The French survives every December because the tip is a small enough canvas that a festive colour never overwhelms the hand. Swap the white for red and it reads Christmas. Swap it for gold chrome and it reads party.
A festive tip still wants to be about a millimetre deep. A deep red tip on a short nail eats the plate and makes the finger look shorter.
Colour tips
Cherry red tip
Blue-toned red at the free edge.
Oxblood tip
Deeper and warmer.
Forest green tip
Deep green.
Cream tip
Off-white rather than bright white.
Burgundy micro
A hairline wine edge.
Navy tip
Almost black indoors.
Plum tip
Purple-toned berry.
Emerald tip
Jewel green at the edge.
Charcoal tip
Deep grey.
Ice blue tip
Very pale. Frosty rather than festive.
Metallic tips
Gold chrome tip
Mirror at the free edge.
Silver chrome tip
Cooler and higher contrast.
Champagne tip
Pale warm gold.
Rose gold tip
Warm pink metallic.
Bronze tip
Deep and warm.
Pearl chrome tip
Iridescent, shifting.
Glitter gold tip
Densely packed fine glitter.
Glitter silver tip
Cool sparkle at the edge.
Gold foil edge
Torn leaf along the tip.
Antique gold tip
Less shiny, more considered.
Two-colour tips
Red and gold double line
Two hairlines a millimetre apart.
Green and gold double
The same in deep green.
Red with a gold outline
A hairline tracing the smile line.
Candy cane tip
Thin diagonal red and white in the tip only.
White tip with red dots
Three small dots along the smile line.
Half red half green
The tip split down the middle.
Gold under white
A metallic line sitting just inside a white tip.
Ombre red tip
The edge fading upward rather than stopping.
Cream tip with a gold cuff
A tip plus a band at the base.
Red tip on green base
High contrast and very traditional.
With a detail
Snowflake on the tip
One small flake where the tip meets the base.
Holly on the tip
Two leaves and a berry at the corner.
One crystal on the smile line
A single stone.
Pearl at the tip corner
One flat-backed pearl.
Star on a gold tip
A tiny outline.
Bow above the tip
Small and red.
Scalloped red tip
A lace-edged smile line.
Snow-tipped French
A blurred white edge rather than a line.
Glitter over a red tip
Sparkle layered on the colour.
Reverse French in gold
The curve at the cuticle instead.
For the year-round versions, french tip nails. For the season, christmas nails.
Questions people actually ask
What colour French tip is best for Christmas?
Cherry red first, then gold chrome. Both read festive and neither dates the moment the holiday ends.
How deep should a Christmas French tip be?
About a millimetre, the same as any modern French. Depth is what dates a manicure, not colour.
Can I do a coloured French at home?
Yes, with curved guide stickers. They cost almost nothing and remove the only hard part.
