31 Gorgeous Black French Tip Nails for a Wickedly Beautiful Mani (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.

Elegant, chic, and always stylish, French manicures are one of the best inventions ever to grace our hands.

But what if you want to add an edgy twist or a trendy take on this timeless aesthetic? You absolutely can!

With black French tip nails, you can create a wickedly beautiful look to push the envelope and reimagine femininity.

Ready to rock out those French tips? We’ve put together these stunning nail designs you’ll want to try immediately!

Familiar With French Tips?

First things first: What’s a French tip?

Contrary to what its name might denote, it’s not actually from France.

The French manicure started when Orly founder Jeff Pink, who was working in Hollywood then, decided to paint actresses’ nails with a nude nail base and white tips to create a look that goes well with any wardrobe change.

This was done to appease directors who complained that it took too long to change outfits because nails also had to be painted.

From there, Pink took his nail design invention to Paris, where designers subsequently used it during fashion shows.

Then Cher and Barbra Streisand wore their French manicures on live TV, and it hasn’t stopped being trendy since.

While the French tip nail design began as a nude base + a white tip, it has evolved beautifully and can be anything you want.

How To Do French Tips

There are various ways to achieve French tips. For DIY applications, it’s recommended to use nail guides to get the perfect shape to highlight your black nail polish.

These include the following:

• Tape
• Rubber band
• Beautyblenders

Additionally, you can opt for stick-on guides that are available online.

Once you have your nail guide ready, here’s how you achieve French tips:

1. Paint the base of your nail with the color of your choice.
2. Then cover the upper portion of your nail with your choice of nail guide (tape, Beautyblender, etc.).
3. Apply the color of your choice just on the tip.
4. Remove the nail guide.
5. Finally, apply your top coat to seal the manicure.

Does this work with any color? Absolutely!

Why Get Black French Tip Nails?

You can choose any accent color for your French tip, depending on the look and style you want. Black, however, is a classic choice and perfect for several reasons.

Timeless

One of the best things about French tips is that they’re timeless.

Regardless of what nail trends might dominate the season, a French manicure is always a look that slays.

With black French tips, the timelessness of the design doesn’t change; if anything, it modernizes the aesthetic and makes it appealing to the younger crowd or those who don’t feel like being boxed in when it comes to beauty.

Great for Various Occasions

French tips also bring that unique flair that makes this nail design formal but also modern, stylish, and sophisticated.

When you opt to get black French tips instead of the usual white or light color, you add an avant-garde element to the design, making it the perfect fashionable chameleon.

You can wear your black-tipped French manicure to a soiree with friends, a business meeting with colleagues, or an intimate dinner date with someone special. Black French tips are a versatile look.

No Cap on Creativity

Finally, you can express your creativity in any way you want.

You can keep it simple, and pair your tips with pink nails or take on as opulent a design as possible. You can even pepper it with gold foil or bling it out with rhinestones.

There’s no cap on what you can do!

Black French Tip Nails: 31 Designs To Consider

1. Multicolor Flowers

Bring back trendy spring vibes with this design’s multi-color flower accents.

These violet, blue-green, orange, pink, and red flowers decorate black tips against a nude base for a striking contrast.

2. Gold Foil

Black and gold French tip nails? Absolutely!

This set has a nude base with thick black tips dotted with gold foil running along the side of the square nail to the tip.

3. Cherry Accents

For a fun, fruity take on the typical black French tip nails, take a nude base paired with deep, black tips with some tiny cherries and leaves for accent.

4. Two-Tone Tips

If you’re interested in oval black French tip nails, this set features your typical nude base and black tips with an additional thin white tip for a gorgeous double, two-color look.

5. North Stars and Diamonds

Turn up the sparkle with this black French manicure, accessorized with silvery, glittery stars in various sizes with 3D rhinestones for a stunning sparkly accent.

6. Fangs and Black Hearts

For an attractive and versatile design, these shadow black tips feature black outlines designed with inverted peaks and valleys, as well as round splotches, and highlighted with black hearts in the middle.

7. Square Black French Tips

If you are more in the mood for a sleek, straightforward black-tipped nail design that still packs a powerful punch, these simple nude base and black tips on square nails are perfect.

8. Heart Eyes and Black-and-White Polka Dots

Looking for designs for red and black French tip nails?

These fashionable Comme des Garçons red hearts are painted in various areas to add a pop of color against classic black and white polka dot tips.

9. Ombré Base

For black French tip nail designs that seamlessly blend colors, take this ombré base and paint the tips in solid black to create an alluring, almost pop-art-inspired aesthetic.

10. Flowers and Hearts and Ombré

We can’t get enough of floral-themed designs.

This nude base provides the perfect backdrop to the ombré tips decorated with yellow, pink, and violet flowers with some beautiful red hearts in the middle.

11. Flames, Diamonds, and Pearl

Up the goth factor with flame accents that start from the usual black tips toward the upper portion of the nails, then soften it with rhinestones and pearls at the cuticle.

12. Split Tips With White Flowers

For black French tips on short nails, this design uses black polish on only half of the tips and outlines the other half in black for beautiful split tips, which are then decorated with white petals and yellow pistils.

13. Pale Pink Flowers With Gold Butterflies and Stones

Add an edgy twist to a feminine design by pairing long coffin-shaped black French tip nails with 3D pink flowers, gold stones, and gold butterflies, placed individually or grouped together at different points.

14. Glittery Heart-Shaped Tips

Take your regular hearts, make them black, and pepper them with glitter to create heart-shaped French tips that deliver dainty with a kick-ass vibe.

This set also features black stones at the cuticles for accent.

15. Abstract French Tips

For something avant-garde, consider this design!

This set creatively uses black swirling abstract lines against the nude base to create negative space French tips that are chic and fashion-forward.

16. Croc Scales-Inspired Tips

For long nails with a textured look that elevates the style, this crocodile scale-inspired design features black scales of various sizes that start from the sides of the nails down to the tips.

17. Multi-Textured Black Tips with Silver

Want black French tip nails with multiple textures?

This nail design alternates tips with crocodile scales with plain black glittery tips and a single, silver perpendicular cross accent.

18. Pearls and Gloss

For simple but sensational black French tip nails with gems, take your square nails and paint the tips black, then add some pearls.

Top it all off with a glossy top coat.

19. Simple Square Black French Tips

Black square French nails?

This short, square nail design idea uses thin, black tips against a nude base, finished with a gorgeous, glossy top coat.

20. Black Outlines and Black Tips

Wanna spice up oval nails?

This set uses filigree French tips that feature thicker lines tracing the tips of the nails with thinner ones around the middle of the nails, creating hollow nude bases in between.

21. V-Cuts and Black Hearts

Create gorgeous black tips with these V-cut tips, creating a clean geometrical contrast against the nude base.

Add some romance with black hearts near the cuticles for a pretty accent.

22. White Hearts

If you have short square nails, try this pretty black-and-white French tip nail design!

Paint thin tips on your square French manicure and add white hearts in the middle for added detail.

23. Matte Tips and Chrome Antlers

Want classy and chic matte black French tip nails?

This set highlights gold chrome antlers painted on thick black tips for an elegant chrome French tip nail design.

24. Glittery Outlines

Add another touch of gorgeous style to your thick black French tips with a thin glittery silver outline at the middle of your nail across a stunning pale pink base.

25. Silver and Gold Glitter

To add a touch of glam to black glitter French tip nails, take your nude base and paint thick black tips over it; then outline your cuticles in gold glitter for some accent.

26. Deep Black Almond French Tip Nails

Another cute black-tipped French manicure idea, this design features deep black French tips that perfectly highlight a pale pink-nude base and perfectly sculpted almond nails.

27. Thin Black French Tips

Another straightforward design, this set uses thin, delicate black lines that gently trace the outline of the sides of the nails down to the tips.

28. Golden Heart Accents

For an avant-garde twist, try asymmetrical black tips that run from the middle of the nail on one side to the tips on the other.

Finish the design with stunning gold heart accents at the nail base.

29. Glitters and Silver North Stars

Sparkly black French tip nails are always a good idea.

This design features thick black tips contrasting nicely against a nude base peppered with fine and chunky silver glitter and large silver North Star nail art.

30. Silver Crosses and Multicolor Stones

Go steampunk with black and silver French tip nails.

This set features a little bit of everything: thick black and silver chrome tips on a nude base outlined with red and silver stones and decorated with silver crosses and red stones in the middle for a fun accent.

31. White Stars

French tips on almond nails? Super sexy! This design features thick black bands that start around the middle of the nails and continue to the tips.

It also features white star nail art all over the nails for a fun and funky highlight.

FAQs

What Nail Shape Best Suits French Tips?

French tips look great on almost any nail shape.

That’s how versatile they are. But if you want a gorgeous standout style, they look amazing on almond, oval, and square nails.

What Color Base Should You Use for French Tips?

Most of the designs on our list used a nude base. But pale pink also works.

It’s best to use a lighter neutral shade as a base for black tips to make the black stand out.

Additionally, choosing the right nude shade can do wonders; the trick is to go with a shade that looks as close as possible to your skin.

If you have light or fair skin, nude polish colors with pink and rose undertones are great.

For medium or olive skin tones, you won’t go wrong with light brown or beige nudes.

And if your skin tone is darker than all of these, go with nudes that remind you of caramel.

How Long Do French Tips Last?

It depends on the type of nail polish you use and your mani after-care.

Regular nail polish can create French manicures lasting up to a week.

Gel polish, on the other hand, can create French tip manis that last for as long as three weeks.

How Can I Maintain My French Nails?

There are several things you can do to ensure your French tip manicure lasts longer, including:

• First, don’t pick at your nails or peel your polish to prevent damaging your nails.
• Wear protective gloves when doing chores with your hands, like washing the dishes, doing laundry, or handling chemicals.
• Moisturize your hands and cuticles every day to keep your manicure from lifting.

Choosing the Best Design for Black French Tip Nails

You can choose from various nail designs and ideas for black French tip nails.

Some are simple and only use the basic nude base + black tips, while some are a bit more elaborate, with rhinestones, gold and silver foil, chunky glitters, and even 3D-looking scales and opulent nail art.

When choosing which of these inspirations to replicate at home (or with a nail professional at the salon), the key is to always look for designs that speak to you the most.

That way, you’ll have a gorgeous manicure that showcases your beautiful and unique style.

Did You Enjoy This?

Here Are More Nail Designs You’ll Want To Explore!

• 51 Beautiful Matte Blue Nails We’re Loving Right Now!
• 45 Black and Silver Nails for Every Occasion and Season
• 55 Magical Star Nail Designs
• 30 Short White Nail Designs We’re Loving Right Now!