Who makes your fav. french manicure polishes? :)

Orly all the way! Lots of different shades and shimmers and opalescence and so on. Pricey here, but soo worth it. It's the only kind they use at the nail salon I go to.
 
For the Essie and OPI girls: Do you find your white nail polish only needs one coat for full coverage? I'm trying to decide between the two brands (however, Essie is less available here) and if I have to apply 2+ coats it'll get messy.
 
I'm with missmustard. Orly has the best sheer pale beiges with just a hint of pink, ivories, etc.

I'm sorry about the priciness where you are though, miss m, I am very lucky, and get them for about $2 a pop at my local Sally's.

Sally's is a national chain, it might be worth looking into to get in touch with them and see if they would send you a whole bunch of it at once.
 
For the Essie and OPI girls: Do you find your white nail polish only needs one coat for full coverage? I'm trying to decide between the two brands (however, Essie is less available here) and if I have to apply 2+ coats it'll get messy.

depends on which shade, some whites are more transparents some are more opaque. I use OPI's desire and I need 2 coats, but it looks very natural you can try at the counter.