problem with them leaving a sticky residue!
It peeled off my undercoat and left a sticky residue. I guess cheap bandaids work better?
Shannon,
You can use any type of bandaid, but if you feel they’re too sticky just stick them to your skin a few times before applying them to your nails. Hope that helps! 🙂
Omg , seriously
It did on me and pulled the base coat off. Maybe some cheap dollar store band aids won’t.
I don’t use a base coat for my French manicures so I’m not sure but yes, the cheaper dollar store bandaids won’t have as much sticking power.
I have tried the bandaid before and I used the fabric ones nd it left a residue on my nails so i didn’t try it again. I will he using the plastic one nd try again 🙂
If you have a problem with it being a little too sticky, stick it on your skin first to get rid of some of the stick before putting it on your nail
I went to the Dollar store and got a box of Bandaids. The only change I recommend is to use a Onyx (you can find at Wal Mart) about $3, and is 100% Pure Acetone. I quit buying the name and store brands. Oh and to clean my nails, I use a Toner to rid of any oil on the nails. Thanks for the tip, will be updating my manicure this week!
Dude, this is great. Genius. I’m totally going to use this at some point!
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This is so smart!! I have also been doing french on myself (and I it turnes out good most of the time). But this tip is supersmart 😀
Hi! I didn’t try this trick but I have found that Scotch Blue Painters Tape works well also. If you want thick stripes or something..that works!
Thanks for the extra tip Alexa 🙂
This is absolutely genius! Why didn’t I think of this? LOL
I’ve been using reinforcement lables (the stickers that are meant for the holes in filler/notebook paper) but they don’t stick that well in the corners between the nail and the skin, so my points on each end come out all wacked LOL. Also, this last time that I bought them I made the mistake of buying the colored ones and the sticker color ended up rubbing off onto my nails and seeping into the white nail polish.
I’m definitely buying bandaids next time. 🙂
Thanks for the great tip!
I’m soo glad you found it useful! Good luck trying it for yourself, I’m sure it’ll work out great
Do you use the same bandaid, or use a new one for every nail? Sounds like a wonderful idea, but if you need 10 bandaids that could be expensive. Thanks
I reuse the bandaid for a few nails. To save a little you can buy a pack at your local dollar store!
What polish or topcoat did you use to make your nails pink and shiny?
I just use a basic clear top coat, in this picture I used LA Colors clear coat, but you can use a very sheer light pink if you’re looking for a bit of color
Did you usually have a lot of white nail polish to cclean up after u took the band aid off..or does it stick pretty good where it doesnt seep into the corners and bleed onto the nails. .? And if u need to clean up the line a little ive heard a eyeshadow brush works really good, have you tried that?
The band aids work perfectly for me & there’s no bleeding. If you do have any or just to clean around your cuticles, I use q-tips dipped in nail polish remover
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You legend. Band aids are such a good idea!
Omg this is so amazingly smart!
Than you Lexie, hope you can put it to good use!
Great idea though I couldn’t get it to work for me. The bandaids I used were thicker than the ones you show though. When I tried to pull them off, the bottom line on the tip became jagged. I’ll probably try this again with thinner bandaids.
Try the thinner band aids and wait for the polish to fully dry before peeling them off
OMG, just tried it and they turned out perfect! Genious idea. I already had 2 base coats. I found a fabric band-aid and it left no residue. I used the same side of band-aid for 5 fingers and did not wait for polish to dry and it left a perfectly clean line. I will always do this method (masking tape is tricky), thanks for sharing.
I love hearing that my little trick is useful to others, I’m glad it worked out for you! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
This is awesome. You just saved me lots of money. I wonder if can do on toes too. Thank you!
i loved it
Glad to hear it 🙂
Worked really well for me!!
So glad to hear it nancy 🙂
I thought it was awesome! The band aids worked great! No sticky residue and an amazing result♡
Hi Christina – I pinned your band-aid tip, and I’ve actually done it three times now, and it really is foolproof, thanks so much for sharing! I work in healthcare – I’m a radiographer – so can’t have pretty nails at work, but between shifts now I can, without shelling out for a salon manicure 😀 Thanks again!
That makes me so happy to hear maya! Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
Hi
I’ve been looking for something like this for ages 🙂 just trying it out now – one hand completed the other still drying – works wonderfully – but one tip … Be patient !!
Also be careful when pulling off the band aids – I found if I pulled it slowly from one side it came off easier
I can go to work tomorrow with a professional looking French Manicure 🙂 that cost nothing but time (even better)
Thank you so much !!
Cheers
Kelly ( in New Zealand)
Thanks for sharing with me Kelly, I love hearing that someone’s found it useful!
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I tried and it worked perfect thank you!!!
so glad to hear it, thanks for letting me know!
Awesome tip!!! Literally! I’m going to try it right now! Thank you :). Dena
Glad you found it useful, I hope it works as well for you as it has for me!
Oh my goodness!!!!! Thank you so much, you just saved me money n my mind!!! I can’t wait to try this , GOD bless you and thank you so very much!!!
So glad you like my tip, Tabatha. I hope it works out as good for you as it has for me!
YOU ROCK! THANK YOU for sharing your FABULOUS secret!
Tried it. Bandaids left film and you have to be really good at placing the bandaids or yourwhites dont match.