Okay, it’s about time I admit my love affair with French manicures is real. While the style supposedly fell out of favor a few years back, it’s back thanks to the return of Y2K-inspired nail art and the subsequent shift toward longer nail lengths. However, because I grew up studying classical ballet and was often discouraged from partaking in many of the bold nail trends that graced the pages of magazines and, later, social media platforms, it took me years to step out of my comfort zone and look for ways to jazz up my beloved French mani.

That’s when I discovered the combined magic of Instagram’s “save post” function and Pinterest boards from the fashion set as a source of endless inspiration for my nail appointments. Plus, they made it easier to describe exactly what I want to my manicurist. With that being said, I spent hours scouring the internet for the best fashion-forward ways to upgrade your everyday French manicure. Keep scrolling to see which ones caught my eye. Get ready to screenshot.

If you’re looking for a playful and unexpected way to upgrade your nail game, consider adding a nail design on the index finger. To create this look, nail artist Amy Le opted for a classic French manicure with a single yin-yang design made with the same fleshy pink and white shade used on the other nails.

If you use pastel shades for the tips of your French manicure, your nails will be beyond eye-catching. Here, content creator Amaka Hamelijnck rocks a pastel-toned French manicure from an Amsterdam-based nail artist. To pull off these brightly colored nails, consider investing in a pre-curated nail polish set.

Content creator Lauren Crowe is no stranger to exploring fun and fashionable ways to upgrade a French manicure. To recreate this bold manicure, use your favorite blush pink as your base color and then create barely-there tips and a flame-inspired design using a black polish. Try Essie’s nail polish in Licorice.

One of our favorite emerging trends this season has to be the comeback of the cow print (perhaps this can be traced back to the space and coastal cowgirl aesthetics). We love nail artist Betina Goldstein’s take on the trend: a clear polish base coat with off-white and chocolate brown shades used to create the wild cow print pattern.

Thanks to the upcoming live-action version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey, mermaidcore has been everywhere lately. We’re embracing it with elegant French nails that feature bright, electric blue tips. Why not match your manicure with your outfit like Hamelijnck does so well in the pic above?

From time to time, Who What Wear editors love to play with the coquette aesthetic. Celeb nail artist Zola Ganzorigt created this coquettish manicure for content creator Catherine McBroom last June, and we’re still in love with it.

Another chic way to create an elegant French manicure? Playing with almost monochromatic tones. Check out how Crowe created a berry-toned look using just two shades: a juicy burgundy and a classic navy blue. Crowe painted three nails in the style of a French manicure and then filled in the nail on the pinky finger with the shade of her choice.

Who What Wear beauty editors are all for incorporating sweet floral patterns into our nail designs. Here, Le uses two shades for her tips (a powder blue and off-white) and adds a daisy design for an unexpected and youthful approach to a French manicure.

Are bright shades not your style? I’m more of a neutral girl myself. Good thing nothing is stopping you from using neutrals and minimal nail designs to create a showstopping look. If you look closely at Crowe’s manicure, you’ll spot tiny chocolate hearts across the tips of her nails where a delicately arched line could have been. 

We always love a micro approach to any beauty trend, manicures included. Here’s an example of one way to do it: Use a sweep of nude polish as the base and drag a white shade across the tips to create a thin line. This look is great for anyone who tends to keep their nails short but wants to add the look of length.

I’m a firm believer that everyone looks good in gold (you just have to find the right tones to compliment your skin tone). Embrace your gold era by wearing this color in an unexpected way. Use metallic gold polish to highlight and decorate the tips of your nails like runway and editorial nail artist Holly Falcone did.

Leave it to nail artist Hang Nguyen to dive into the world of geometry to create a unique and stylish nail design. To recreate it, select two nail polishes for the tips of your nails and make sure to match their placement and avoid rounding out their funky shape.

When it comes to selecting my nail polish shades at home or the salon, I’m normally not attracted to forest green. The way Le incorporates it into her micro French mani, however, has definitely changed my mind. Londontown’s nail polish in Vibe is the perfect shade of forest green to wear year-round.

We’ve spotted similar nail polish shades on several celebrities this year. Here, Crowe shows us just how wearable violet can be by using the shade on just the tips of her French manicure (no other nail art required). It’s simple, easy, and contributes the perfect punch of color for any look.