French manicure and babyboom with Nord Nails

The French manicure and the babyboom are the two looks that keep coming back in every salon. They share the same products and differ only in how you place the white: a crisp smile line, or a soft fade from white into natural. Here is how to build both with Nord Nails.

What you need

• A natural under-layer from the BIAB line: BIAB Milky Veil for babyboom, BIAB Soft Nude or BIAB Clear for French.
• The white: Pure White, highly pigmented and crisp in a thin coat.
• Optionally a natural colour over the base for French: Bare Pink or Bare Nude.
• Top Glossy to seal, with no sticky layer.

All of it comes together in the French and babyboom set on the deals page.

Which under-layer

Choose BIAB when the natural nail needs support but has to stay flexible. For babyboom, Milky Veil is the obvious base: the milky-white veil is already half the look. For French, work on Soft Nude when you want to even out the nail, or on Clear when a colour goes on top. If you want length or a sculpted shape, take Builder Gel as the under-layer and use the same steps for the white.

French manicure, step by step

1. Prep: dehydrator and acid-free primer on the clean nail.
2. Under-layer: one thin coat of BIAB Soft Nude or Clear, cure under the LED lamp. A second thin coat when the nail needs more support, cure again.
3. Colour (optional): Bare Pink or Bare Nude in two thin, covering coats, curing each.
4. Smile line: Pure White with a thin liner brush along the free edge. Work from both corners to the centre and correct with a clean brush before curing. Cure.
5. Seal: Top Glossy over the whole nail, cure. No sticky layer, done.

Babyboom, step by step

1. Prep as for French.
2. Under-layer: BIAB Milky Veil in two thin coats, curing each.
3. Fade: Pure White with an ombre brush or sponge on the upper part of the nail, in thin passes. Cure each pass before building the next, which keeps the gradient soft and streak-free.
4. Seal: Top Glossy, cure.

Where it goes wrong

White applied too thick. Pure White covers in a thin coat; a thick coat shrinks at the edge and pulls the smile line out of shape. Build two thin coats instead. For babyboom a dry brush makes the difference: take little product and feather the transition before curing.

Every product is HEMA-free and made in the Netherlands. Browse the shades by family on white, nude and pink.