Nailed it!

I am guilty of just painting my nails one color because I don't have a steady enough hand to do the traditional pink and white french manicure.


But now that the trend is moving towards using brighter or even darker colors, AND you're even allowed to flip it around, I'm more intrigued.


Have you tried a gold tip french manicure with a dark burgandy, black or navy blue? Perhaps pink and red is more your speed? (Try silver or sparkles even.)


Maybe your nails are short and you don't want to emphasize it with a wide stripe up top? Then mimic the half-moon at the base of your nail with color.


The key here is contrast. Why bother doing it, if you can't see it? Just think of two great colors that look stunning together.


Another thing I'm seeing now, and dying to try out myself, is magnetic nail polish. (I thought the crackle gel polish was cool but this really is neat!) The idea is just after you paint the nail, you hold  it over the cap which conveniently has a magnet built into it. After 30 seconds to a minute the rippled effect starts to set. 


I'd highly advise waiting another minute or two before adding a top coat to seal it -- or you might just drag the brush right through your trendy new look. Unless that's what you're going for, like the way a cake decorator pulls a toothpick through a stripe of icing to make it have a point.


Why not take it to the next level? Use a magnetic color as your primary, and then use a daring contrasting color as the tip -- once you've let the ripples set.


[I don't have permission to publish the photos I've seen (as I don't own them) but I hope the descriptions give you an idea what I'm seeing out there.]