Butter London

While the typical French manicure has become somewhat of a beauty faux paus — except if it's Chanel doing it, of course — it seems as if Jennifer Lopez is taking it out for a new spin. The actress and singer stepped out in New York last night sporting a manicure that closely resembled an upside-down French. Her blushy nude-coloured polish was accentuated with a bold ivory line across the bottom of her nails, a palette similar to the one worn by Busy Philipps at the Art of Elysium gala.

But unlike the half-moon manicure Busy donned, the line seemed to follow the natural curve of the base of Jennifer's nail. Thinking about trying this reverse French manicure out for yourself? Just follow the same steps you'd take for a normal one. Paint your nails in a pink-based nude colour, like Butter London Nail Lacquer in Pink Ribbon ($22). Allow it to dry, and then swipe a white line of polish onto the bottoms of your nails. It's the perfect blend of classic and edgy.

The standard French manicure is practically a beauty faux pas at this point, but Kaley Cuoco showed us how to take a modern spin that's fresh and unexpected. She went for a bare nail that was accented with a chromatic gold tip. To re-create her look, the key is to start off with a flattering base coat, such as Butter London's Nail Foundation ($24.95). This subtly tinted polish will hide any imperfections in the nail but still allow your natural nail to show through. Once you apply your base coat, use a metallic gold polish, like Ciaté Sand Dune (approx $15.30), to polish the tip. Finish the look with a glossy top coat for a "polished" look.

A black manicure is a fashion staple, but adding a touch of shimmer creates the perfect go-with-everything party manicure. Keep your nails trimmed short and use a file to get your desired shape. Next, apply two coats of your favourite black lacquer — I used Essie Nail Polish in Licorice ($18.95). There are plenty of scintillating topcoats to choose from this season. For this particular manicure, I opted for Butter London Nail Lacquer in Fairy Cake ($45, set of three), which features fine silver and holographic glitter in a pale grey polish. The sheer base mutes the severity of the black polish and adds a dose of multifaceted glitter in one coat.

There's no rule that demands manicure symmetry, you know. Instead, get playful with your nail art and try different designs on each nail. This sparkling combo nail design is fun and looks complicated, but it's easy to re-create. Start off with three complementary nail shades. I like to play with texture, so I opted for one creamy shade, a metallic hue, and a sparkling polish.

I used Essie Nail Polish in Absolutely Shore, Deborah Lippmann Nail Color in Believe, and Essie Nail Polish in Beyond Cozy. I painted my thumb and pinkie with the metallic polish, my index finger with the glitter polish, and my middle and ring finger with the creamy polish. Then I added some embellishments by adding a single rhinestone to the base of my middle finger and my pinkie. Next I added glittery polka dots to my ring finger, using the tip of a bobby pin. Lastly the look is finished with a layer of a high-gloss topcoat to seal everything in.

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