NotD - Almost Basic French Manicure

When I was a teenager I bought a French Manicure kit. I tried and tried to get it right, but the guides would either take off the base coat, leave behind a sticky residue or just fall off. In the rare case that they stuck where they should, some of the white polish would get peeled off with them. I still have several sheets of guides, but I doubt that I'll ever use them again.
Then I bought the French Tip Konad set, this worked much better, but I still had problems with the proper alignment when stamping. Maybe a transparent stamper would help.
So when I decided to try and do a basic French Manicure today I grabbed a white nail striper and went freehand.

• Apply a base coat of your choice. I'm still trying out LOOK by BIPA Stop Split Vitamin Booster.
• Choose a bottle of sheer polish, the classic colours are pink, cream/beige and peach. Apply one coat. I decided to use Nivea Beauté Sea Extracts Manicure 06 Rose. Be careful! If the base colour is patchy it might look like a badly glued-on fake nail.
  
• With a white nail striper, like LOOK by BIPA nail tattoo liner 4 white, paint just the tips.
• Add another coat of your sheer colour and a quick-drying top coat like Seche Vite.

While the result was pleasing, I felt the need for a bit of colour. I hadn't used my Konad supplies very much recently, so that's what I used to decorate my nails.

Stamp the central design of image plate m37 with Psyche Pink Princess Polish onto each nail.
Seal with Konad top coat or any other top coat that doesn't smudge the design. I also added a coat of Seche Vite, as Konad TC dries a bit slowly and doesn't shine as nicely.

When your nails are dry this is what they should look like:

What I really love about this manicure is the contrast between the very classic base and the vibrancy of the floral motif, safe and bold.
What's your opinion on French Manicure? Do you ever wear that style, be it the 'boring' version or something more funky?