The Single-Dot French Manicure Is Winning Over Minimalists & Maximalists

Love it or hate it, polkadot print is everywhere this spring: the viral Zara bomber, the Nobody’s Child summer dress that’s already sold out in most sizes. But I’d argue the playful pattern looks best on nails, whether layered over a light-reflecting cat-eye polish or dotted delicately across a French tip. If Instagram is anything to go by, though, clusters of dots are giving way to a single one — and it’s surprisingly chic. The solitary speck is elevating French manicures everywhere and, unlike full polkadots, requires just one precise motion from your nail artist. What is the single-dot French manicure, and how do you achieve it? The single-dot French manicure swaps a scattering of polkadots for one oversized stipple, and the effect feels distinctly retro. In most iterations we’ve seen, nail artists start with a nude base. Each French tip is painted a different color — some in bright neons to usher in summer, like this manicure by Lucy Inman,