Introducing Ombre French Tip Nails

Classy. Simple. Elegant. The french tip manicure is a staple for your nails like the little black dress is a staple for your wardrobe.

Whether it’s for a wedding, work, or just because you want a simple classic look, the french manicure is a go-to.

So how about a way to make yours stand out?

Get french ombre nails next time you’re wanting that clean french manicure look, but with a little more spunk. 

The white tips slowly bleeding into the neutral tones are still classy and elegant, but with a softness that can be surprisingly bold!

So peruse these 18 stunning french ombre nails design ideas and styles for inspiration.

And then keep reading for a quick little guide on how to get the look for yourself. You’ll be able to skip the manicurist with professional-looking ombre french nails in no time.

But first … what is the difference between ombre vs french nails?

Ombre Nails	French Manicure
A gradient of color from light to dark on your nails	Distinct tips (typically white) at the end of the nail, typically mimic the natural look of a nail, but polished
Can be done monochromatically or with different colors	Needs to include a distinct color for the tip (typically white to mimic the nail), and more neutral or nude base color (also to mimic the nail)

 

French ombre nails remove the ombre vs french nails edge, and instead takes the gradient of an ombre and combines it with the coloration of a french manicure to create a beautiful, often soft or classy look.

1. Ombre French Tip Coffin Nails

The coffin nail has become quite the trend recently, so why not pair the trendy with the classic for this great ombre french tip coffin nails look? Adding one glitter accent nail adds some bling without making the nails overly sparkly. We think this clean, neutral french ombre nails look is a perfect balance of simplicity and glam. 

2. French Ombre Coffin Nails

A french tip manicure doesn’t have to mean you’ll be giving up those deadly long coffin nails. By having french ombre coffin nails, you’ll be able to maintain a balance between the neutral-toned base and the white tips. The delicate ombre french nails look will have your claws looking kitten-soft.

3. Short French Ombre Nails

Okay okay, with all that about long nails being said … ombre french nails are also a great choice for short nails. This one keeps the proportion of the nude to white more along the lines of a typical french manicure. The ombre of these short french ombre nails is super gentle and delicate, making them look super soft and pretty.

4. French Ombre Gel Nails

All hail the french ombre gel nails. Gel nails are a great way to go if you want to have a look for just a few weeks. They don’t typically last as long as acrylic nails, but they sure look just as good! These nails add a little sparkle as well, and a pink rather than a nude as the base. It’s a girlier, pretty take on the classic ombre nails or classic french manicure.

5. French Manicure Ombre Nails

Oh, so shiny, these french manicure ombre nails keep the pretty pinks of the previous gel nails, but swap the sparkle for some shine. The overall look is so pretty and girly but with a sharp edge with the coffin shape. These french ombre coffin nails are so blended into the whites, that they verge on a pink ombre. But they still maintain that classic french manicure appeal of white on top, pale pink or nude at the base. Just the pretty in pink version.

6. Ombre French Tip Almond Nails

Although the ballerina and coffin-shaped nail are the trendy ones right now, the almond nail is still a classic, beautiful shape. Pair it with a french ombre, and you’ll have ombre french tip almond nails that have a polished, natural look.

7. French Ombre Nails with Glitter

Not exactly what you expected? How about blue french ombre coffin nails with glitter? Forget everything we said about classic and just worry about cool with ombre french tips done in blue glitter rather than the typical white. The look is funky, fun, and sparkly. A completely different vibe than what you expect from french ombre coffin nails with glitter.

8. French Ombre Press on Nails

Get french ombre press on nails for a classic look you can wear for a few hours, or a couple of weeks, depending on your goals. These delicate, glittery ones are available on Etsy.

Press on nails are a great way to save money by DIYing a manicure for events and these would look beautiful at a spring event, or a wedding

9. Ombre Yellow French Tip Nails

Not all your nails have to match. Check out this yellow look with ombre yellow french tip nails combined with a solid yellow nail and other patterns, as well. By keeping the bright yellow and the base colors the same, this bold look still remains cohesive despite different nail patterns. This confident look will grab everyone’s attention.

10. Reverse French Ombre Nails

Alright, we’ll admit it. We’ve cheated. These reverse french ombre nails aren’t your typical ombre. Rather than being a seamless blend, the reverse french tips are created using two lines, one solid white and one closer to nude. However, the finished look is quite charming. If you really wanted to shake it up, you could exchange the white tips for something colored, too.

11. Ombre French Tip Acrylic Nails

We may have mentioned claws before, but these are the real claws with these stiletto-shaped ombre french tip acrylic nails. Fierce and confident, these nails are both bold and elegant with the combination of the sharp, dramatic shape, while having an elegant but muted color palette and design, like ombre french nails provide.

12. Natural French Ombre Nails

Whether these nails are 100% natural, or have a little bit of help, they certainly look like natural french ombre nails. The natural elegance of ombre french nails is part of the appeal. They just look so classy and classic, and these simple-looking nails are no exception. Whether you have naturally strong and appealing nails, or not, you can fool everyone into thinking so.

13. Long French Ombre Nails

Long acrylic nails are all the rage due to celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Cardi B being spotted in them. These long french ombre nails are so confident, chic, and sophisticated. We can’t get enough of them! The brownish nude chosen combined with the white tips creates such a wonderfully mature effect. Simply stunning.

14. French Ombre Nails with Flower

We’re in love with these beautiful, glossy french ombre nails with flower. The simple flower with gems adds such a beautiful pop with these sophisticated french ombre nails. Maybe the flower just looks like it should be on a cake, but these nails give total wedding vibes! A brushing bride’s nails would be stunning if done up like these elegant flowery ombre french nails. 

15. French Ombre Nails with Gems

Flowers and glitter are not the only way to add pizzazz to french ombre nails. Try french ombre nails with gems. These ones have small gems, placed subtly along with the ring fingers only. Having just an accent of gems gives the nails some extra shimmery opulence without adding too much detail. Simply beautiful. 

16. Round French Ombre Nails

Round french ombre nails, much like almond-shaped or natural ones, are all about the elegance of simplicity and natural beauty. This look, whether it uses gel nails, acrylics, or your natural nails, gives the appearance of polishing what is already there. It’s the equivalent of the barely-there makeup look. And we have to say, it looks quite good.

17. French Ombre Ballerina Nails

Now these french ombre ballerina nails have it all. The tips are a fun color rather than white. There are gems, flowers, and different patterns on the nail. A look that could appear to be too busy is given coherence and balance through the use of matching bright and nude colors with similar tonal qualities. And it’s such a fresh, bold, confident look, it’s impossible not to love.

18. Faded French Coffin Nails

Faded french coffin nails are a beautiful way to end our list. These shiny morsels are bringing back the pink french ombre nails. These pale, muted nails are an understated way to switch up the classic french manicure or even the classic ombre french nails. Get nails like these and you’ll be tickled pink!

So that’s our list of inspo, but now that we’ve given you some beautiful french ombre nails ideas, how are you going to create them?

Have no fear. We’ve curated a few different ways to create your own french ombre nails!

How to Do French Ombre Nails

Creating an ombre nail is a little different than your typical single color nail polish application. However, it’s totally doable! At the salon or at home.

So we’ve rounded up some ways you can get the french ombre nails of your dreams, including:

• Going to a manicurist
• Using nail polish
• Using gel nails
• Using press ons

Go to a Manicurist

If DIYing french ombre nails is just a little too far outside of your comfort zone, then there’s nothing wrong with going to a manicurist to get the fabulous look.

Show them a picture of the look you’re inspired by, choose what sort of nails you want, and a way you go. Or rather, a way your manicurist goes.

The nice thing about going to a professional is that it’s a much better option for professional acrylic nails, rather than press-ons. 

So if you’re really wanting that acrylic look, and you want it to last for 8 weeks, we do recommend going to a nail salon.

We’ve created a table below outlining a few different types of nails, how long they last, and whether it’s a DIY job or one for your manicurist.

Type of Nail	Where to Get It Done	How Long It Lasts
Acrylic	Salon	6-8 weeks
Gel Polish	DIY, Salon	2 weeks
Press Ons	DIY	1 day, 2 weeks
Dip Powder	DIY, Salon	3-4 weeks
Natural	DIY, Salon	Days, maybe a week without chipping

How to Do French Ombre Nails with Nail Polish

When looking up how to create french ombre nails for yourself using nail polish, you’ll probably most commonly find the sponge method used, such as on Nicely Polished. This method allows you to paint the colors and design you want on a small sponge before essentially stamping it onto your nails.

Let’s explain this a little bit better, using Nicely Polished’s sponge method, starting with the materials needed.

Materials Needed:

• Nail file, clippers, and/or other nail shaping tools
• Base coat
• Top coat
• Your french ombre base nail polish
• Your french ombre tip nail polish
• White nail polish (optional)
• A makeup sponge (one that’s wedge-shaped)
• Nail polish remover
• Q-tips

So here’s how you do it:

1. First, shape your nails into the shape you want them with your nail clippers, file, etc. Try to make them look as uniform in length and shape as possible.
2. Apply the base coat.
3. Once that’s dry, you may want to do a coat of your tip (or lightest) nail polish color. However, if you want to use a bright or neon color for your french tips, you may want to do a coat of white nail polish here instead to really get the color vibrant.
4. Paint the two ombre colors in stripes across the sponge in the orientation and general proportions you want your nails to be
5. Press the sponge onto your nails (if the previous coat is dry enough), making sure it’s facing in the proper direction. Nicely Polished says to move it up and down (gently) so the colors blur properly into that ombre look
6. Clean up your nail stamping with a q-tip and nail polish remover
7. Once dry, add your top coat.

*Tip: You’ll probably need to re-apply nail polish to your sponge, or get a new sponge to apply nail polish before you get all your nails done

How to Do French Ombre Nails with Gel Polish

We should mention that some believe gel nail polish should only be applied by professionals. However, if you’re looking to give it a shot at home, it is doable.

Irina Gabriela, or The Beauty Vault has a popular YouTube video displaying exactly how to DIY these nails, as a non-professional who learned from her nail tech, as she states in her video.

Here’s what she says:

Materials Needed:

• Nail file, clippers, and/or other nail shaping tools
• Nail cleanser
• Lint-free nail wipes
• LED/UV Lamp
• pH bond gel nail dehydrator
• Foundation gel polish
• Structure gel polish (optional)
• Gel polish top coat
• Your french ombre base color in gel polish
• Your french ombre tip color in non-toxic acrylic paint
• Small wooden stick
• Tinfoil
• Peel off nail tape (or other forms of protection around your nails)
• A wedge makeup sponge, cut in half
• Tweezers

Steps taken:

1. Shape your nails (like in the previous guide).
2. Tidy your cuticles.
3. Clean nails using a lint-free makeup wipe and cleanser.
4. Apply pH bond nail dehydrator.
5. Apply a thin layer of foundation gel polish to nails as a base.
6. Cure in an LED/UV lamp for 45 seconds.
7. Apply a thin layer of structure gel polish if you have very thin nails.
8. Apply a thin layer of base color gel polish to nails.
9. Cure for 45 seconds in an LED/UV lamp.
10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 for however many layers you need. Irina Gabriela does 3 coats.
11. Apply your peel-off nail tape or other methods for protecting the skin around your nails.
12. Apply base color gel polish to the bottom portion of the nails, without curing.
13. Add your base color gel polish and your tip color acrylic paint next to each other on a piece of tinfoil, using less of your paint. (You can get the paint out using the small wooden stick).
14. Dip one of your half makeup sponges into both colors, getting rid of access by tapping it onto foil until you see a smooth pattern.
15. Tap the sponge onto your nails, meeting with and mixing with the uncured base color gel polish earlier applied. This should smooth the gradient and prevent the paint from drying as quickly, according to Irina Gabriela.
16. Cure in an LED/UV lamp for 45 seconds.
17. Complete steps 13 through 16 again as many times as you need (Irina did steps 13-16 three times in her video), using more of the tip paint color each time, a clean side of your sponge, and focusing exclusively closer to the top of the nail each time. Before curing nails, you can apply more of the base color gel polish to the bottoms of the nail and smooth it with a clean side of a sponge.
18. Peel off nail tape (or remove whatever protective barrier you’d used).
19. Apply gel polish top coat in a very thin layer.
20. Cure in an LED/UV lamp for 45 seconds.
21. Use both nail colors and a small piece of sponge held by tweezers to blend out and buff out any imperfections in your ombre gradient.
22. Cure in an LED/UV lamp for 45 seconds.
23. Apply gel polish top coat, making sure to cap your edges.
24. Cure in an LED/UV lamp for 45 seconds.
25. Wipe nails clean with lint-free nail wipes and cleanser.
26. And voila! Gorgeous french ombre nails with gel polish.

Watch the video below to see how she did it!

How to Do French Ombre Nails with Press Ons

The easiest way to accomplish an ombre french manicure with press on nails, is to buy press on nails that already have the look. And then you’ll just need to apply the nails. Press ons often come with instructions on how to apply them, but here’s a quick summary of what to do, according to Bustle:

Steps	Description
Step 1	When choosing your press on nails, you need to ensure you’re buying ones of a size and a length that suits you and will fit your nails
Step 2	Clean up your cuticles (and nails), and trim away dead skin around your nails, avoiding using oils or lotions
Step 3	Apply a base coat, and apply your nails once the base coat dries. Some will just be stick ons, others may have glue or tape that needs to be applied first
Step 4	Trim and shape the nails to how you want them using nail clippers and a nail file
Step 5	Apply a top coat
Step 6	When you’re ready to remove them, just peel them off. If that’s proving difficult, soak them in nail polish remover.

Source

If you can’t find press on nails with the look you want, you can buy plain press on nails that you can paint yourself. In that case, you should be able to use the sponge method described previously.

And There You Go

With these beautiful french ombre nails inspiration images, and our great tips for DIYing the look yourself, you’ll be rocking french ombre nails in no time!

And you’ll look fabulous doing it.