The beauty of French gel nails is the versatility. It’s a look that goes with every outfit and works for a casual coffee date with friends or a formal wedding. As a style of nude nails that was meant to go with all outfit changes, French manicures and long-lasting gel nail polish are made for each other. If you’re not confident in your brush skills, nail dipping powder sets often have tools that make it effortless and foolproof as well as lasting longer than gel polish.
Simple Sheer is a translucent, healthy pink tone that works as perfect base for your French manicure. It’s called sheer and it’s very sheer. It’s a subtle tint at one layer and is buildable for a stronger shade.
This is the base color that Gelish chose to be included in their French manicure set (paired with Sheek White) which they no longer offer sadly.
The only reason to skip this one would be if you have discolored or stained nails as this may not be opaque enough to give you the color you want.
LeChat is a salon-grade, self-leveling brand. I’m a fan of partly because they tend to offer their gel lacquers shades in a regular nail polish formula as well.
Having matching polish means you can give yourself an emergency touch up if you have a chip and don’t have to time to remove and reapply, plus it gives you options for when you don’t feel like wearing gel.
Pink Ribbon is more opaque than Simple Sheer but is still translucent. It’s almost a crelly formula with a creme look but too sheer to be a true creme. It’s a soft coral pink shade that brightens your nails while still looking very natural.
Heaven Sent (formally called Snow Bunny) is a sheer white that will give you the most natural white tips for your French manicure. This one isn’t as bright as Cream Puff and has a more beige look to it.
There’s a distinction between a French manicure and an American manicure where French tips have a brighter, louder appearance. With a French manicure you can tell you’ve had a manicure.
An American manicure is much more natural and could almost get away with fooling people that your bare nails just look that good. Heaven Sent is good for American manicures since it has a more subtle, eggshell tone rather than a bright white.
When you want white, like really white, pick up Clear White by Elite99. At about half the price of the other polishes on this list, what could it hurt?
In contrast to the other whites on this list that have a more natural warmth to them, French White has cooler, blueish cast to it that really pops against the warmer nude base colors.
This is as white as it gets so if you’re looking for bold tips, give this one a go.
Pink Nude is a classic French pink for those looking for a natural warm pink. It’s quite sheer and will add a hint of pink to your natural nail color giving it a healthy hue.
This isn’t for people who are looking for an opaque pink. Aimeili is an affordable brand perfect for home users.
This is a nice choice for an affordable nude tone. French Nude 5802 a good middle pink that isn’t too yellow and isn’t too purple so it works on a wide range of skin tones.
If you’re not sure what colors you’re looking for in a French or which colors would pair best with your skin tone, a kit like this one from Orly might be the way to go. This six-piece kit comes with a true white and five different base colors.
The base colors range from a true pink in Lift the Veil to a pinky opaque nude in First Kiss. There are also some really great sheer options in Bare Rose, a rich translucent pink, Sheer Nude, a sheer true tan, and Rose Colored Glasses which is a buildable sheer frosted pink.
The polishes in this box come in nine-millimeter bottles so they aren’t full-sized, but not really mini bottles either.
Known for their awesome nail dipping powder, Kiara Sky also has a nice line of gel and regular polishes. This polish comes in a pair of gel lacquer and matching regular polish which is a huge plus.
Only Natural is a sheer nude that’s slightly darker than some of the other shades we’ve looked at. There’s a light tan hue in there blended with a mild pink. While quite sheer this polish is very buildable so you can get more complete coverage with a second or third layer.
I love Aimeili for a good, affordable home gel nail brand and their Studio White is a great tip color.
It’s a bright ivory white that works for formal settings and everyday wear. It’s fairly sheer so keep that in mind depending on the kind of coverage you’re looking for in a French manicure.
For those not sure what shade of nude would look best with your skin tone, check out the Pink Peach Collection from Gellen.
It comes with six shades of nude from ivory pink to peach to magenta-toned to mauve to rose to blush. They’re slightly smaller than full-size polish bottles but not by all that much so you’re getting a good about of polish here for the price. But you will need to pick up your white elsewhere unless you’re looking for a warm cream.
If you don’t already have a gel nail set up, Sensationail has a French manicure kit that includes an LED nail lamp, gel primer, gel cleanser, top and base coat, sheer pink gel lacquer, cleansing wipes, nail buffer, orange stick, and French tip stickers.
It comes with an instruction sheet that walks you through how to get your French manicure that will last you over a week. While I wouldn’t classify this as high-end quality, if you’re on a budget, getting everything you need for under $40 is a great deal.
Babydoll Pink, the included gel, has a very fresh, light pink tone that leans more toward the traditional French manicure look rather than the more subtle natural shades. The only downside is the white tip stickers are finicky and not the best.
Go bold with this Sweet Cream Series from Modelones. You can create some eye-catching French tip combinations with this set of seven mini polishes.
It includes four pinks (blush, rose, magenta, mauve), a bright white, a pink with glitter flakies, and a color changing nail polish shade that shifts from dark pink to white and also has glitter.
I’ve had the chance to test out some media samples of Modelones and I really enjoy their polishes. They have a good formula and are easy to work with. That said, these colors are not for the faint of heart.
Cream Puff is a good middle shade among white nail polishes. It’s on the warmer, more natural side of white as opposed to a cooler, stark white.
That said, it is a bright, true white that will stand out. Cream Puff is a good choice if you’re looking for a clean French manicure that pops or if you plan on incorporating nail art.
For a playful set of French manicure colors, we have Beetles’ French Tip Kit. It includes both standard nude and white colors but French-toned glitter polish as well to stand out from the crowd.
Alone with a bright white, there are three shades of pink covering a warm purple-pink, warm tan, and, and true blush pink. To spruce up the classic French look, they also include a white glitter polish and warm pink glitter polish for a glamorous look.
They aren’t full-size bottles but for the price, it’s definitely worth it for these six colors.
This shade is a favorite for French manicures because of its rosy but natural tone. It’s very sheer but imparts that healthy glow and shine you want out of French manicure. Romantique is sheer enough that at two coats it’s still a very natural look.
A gel French manicure keeps your nails looking on point for weeks no chipping. Not sure which colors? These are the best gel polishes for French manicures.