Having a manicure pulls a look together. Hands are the first thing people see after your face. —Julia Restoin Roitfeld
The first time I had my nails done by a professional was in 2018. I was exhausted after working long hours for weeks so I gave in.
Even though I could do my own nails (decently, not perfectly, lol!), I let a professional pamper me on my day off and I ended up loving it.
My manicurist, Cathy, ended up leaving in her salon 2020 and after not being able to find her for months, I reluctantly tried elsewhere.
I tried dip as I had heard a lot about it, but after the fourth time, I hated how thick it made my nails look, almost like chiclets. I know it may be the manicurist’s work, but I just didn’t like how unnatural my nails looked.
After some research, I found an amazing nail salon where I met my manicurist, Anna, and learned all about Russian manicures.
I LOVED the Russian manicure style as I felt like it made nails look so natural unlike dip. And to boot, Anna’s portfolio was amazing! I fell in love with her work so much and have been going to see her for a little over a year.
That said, in today’s article, I wanted to share with you beautiful classic manicure ideas from my past appointments.
Please note that I prefer either red or natural pink manicures mostly and stay as classic as I can with fun details from time to time.
Here are some classic manicure ideas from my personal appointments that I hope you’ll love!
RED MANICURE IDEAS
RED WINE MANICURE
When it comes to autumn manicures, I’m a huge fan of wine shades and deep burgundy colors.
I think it pops beautifully against a dark grey sweater or coat. This burgundy manicure is a perfect example.
I did this deep red manicure this past fall and loved it so much. As I had a brighter red prior, it was a lovely change.
While I wish it was a bit of a deeper red (leaning more towards burgundy), it truly put me in an autumn mood. I felt like it was a truly finishing touch to all of my fall outfits.
RED MANICURE WITH FLORAL DESIGN
I chose this bright red polish with floral design this past summer.
My friend, Keren, was celebrating her upcoming wedding with a garden tea party and 4th of July was around the corner so I wanted to do a manicure that would celebrate both events.
This bright red manicure was so fun and Anna did so well with the minimal floral design. I think this manicure would be great for a tropical vacation too!
See more photos of it in action here on my Instagram!
CLASSIC RED MANICURE
The first time I ever did a classic red manicure was Christmas 2023.
I had never done a bold red since I was a kid when I would beg my mom to paint my nails so I thought I’d try it again. And I don’t regret it at all.
It popped so much (in the best way possible, of course) and I absolutely felt so classy and beautiful with such a stunning and well-done manicure. What can I say? Anna is my GIRL!
If I’m not doing neutral/natural pink nails, red is definitely my go-to color for sure!
PINK MANICURE IDEAS
LIGHT PINK CATEYE MANICURE
I’m currently wearing this gorgeous manicure and thought it was so perfect to ring in the new year!
After having the red wine manicure for over a month, I was ready to get back to my go-to color: neutral pink. However, I wanted something fun so I asked Anna to do a sharper almond for the shape (which I LOVEEE) and a layer of cateye.
She did such a wonderful job! The pink base is so stunning and the cateye is subtle and is absolutely beautiful when in the (sun)light.
It’s so SO perfect and I feel so me!
PINK MANICURE WITH SILVER FOIL
This light pink manicure with cateye and silver foil is another favorite Anna did for me.
We did this at the end of summer in 2023 and it’s still one of my top favorite manicures to this day.
I remember telling her I trusted her with the design and loved how she did it in an ombre style. I can say that I could not stop staring at my hands afterwards, haha!
And I actually plan on doing this style again at the end of summer this year to mark my two year anniversary since meeting Anna!
GREEN MARBLE DESIGN MANICURE
For this style, I wanted something fun to try so I showed Anna a marble manicure I had found on Pinterest. I’m so glad I went with her advice and did just one nail on each hand. The photo I showed her had designs on every nail and it would’ve been too busy and I would’ve hated that.
We did this in the fall of 2023 and while I loved the pink base, looking back, this green is something I would not do again as it doesn’t really fit my style.
It was fun though as I was also trying to see if I liked my natural nail shape.
BLUE AND GOLD FOIL MANICURE
This light blue and gold foil manicure was so fun this past fall!
Even though I had wanted something fall-related, I ultimately chose one of Anna’s past designs from her work as I was in a happy, funky mood and wanted my manicure to match what I was feeling.
Trust me, I don’t normally go outside of my comfort zone this much with my manicures, but with a neutral pink base, I still loved it.
Excuse my dry cuticles since I had taken this photo a few days after getting my nails done.
SQUARE FRENCH MANICURE
Ah, the classic French tips! If I remember correctly, this was the second design I had done with Anna when I first started working with her.
And let me tell you, she free-handed these tips. FREE. HANDED. Like what?!
She did such a great job, but it was this manicure that I realized my natural square nails were not my favorite shape.
I will say that if I ever go back to this shape, I would have them softened drastically like this short pink manicure.
PINK NAILS WITH GOLD GLITTER
For this design, I asked Anna to do it right at the beginning of December in 2023.
The gold glitter and chunks of it made the manicure so festive. Again, I showed her a photo for inspiration and she executed it better than I could’ve imagined.
The reverse gold French ombre tips was so fun too!
Ooo! Can you imagine this with a deep wine-colored base for autumn?! It’d be so pretty to welcome the holidays, don’t you think?
::bookmarks own idea for this holiday season::
PINK OMBRE MANICURE
My word, what can I say about this French ombre manicure?!
Look at how stunning this manicure is and how perfect it is for spring!
I had seen this manicure style all over social media for years and decided to try it myself.
You can bet I’ll be doing this manicure again at some point this year, but with a sharper almond shape.
An absolute classic manicure I do not see going away anytime soon.
PINK MANICURE WITH GOLD DESIGN
I went with this manicure at the end of July 2024 and it was so lovely. The light pink was a great break from the bright red nails I had had for three weeks prior. And the gold starburst was such a nice and subtle touch.
The milky pink was a perfect shade to end summer with as white does not look good on my nails at all. Think white out, haha!
I love that it also gave a hint of pink so my classic and neutral heart was very happy.
Again, I apologize for my dry cuticles as I had taken this photo a few days after I had my nails done.
RHINESTONE MANICURE
I had to get a rhinestone manicure for my birthday in 2023. I had seen it all over social media and after seeing it on Pau Dictado, it was official. I knew it would be my birthday manicure.
It was so fun to have for about three weeks and if I did this again in the future, I’d go for smaller rhinestones for a more prettier placement.
The downside to this manicure was that after the rhinestones would fall off, my nails would get caught on in my hair while showering, ha!
SKINNY FRENCH MANICURE
I will NEVER do another French manicure other than this exact type.
When I first saw this skinny French manicure on Isobel Lorna spring of 2025, I loved it so much that I made a mental note.
For my own manicure, I added my own touch to it by asking Anna to shorten my nails just a bit and do a sharper almond shape. I also showed her this French manicure image from Pinterest as reference. She did great, didn’t she?!
I can’t stop looking at it, it’s so beautiful!
Growing up, I bit my nails often and it was a terrible habit. One day in college, all of the sudden, I made the decision to never bite them again and stopped from that day forward.
However, as I worked more and more hours post college, I neglected my health so my nails got weaker and weaker. They would chip and crack and get caught in my hair/clothing if I didn’t file them in a timely manner.
While I understand Russian manicures weakens natural nails, sadly, my natural nails were already in bad shape. Doing Russian manicures with Anna over the past several years have saved my nails from looking unkempt.
I feel more put together and am much more confident. And I will say that if you do Russian manicures, it’s okay to take a break and give your nails a week or two to breathe before getting them done again like I did a few months ago.
I hope you enjoyed this article and found some inspiration for your next manicure appointment!
Leave me a comment and let me know which one was your favorite! Also note, I will be updating this post with future manicures I so do bookmark this article and stay tuned!
