French Tip Nails: 35 French Tip Nail Designs

1) Prepare your nails: grab a coton pad and a remover and take off all your old polish, even the tiniest bits, because obviously you will be able to see everything through the clear nail varnish.
2) Trim your nails into your desired shape. If you are not sure, check out the shape chart we have found! Don’t forget to file and buff them too, this is a vital step that will determine the outcome for your manicure!
3) Soak your nails in a bowl of warm water to soften your cuticles, this will make it easier to push them back. Then, dry them off with a towel.
4) Gently push back your cuticles and trim off any dead skin.
5) Apply the base coat by painting the first stripe down the center of the nail, then two more stripes on either side to make sure the application is even. After this, fill in the whole nail with the same polish.
6) Paint your nail tips with white polish, the amount of white you use should correspond to the amount of whiteness you have on your real nail, otherwise it will look super tacky and make your nails look tiny!
7) Finally, add a clear coat of varnish over all the nails to protect them and also help them last longer.

This design allows you to add a bit of color without going overboard. Paint your tips every color of the rainbow for a bright yet simple design! OPI have all the neon polishes you need to perfect your tips. Shades such as Down To The Core-al and Life Gave Me Lemons are vibrant enough to use for this look!

French tips doesn’t necessarily mean the standard flick of polish, you can really turn them into something special. Work them into your design for a unique look, like these strawberries! Use nail transfers or get the brush out and draw this gorgeous design!

Navy blue, like the French manicure, is a timeless and classy color. If you are looking for a sophisticated but colorful look for that job interview or just a chic look for every day, then we really recommend this one! The color is rich and stunning, and will go with literally everything – we are thinking this manicure with a striped blouse and bright red jeans! This shade is #NYFW by Mischo Beauty.

You can never have too much blue! This turquoise is gorgeous and makes a great polish to use for the spring and summer. This style involves super large tips for a special bright neon look! You can leave the rest of your nail bare or use beige/nude polish to finish off this design! This color is really popular right now and many brands have it, including Mischo Beauty, their shade is called Jackie and it is the perfect match!

Gold striping tape can do wonders for your look! If you want to jazz up your manicure without changing your habits drastically, then it is super easy to work into your look. Sally Beauty has nail striping tape of every single color you will need to get the look!

Gold tips are perfect way to change things up for a special occasion like a party or a certain anniversary dinner! It remains subtle and classy making it suitable for any outfit choice you may make. China Glaze has so many metallic or glittery polishes for you to use for this look – we have our eye on the shades Mind The Gap and Lug Your Designer Baggage!

Create an out of this world look with black lacquer polish and blue glittery polish! Your design will definitely blow everyone’s mind as it totally changes from your standard white tips! For the galaxy effect, you will need a glittery blue polish – there is China Glaze’s Dorothy Who? And Formula X’s Transformer Top Coat in Cobalt Confetti.

We love this design, and in particular the matching tips! Having your nail tips painted on makes your look a lot more elegant and gives you an instant salon-quality. The gorgeous color used here is Raspberry by Formula X, a brand created by Sephora to give you a wide choice of on-trend colors at a cheap price!

We love this pink petals tip design, adding a bit of summer to your tips! If you are rather girly, then this all-pink design is the one, as it gracefully adds every single shade of pink to your design without looking like a luxurious Barbie doll!

Burberry has got to be one of our favorite brands, but let’s face it, we couldn’t possibly afford everything! A low-cost way of getting that checkered look is by replicating it on your nails – for the base coat, we advise using Formula X’s shade Monumental, along with their shades Curiosity (dark red), White Matter and Dainty (black) to get an expensive look!

A stencil kit is the ultimate tool to get this design! Moyou London has a stencil set with similar shapes especially for your nail types – their sets Frenchy 03 and Frenchy 04 will be just what you need to get this gorgeous look! As it remains simple and stylish, it will be perfect for an everyday look!

Layering a typical French tip with a Mandala-inspired design is cute and original! Use a fun stencil set for the top layer, Moyou London have Mandala stencil sets as well as cute fairytale-inspired ones to give you a stand-out look!

Purple is a luscious color that will pop out against a white or off-white outfit, especially with a lace top and cute cropped jeans. You can never have too much purple and that is why this look with two different shades totally works – for the base coat we recommend trying Zoya’s shade Marley, and for the tips they have a stunning shade called Mira!

Nothing beats geometric styles and especially triangular tips. Zoya’s shade Janel is stunning against a black base coat. Don’t forget to add shiny gold striping tape for a smart, party-ready look! Whatever your special occasion is, you will definitely be the center of attention!

Add white French tips over a stunning pattern like this floral one! To get a perfect white French tip as this one, you can use stencil sets or tape depending on your nail shape. This style could also look pretty with stiletto-shape nails, as well as squared-oval ones.

Why not add a little extra something to your tips? We do love lovehearts, you can draw them on with a stencil set or if you have a steady hand, you can paint them on yourself! Whether it is for your first day back at school or for a fun picnic at the park with friends, this look can work for any occasion!

If you have a festival coming up, then this bright neon double manicure is perfect! You will definitely have the best nails there! The color choice is perfect for summer, but you can always trade for darker colors in the winter – grey and lilac could do the trick for those colder months!

Ombré tips are a fun and different way of doing your French tips. Plus, it keeps your style classic and classy, if bright colors and loud designs aren’t your cup of tea! If you want to know how to do an ombré then click here to find out!

This zig zag design has totally got us in the mood for the summer vacation! The color scheme is refreshing and vibrant, and has a Greek goddess vibe to it. Use tape to draw on super straight and even triangles for a tile-like look.

Navy blue is one of our favorite colors right now, as you can probably guess, but it is hard not to love it when you see such designs! The bows are so cute and add an even girlier touch to an already feminine style. These would look great with a nautical-style outfit – we are thinking high-waisted sailor shorts and a white sleeveless blouse – for a perfect summer style!

You have probably seen from some of our previous articles that we do love a good fruit design, but this watermelon looks good enough to eat! This combines some of our favorite things – ombré, fruit and French manicures! To add a finishing look to your nails, the tips must be bright fruity green to keep to the French manicure tradition.

Everyone loves a leopard print design, but how can you work it into a French manicure, you say? Well, use yellow tips! Bright yellow will fit into the Safari-inspired theme, and will also shine bright during the summer! For the same beautiful yellow, we love China Glaze’s shade Happy Go Lucky!

Fake lace tips are super sleek and sophisticated in black, and will look stunning for your next date with a classy LBD. Moyou London has a gorgeous “lace” themed stamping plate, ideal for this kind of look – we like the plate Fashionista 17 in particular!

We love the lace on the tips of the nails, it is so elegant and adds texture to your everyday French manicure. This, of course, would look stunning with a black lace midi dress and black court heels for a perfect night time look!

Zebra print is pretty and is a trend that you can wear all year round. The zebra print tips add a little bit of the wild to your French manicure, and would look super cute with a neon colored outfit in the summer, or a grey cable knit and dust pink pants for the winter! Believe it or not, this style is timeless!

Work your design into the tips like the blossom of this tree! Simple and easy to do, you definitely don’t have any excuses to not try this one! This is the classic French tip that everyone loves with the most cutest design over the top. Plus, cherry blossoms represent hope, so they are a wonderful design to get!

Here is another inventive double manicure but in monochrome for a super classy feel! We love the combination with red nails for a sassy powerful look. We adore the squared-oval look that makes everything seem so professionnally done when in fact, you can do this in the comfort of your own home!

This crown design is an inventive way of adding something extra to your tips. You will be the party princess with this look! Our favorite gold polish at the minute is Formula X’s Transformers Top Coats in the shade Out Of Sight, and this would be ideal for this design!

If you are in a romantic mood, then this is a pretty design to try out at home! This would be ideal for a romantic date, or for Valentine’s Day. Red glitter polishes are rarer, and that is why we have found the best for you! You can try Essie’s Leading Lady or Zoya’s Oswin Ultra PixieDust for your pretty lovehearts!

To get yourself into the mood for fall, why not try out this pretty design? Add gold glitter polish on your tips and cute nail stickers to your normal French manicure. Remember to add transparent polish to protect your little glitter chunks!

Bows add a feminine touch to your French manicure, and make it seem dressier! Though it seems smarter, they can work everyday or at night time. This would look great with a floaty sundress in the summer with lace espadrilles!

The water marble effect is huge right now and you have probably seen it splashed all over Tumblr, we know we have been admiring it! We love this as it looks dark and mysterious – during the chillier months or even at Halloween this could look amazing! If you want to know how to do it yourself, click here to see a tutorial!

Lilac is becoming a big trend for summer and fall, and why not? Lilac glitter is so magical and fairy-like, which is why you have to try this gorgeous style out! Check out Formula X’s glittery polishes for a range of pinks and purples that you will love, we know it!

We know we love cute and fun designs, and that is why we definitely wanted to show you this bunny design! Why not make your tips into cute animals? We found so many other designs with cats, dogs, unicorns too! Get those creative juices flowing!

We love this for its color scheme but also for its nail jewels. Moreover, it makes it look so luxurious and reminds us of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin! You can also be inspired by your other favorite Disney princesses for a fun and girly design!

This square french tip design is so unique! jazz up your nails by adding a cute statement or a favorite quote to one of the nails!

We love this combination of matte pink nails and white French tips + the glitter design on one fingernail. Stunning!