Matte Black French Manicure (with Glossy Tips)

Hi gals!

So we had this crazy thunderstorm and tree branches fell all over the place and knocked down power lines so we haven't had power since 3pm local time and it is now 10pm local (EST). What a day. I got a haircut today and right when he starts blow drying it started storming. We almost lost power there but luckily we didn't. I'm going to do a post showing off the new hair and maybe some before and after pics. I also passed by Illamasqua again because I wanted to try out their products. I bought 3 things which will be combined into my upcoming MAC Pro post. So enjoy today's nails post!! And if you want to know about the next couple of posts, check out my facebook page.

Today I'm doing something a bit different with my nails. Instead of doing a traditional manicure, I'm doing a black french manicure. Black is my favorite color and this is a great way to change it up instead of wearing just a black nail polish. It's matte black nails with glossy tips, which is why it's called a black french manicure. I think it's really nice, except I messed my first few nails up a bit, but whatever, I'm learning. I didn't use tape or anything, I drew it on myself. Thinking back though, I should have used tape, even if it's scotch tape. Just put it on your skin a few times to remove some of the glue so it doesn't peel your manicure right off. I also used a whole bunch of different brands, but you can use whatever you have. Just make sure you have a black nail polish and a matte top coat. Those are your most important tools. I know this isn't a very summery look, but whatever. I like it and that's all that matters. And by the way, the feel of the matte polish is really cool! I definitely have to try stripes and shapes next time. And again, I know they're not perfect and I don't care.


Matte Black French Manicure (with Glossy Tips)

Before you start, make sure to file your nails, push your cuticles down, buff them, and whatever else you do to prep for your manicure. I also like to set up my little station by putting some paper towels down in case of an accident. I have all my nail polishes ready. To prepare my nails, I'm trying out Sally Hansen's Complete Care Extra Moisturizing 4-in-1 Nail Treatment. This is the first time I'm using this product and I picked it up because my nails are pretty fragile and damaged even though I only do my nails every 2 or so weeks. Hopefully this product will help. I'm using this as a base coat for my manicure. Next, take a black polish like Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in 430 Black Satin. I do 2 coats of black. Now it's time to turn your nails matte! Take your matte top coat, like Butter London Matte Finish, and apply that to the entire nail. Watch your nails turn matte in seconds! Now take your black nail polish again and paint the tips. You can draw them on yourselves like I did, or you can take tape. Personally, I like it when the french manicure is slightly rounded on the edges, instead of a super straight line. It looks more natural. Now your black french manicure is done!

I have to say that Rimmel makes really good quality nail polishes. I buy their regular French Manicure nail polishes and I use their Base Coat Top Coat Pro and I love their products. This was the first time I used a Butter London products and their Matte Finish polish worked extremely well. Now I just have to wait and see how Sally Hansen's Complete Care product is working under there!



Products Used:

Sally Hansen Complete Care Extra Moisturizing 4-in-1 Nail Treatment - approx. 12$

Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in 430 Black Satin - 6$CAD 

Butter London Matte Finish - 21$CAD

So that's it! Here are a few photos of my nails. I upload HD pics so you can really see what I'm doing, because I know that I hate it if someone has a 1 pixel by 1 pixel photo and you can't see anything. It's like, why even bother? But because it's HD, it's a lot easier to point out mistakes and criticize things. I know my nails are nowhere near perfect but this is the best that I can do at home. With that said, I hope that you were able to learn something from this. Enjoy the pics.

Thanks for reading and no, there aren't any pictures of me showing off the nails. Hah. I know my lines aren't perfect and they're a little smudgey but honestly I was never great any doing my nails. Part of what messed the tips up was that I was trying to do too thin of a coat because I didn't want to end up with a big blob that never dries. So don't worry about the coats being thick, it'll be fine. Use some tape if you're worried about your lines. I hope you were able to learn something from this post. Matte nails are pretty darn cool and I've seen that it gives cool effects on different finishes of nail polishes, like metalics, neons, glitters, etc.

If you haven't checked out my latest makeup post on MAC's Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadows using Greenluxe, then click here!

My next post is going to be my MAC PRO Haul. I bought quite a few Pro Only Eyeshadows and I have to say that the shades are way different and unique compared to the permanent line. If you ever get a chance to go to a MAC PRO store, seriously, do it.

Steph xo.