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The French manicure may have been the world’s first nail art design, but what happens when you turn it on its side? The awesome Sideways French Manicure (pictured above) is what, which couldn’t be more current or fresh (unlike the somewhat stale original). We first spotted the look on Pinterest (where else?), but having minimal nail art skills, we reached out to nail expert Erica Selma, a manicurist for The Face Place, to break it down. Behold, her 6 easy steps for creating the sideways French manicure at home:
1. Start by choosing two contrasting colors, such as black and peach or for a bolder, brighter look, try white and any neon color.
2. The trick here is layering! Start with the bottom color, i.e. black, and coat your nail as you normally would for a manicure. Depending on the brand of the polish, you may need more than one coat. But don’t overload the polish because you need to layer on top! Just make sure the nail is covered and not streaky.
3. Let dry for a few seconds than carefully take your top color, the bolder one, and starting in the middle of the nail, swipe the polish to one side.You may need to do this two, three times to get the color solid (not streaky).
4. Don’t worry about perfection here! Layering will be uneven but it doesn’t matter – the look isn’t about straight lines it’s about layering colors!
5. Colors will change when you layer. For instance, using white nail polish as your base coat will enhance the second color, while using black underneath can darken the bold color.
Viola! You now have a trendy new nail style created by you! Erica recommends choosing good nail polish brands, like Essie, so the colors are rich and will contrast with the layering more effectively. Also, she reiterated numerous times – don’t worry about perfect lines! Have fun with your contrasting colors and good luck!
Don’t forget to check out other beauty trends and tricks such as Anna Sui’s new dress-shaped polish, the world’s most expensive polish, and Salma Hayek’s new polish line.
