The Early 2000s French Manicure Is Back
Let's get one thing out of the way: French manicures have never left. They are, after all, the grandmother of all those trendy negative space nail designs you double tap on Instagram. However, the early 2000s iteration we all wore way back when—square, thick white tip, most likely acrylic—have remained buried right alongside gel pens and Xanga. Until now, thanks to Bella Hadid.
The supermodel was on vacation recently, and I couldn't help but zoom in on her manicure: classic French tips!
A post shared by 🦋 (@bellahadid) on Jul 31, 2019 at 5:23pm PDT
Here's a close-up shot from her New York-based manicurist Mei Kawajiri—note the swirl detail.
@bellahadid ♥︎Cool French ♥︎ #nailsbymei
A post shared by NAILS by MEI (@nailsbymei) on Jul 25, 2019 at 10:46am PDT
Kawajiri also did a French manicure for Hadid's CFDA Awards look in June:
A post shared by NAILS by MEI (@nailsbymei) on Jun 5, 2019 at 6:52pm PDT
As someone who used tape to perfect DIY French manis from 2000-2004, I'm here for the retro look. Call them Basic, but I love the minimalist design. They're easy enough to execute at home, neutral enough to go with everything, and look flattering on both long and short nails.
It's no wonder other endorsers include Ariana Grande:
really glad i checked the mail
A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) on Jul 16, 2019 at 11:05am PDT
Bella's sister Gigi is also on board, wearing her French tips shorter (swipe).
Gíkonos ft #messikabygigihadid @messikajewelry #messikajewelry #Messika #mysoulbygigihadid #ad
A post shared by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid) on Jul 30, 2019 at 4:52am PDT
Gigi also went to Kawajiri and had a daisy detail on hers:
A post shared by NAILS by MEI (@nailsbymei) on Jul 25, 2019 at 1:57pm PDT
Inspired by all of the above, I decided to test drive wearing a French manicure again over the weekend. In a time crunch before a party (and unsure of committing to the look just yet), I used Kiss Nails press-ons in a medium length.
The adhesive, flexible tabs took less than three minutes to apply on freshly cleaned nail beds. Let me tell you—they were a hit among my friends, who delighted over seeing the familiar nail art. Full disclosure: It was an early 2000s-themed party so they totally made sense to wear, but I fully plan to keep them on for the rest of the week even when I'm not in naughties cosplay.
This resurrected trend gets two French manicured-thumbs up from me.
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