Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Wedding Fingernails of Wedding Day?

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Laurie2

Laurie2

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
193
Artifical or Natural
painted french, or a color
if artificial will you use acrylic or gel

Thanks I''m trying to decide what to do for my job long nails aren''t practical and trying to decide if I want to get artificial nails for the wedding and then take them off. I was just wondering what everyone else is doing. Thanks
1.gif
 
Mine will be natural, short, and sheer pink. In everyday life I tend to use vampy or bright colors, but for the wedding, I''m keeping it classic.
 
I did artificial acrylics because my nails were so beaten up (from working in retail). I took them off right after we got back from our honeymoon. If I had it to do over again I would''ve just gone short and done a natural pink color and been done with it. You can see my nails in our wedding photos and they were really obviously fake, which I hated. Strangely I don''t mind acrylics with french mani''s on other people but on me they looked really unnatural...our wedding was the last time I ever had acrylics done and that was almost 5 years ago! Since then I''ve kept them on the short side and typically use a sheer pink polish and that''s it.
 
Short, natural and a pink with a hint of gold colour.
 
I try to keep my nails long-ish but not too long (just above my finger tips) -- just long enough for polish to look good but not vampy, if that makes sense. I''ve never done acrylic nails before. When I paint my nails, I usually go for shades of berry, but for our wedding, I''m either going to have a French manicure or stick with a pale pink. I''ve never had a French manicure before so I''m not sure how it would look on me, so I''m planning on getting one done before hand to see how it looks.
 
I can''t stand fake nails on me, so mine will be natural and whatever length they all happen to be at the time of the wedding. Hopefully they will be long enough to do a french mani, but if not, then I will just use a clear coat.
 
Before you decide on fake nails, go and find nail polish by Revlon in Cotton Candy. Just put ONE coat on your nails. I truly believe it''s the best nail polish ever! It makes my nails look a million times better. You might find you love your nails without the need for fakes!
 
artificial acrylic which I glue on myself. they have so many nice ones available with cute designs on them. I have just started using these and they are fantastic. most people can''t believe that I stuck them on myself! of course you shouldn''t wear them longer than 10 days and always give your own nails time to rest in between.

anyway - if you want to go with fake, try them on way before the wedding so you can see which design and model you like the best. once you have them on your fingers they look longer than in the box. you can start with short french manicure ones.
 
short, natural. . .and I''m deciding on color - I''m not a pastel kind of girl and I usually wear bright nail colors, but that seems a little off for a wedding to me. . . That being said, I haven''t found the PERFECT not-too-sheer-but-not-too-opaque-pale-pink yet. Essie''s "Sugar Daddy" is a front runner, but I think I want something a teeny bit more "pink."

So hard to tell in the bottle - they all look so different actually on!
 

Attachments

Monarch64,

Can you give me a link to your wedding photos, I''d love to see them. Thanks
 
I really hate artificial nails on me too, I can''t stand how they feel and don''t love how they look.

I''m currently trying REALLY HARD to stop my terrible habit of biting my nails. I''m getting a manicure every week because then I''m not so tempted to bite them if they look nice and I paid to have them done.

Still, I don''t like having long nails at all so mine will be short (fingertip length) and either pale pink or a nude color.

Buttercup, I''m a HUGE fan of Essie polish, for me it works the best at staying on my nails for a long time. The nail place I''ve been going only has OPI, which just doesn''t seem to work as well for me. I really like the shades "Soho Nude" and "Potato Fields", which are bit less pink, but have you looked at "Ballet Slippers"? I know it''s one of their best selling shades...
 
Mine were fairly short--just over the fingertips, though not breaking any nails before the wedding was tough. I did a sheer nude/pink. I used color on my toes, though, they were red. My MOH had a french manicure and I forget what she did for her pedicure...she didn't have open-toed shoes, but I think they were a dark berry color.
 
I''m going to do short nails and a pale pink/nude/sheer color. I think acrylic nails and french manicures look unatural.

I haven''t decided what I''m doing for my toes yet.
 
I agree with you about the staying power of Essie, karasue. I like "Ballet Slippers," but I think the formula must have changed - recently it looks a bit paler than it used to - I don''t want fuschia, but I do want a noticeable shade.
 
If you get acrylics or gels, what is it like when you take them off? Are you natural nails trashed?

If you are going natural, any tricks to keeping the polish from chipping? Even when I''ve gotten them professionally done it seem they only stay nice for 1 day sometimes less befor they start chipping.
 
Hi
35.gif


I have gel nails with white tips. My nails without the gel on top are horrendous! Even as short as I could get them, they would split, crack & peel. I even take supplements for hair/nails, so I must just have bad nail genes
5.gif


For my wedding, I will probably get them done really short as usual (I don''t like long nails anyway, too hard to do anything!) and paint a pale pink polish on top. The great thing about gel nails is that polish lasts FOREVER, even the cheap stuff (I''ve had $1.99 walmart polish on for the past week and it still looks perfect).

I do not recommend getting artificial nails just for the wedding, they do a lot of damage when removed and it will take about 6 months for your new nail to grow back (or so I''ve been told). I have had mine removed once and had them put back on two weeks later, my natural nails were too weak and ugly
3.gif
 
I know when you take off acrylics your nails are really torn up. I was hoping someone had done the gels and knew if they were any more gentle on the fingers when they come off. Thanks for all the replies.
 
Date: 6/8/2008 1:41:35 PM
Author: Laurie2
I know when you take off acrylics your nails are really torn up. I was hoping someone had done the gels and knew if they were any more gentle on the fingers when they come off. Thanks for all the replies.
Click to expand...

I''ve never had acrylic, so nothing to compare to. That said, my nails were worse after I had the gel off, but not a huge difference from how they normally are without the gel.

Also, I just wanted to say that gel toes are super cute!!! Especially the french manicure
1.gif


One last thing, quite a bit of the amount of damage depends on the skill level of the nail tech. I have been to more inexperienced ones and my nails were a lot worse, I think they took off too much of the gel. My current nail tech says she leaves a thin layer when removing to protect the nail.
 
Shimmer,

When they do the get do they put it right on top of your natural nail, or glue on and tip and then put on the gel? Thanks

I yanked off my acrylics last night because they were driving me nuts and I thought I would get a new set for the wedding, now I may just paint them. My wedding is in 12 days so they won''t be healthy by then. Can you buy the gel without having to go to a salon? Thanks
 
Date: 6/8/2008 2:08:32 PM
Author: Laurie2
Shimmer,


When they do the get do they put it right on top of your natural nail, or glue on and tip and then put on the gel? Thanks


I yanked off my acrylics last night because they were driving me nuts and I thought I would get a new set for the wedding, now I may just paint them. My wedding is in 12 days so they won't be healthy by then. Can you buy the gel without having to go to a salon? Thanks
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I'll just go through the process (for first application):

-nail tech uses tiny dremel (basically an electric sander, but not scary like it sounds!) to scuff the natural nail and remove oils
-she paints (like nail polish) a thin layer of clear gel on the natural nail (no gluing) and I 'cure' it in a UV light box--this can sting/burn a little the first time
-she paints the white tips on with a layer of thicker white gel, I cure it again in the UV light
-next comes a thicker layer of the first clear gel, cure again
-she files and shapes the nail, then scuffs the entire nail again with the dremel to get a nice smooth even shape, also, she gets under the nail tip where sometimes the gel has built-up
-because the 'seal' between my nail and the gel was broken with the filing (according to her), she applies a last thin coat (here I use sparkly clear gel usually) and I cure again.
-tada! beautiful nails. It takes about 1.5 hrs every 4 weeks, unless we talk too much
9.gif

-I will note that the 'annoying' factor of artificial nails is most likely caused because they are too long and/or too thick. I have mine done really short and they are so strong and help me do things I couldn't do before because my nail would break. The thickness of the nail relies on the skill of the tech, my current one does them so thin, I don't mind paying more to go to her because my sis goes to a different one and hers are always thick and I think that makes them look funny
-also, some nail techs do not do the final two steps (they just shape and you go, without another layer and curing to seal). I think they do this because it is faster, but also causes 'lifting', where the gel starts to lift away from the natural nail (doesn't hurt, just looks funny) and can eventually fall off.

I think you can buy the gel at a supplier (here in Canada you have to show them your certification card, so I can't go into those stores) but I think it would be REALLY hard to do this on your own! And the UV lights are apparently very expensive (and necessary).
3.gif


Sorry, that was so long!! I'm very detailed
4.gif
9.gif
 
My nails are damaged permanently from acrylic nails (I had them from like 12-14 or something), so unfortunately I don't have a lot of options. I am trying some nail strengthening stuff, but I plan to wear my nails kind of long with a clear coat or a sheer pink.
1.gif


ETA: Anyone worried about acrylic damage: it isn't bad if you don't have them for a long time, but the longer you have them the worse it is and the weaker your nail-bed gets if they use the tool around it. Maybe things have changed, but as of when I had them (around 7 or so years ago) that's the way it was at the place I went. My nails have visible ridges/lines in them if you look very closely. It's one of the things I regret the most that I did growing up.
7.gif
 
Sarah,
Thanks for the input. I used to do mine all the time and I stopped for a few years. And then when I get my ering I got them done again, but I pulled them off last night with the intention of redoing them again in two weeks for the wedding. But they are very sore as it is and I found some neutral fingernail polish and I just buffed and painted them and they look better. I want to look for some of the pale sheer pinks that have been mentioned.
 
I have gel/power wraps currently. They look natural and are very thin. I think the key to having nails look natural is for them to be thin and short.

Here''s the process:
1. Buff with electric sander and file
2. Pain on gel, and dip nail into powder
3. Apply nail glue and dry
4. Remove excess and buff w/ electric sanders.
5. Buff and file by hand
6, Apply clear coat (not sure what it is) and dry
6. Buff by hand
7. Cut cuticles and polish.

The whole thing takes about 45 minutes, and lasts 2 to 3 weeks.

When going to wraps or anything of the sort, I think it''s important to tell the tech that you want them thin, because otherwise they will go with what''s safe, which is a thicker, stronger coat. For short nails it''s not neecessary to have such a thick coat.

Best of luck!
 
I am really liking DR''s nails here... Since I have weak, weak nails, I am hoping that they will just be nice enough for a basic mani (sheer nude or blush color)

DRNails.jpg
 
Date: 6/9/2008 3:34:03 PM
Author: Stephanie
I am really liking DR''s nails here... Since I have weak, weak nails, I am hoping that they will just be nice enough for a basic mani (sheer nude or blush color)
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting that. How''d you get the freeze frame shot of that? I posted the you tube episode above. How funny.
 
Today I ordered some polish from Essie. Its called the bridal collection. It comes with 6 very light sheer colors.

Check here.

I hope this link, works. I know I''ve had trouble doing the links before.
 
It''s $7 per .5 oz bottle? I thought it was $7 for the collection of 6 shades. I really like the "Cloud Nine", "Tie the Knot", and "Happily Ever After."
 
Its for the whole set.
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top