Beauty Trend How-To: Alternative French Manicures

Though still wildly popular and sported by many, the classic French manicure has over the years gotten a little overdone. These days, the focus has moved from the stark white, square-tipped acrylic nail to its many funkier cousins as seen sported by many celebrity nail enthusiasts such as Katy Perry and Rhianna. These trends are, for lack of a better word, fun. They’re bolder, more intricate, unique and definitely a whole lot more colourful than the beige and white the traditional French offers. Keep reading for the lowdown on the separate ‘Alternative’ French manis that have been catching our eye!

Coloured Tips

As seen on Katy Perry, this style follows the exact design of the traditional manicure except forgoes any inclination to look nature and instead opts for a pop of colour at the tips. This is insanely popular today as well as a fun way to spice up any look. It’s also super easy to achieve, able to be done with nail stencils and stickers and, if you’re particularly steady-handed, freehand. Some people have even chosen to line the tips with rhinestones for that extra bling.

Ruffian Moon Manicure

The Ruffian Moon (or half moon/reverse French) manicure is a gorgeous and unique way of wearing dual toned lacquers while still looking polished and mature. It has been a go-to nail for burlesque queen Dita von Teese and is often seen on multiple models gliding down catwalks. This manicure is the signature nail of Ruffian by Brian Wolk and Claude Morais and was first popularised in the 20s and again recently one of their shows in 09. A great vintage-with-a-modern-twist kind of nail.

Louboutin Manicure

So this one isn’t technically an alternative to the French manicure but it just looks too damn cool to pass up (is it dual coloured though so that must count right?). Seen in Christian Louboutin ads and more recently on Adele’s nails at the Grammy’s, this manicure uses the iconic red-sole Louboutin pump as its inspiration. Though this look takes a bit of patience and maintenance (and inconveniently long nails), I personally think it’s definitely a winner for me when it comes to flashier events.

What do you guys think about these trends? Are you likely to try them out or are you more of a classic French manicure type? Let me know!

Xx Jen

Images: Getty images, hollywoodlife.com, style.com

31 Comments

  • Reply Beauty Trend Weekly Rundown – July 30, 2012 › Beauty School Blog Thursday 2nd May, 2013 at 7:51 am

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  • hausoftina
    Reply hausoftina Saturday 4th August, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    I love the Louboutin Manicure! I definitely want to try it some time(:

  • make up magic
    Reply make up magic Friday 3rd August, 2012 at 10:06 am

    katy perry looks great

  • Reply thugsy Friday 27th July, 2012 at 7:54 am

    maybe if I stop biting my nails then I would be able to try it 😉

  • Reply doogs Friday 27th July, 2012 at 7:49 am

    I would love to try it out

  • Reply bardie Friday 27th July, 2012 at 7:42 am

    coooooool

  • Reply jarjar Friday 27th July, 2012 at 7:33 am

    looks like fun

  • Reply Cinthia Wednesday 25th July, 2012 at 4:02 pm

    this looks nice

  • Reply foxoduck Wednesday 25th July, 2012 at 12:26 pm

    I still love the original classy French manicure

  • Reply rosesforthedead Wednesday 25th July, 2012 at 11:36 am

    Some look really good but i can be hopeless when it comes to painting my nails

  • Reply T1NA Wednesday 25th July, 2012 at 10:24 am

    i wouldn’t be able to pull off all those colours!

  • Reply fizzybubbles Tuesday 24th July, 2012 at 7:27 pm

    my own nails are fairly short and utilitarian, but i love, love, love nail art. too impractical for my job, but when i go on leave, whoa.

  • lanalang
    Reply lanalang Tuesday 24th July, 2012 at 4:41 pm

    Like Katy Perry’s nails 🙂

  • Reply shazam Tuesday 24th July, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    Awesome! I love doing different things with my nails! The more odd, the better I say!

  • Reply balibabe7 Tuesday 24th July, 2012 at 11:19 am

    really like the idea 🙂

  • smurfette
    Reply smurfette Tuesday 24th July, 2012 at 10:45 am

    pretty nails

  • Fashionista8P
    Reply Fashionista8P Tuesday 24th July, 2012 at 9:33 am

    love the moon one

  • Reply Jenny Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 11:17 pm

    Cute

  • kelgri
    Reply kelgri Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    yer the asans must be doin a boomin business here right now the salons are pretty small they are knockin back customers they cant keep up

  • Reply punkemohardcore Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 10:30 pm

    I like the half moon one.

  • Reply leckytomato Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    pretty nails!

  • Reply MsKimo Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    I like this better, long/acrylic French manicures make me think of strippers…

  • Reply maggielyly Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    i love the french manicure!

  • sommy7
    Reply sommy7 Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    Love some colour on nails

  • Reply cindyfeng92 Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    I like normal French but replacing the white with some glitter!

  • Reply Lovely65 Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 6:21 pm

    dont like them

  • Reply AmberB Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 5:56 pm

    Love Katy Perry’s style!

  • Reply cindyhu_1234 Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    In stead of the normal white french manicure, i also like to change the colours such as pink and purple!

  • Reply fifi73 Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Some of them are nice, but I still prefer the original French manicure…

  • Reply Zerotolove Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    They look fun!

  • Reply Whatthe Monday 23rd July, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    Eeeek!

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