French Manicure x2

French manicure... where did that come from?  It's probably something completely obvious, like it was done first in France.  Anyhow, moving on...

For the last few days I have been doing a bit of playing with French tips (oh wait... haven't I done one of these already... yep... oh well...) and, being tired and having LOTS of laundry to do, I only took pictures of my two favorite.

Inside, not sure what kind of lights, but not natural lighting.  Note the green spots on my index, middle and ring fingers, not a problem with the camera, but the result of not using a base coat with Bayou Blitz.

 Classic white with a good clear coat.  Yes, it is NOT ORIGINAL in the least, but it is classic and classy.  And some days, classic is more important than original.  I used a Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen (available most anywhere, from corner drugstores to Walmart) and let me tell you, easiest french tips I have ever done!  This is three applications, with three coats of clear Essie "good-to-go".  One as base coat, one between the second and third layers of white (haden't decided about the third layer) and a last coat to finish it off.

I do have an interesting note on this... the pen has, in very small letters, a TO USE that is kind of interesting: do NOT apply to bare nails.  I haven't tried, so I don't know why.  This is apparently for the people (like myself occasionally) who don't want to take the time to use a base coat.  It is also important to use a good top coat, as this is designed to be washed off with just water if you make mistakes.

This was my other favorite.  I love the taupe of Essie "master plan", but after wearing it alone for a bit, decided it needed a bit more fun.  Enter Essie "turquoise & caicos"!  I love Essie, there is no denying it.  And while the tips are not perfect by any stretch, considering I haven't done tips with a brush in over two years, I think I did pretty well!

Natural light

I really like this combination!  It is a very basic color, with a little pop on the ends.  Not much I will admit, but enough to be fun and make me smile every time I saw my hands during my day full of housework!