How did you choose nail colors?

[Lauren8211]

I never paint my nails... so this whole pre-wedding mani-pedi thing is causing some stress!

How are you supposed to pick nail colors? Should they be neutral? Should they coordinate with some other color? I''m not sure how to choose!

 

[cocolaw]

i would go neutral! like, appropriately, "blushing bride" by essie.

or do an american manicure!

 

[Lauren8211]

Date: 10/5/2009 10:00:30 AM
Author: cocolaw
i would go neutral! like, appropriately, ''blushing bride'' by essie.

or do an american manicure!

There''s an American manicure?!

What does that mean?

 

[cocolaw]

its like french, but not so stark white! like it is a little more natural looking.

 

[jcrow]

i also went the pale pink route and used essie''s mademoiselle.

 

[Lauren8211]

Awesome. I''m not a huge fan of the French (or American!) manicure, so I think I''ll do the pale pink thing. Thanks ladies! That was easy.

 

[rhbgirl24]

I would do neutral! I''m getting a french on nails and red to match the girls dresses on my toes.

 

[noelwr]

if you never paint them, then just do a clear coat so they are shiney.

also you can only do french manicure if they are long. I did french manicure which is quite understated for me because I usually have flashy colors and nail art.

 

[marlie]

i love essie''s ballet slippers. It''s just the perfect neutral pinky/white for me. i''ll probably do a french on my hands for the wedding day and ballet slippers on my toes. it''s very subtle.

 

[cocolaw]

i think im getting gel nails because i always chip my regular manicures after about a day. i have to have my manicure almost a week before the wedding because we are having a destination wedding!

 

[FrekeChild]

Silver on my toes, because that''s the only color I wear on my toes (and the dress is silver!) And no idea on fingers. My nails tend to fall apart in the winter (get really brittle and rip since they are really thin) so depending on if they do that or not, I might get fakeys and go the french/light pink/american/something else with them. If they stay nice I''ll just paint a clear coat on them probably...

 

[Lauren8211]

I hope a pale color provides enough coverage... I dropped something on my left big toe and if its not painted, there''s a big ugly blue bruise that you can see.

 

[merrymunky]

I was intending to grow my nails for the wedding and have them filed and painted nicely in a pale pinky colour. However, the week before the wedding they all broke. I refuse to have false nails of any sort. I can''t really handle long nails and for my job they are not practical. (Work in a special school, very hands on. I would scratch a child or break them badly).

So I went vampy red to match my colour scheme. Not a traditional choice and probably tarty but I liked it!

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 10/5/2009 2:51:17 PM
Author: elledizzy5
I hope a pale color provides enough coverage... I dropped something on my left big toe and if its not painted, there''s a big ugly blue bruise that you can see.

What about pale pink for your fingers but a shiny metallic pink for your toes? That''ll give you the coverage you need to cover your bruise, and will match the fingers without being perfectly matchy. I''ve done that before--might not be formal enough of a look, but it works--at least for me!

 

[4ever]

I paint with clear polish and then used this great pencil thing I found to colour the underside of my nails white. It''s like a eyeliner pencil but white and intended to be used under your nails. you get the effect of the french manicure but alot more natural looking and it''s SO EASY, I''m horrible at painting on coloured polish but this I can do and it looks gooood.

 

[sunnyd]

Date: 10/5/2009 5:30:18 PM
Author: 4ever
I paint with clear polish and then used this great pencil thing I found to colour the underside of my nails white. It''s like a eyeliner pencil but white and intended to be used under your nails. you get the effect of the french manicure but alot more natural looking and it''s SO EASY, I''m horrible at painting on coloured polish but this I can do and it looks gooood.

Where did you get that?? Sounds interesting!

 

[FrekeChild]

Sunny,

Check out Walgreens or your local drug store. We have them at Walgreens and CVS...

 

[LamborghiniGirl]

I keep french or ballet slippers or mademoiselle on my hands almost always, and a fun bright color on my toes usually. But it really depends on what you think looks good and what you would like to look back at in all your photos!

Whatever you choose, since it will be the first time having it, I would go to a salon now and have them do a test run, to make sure you really like the colors you pick! And maybe have a friend take some photos so you see how it will look in pictures later.

 

[MagsyMay]

I''m on a big Esse Adore-A-Bull kick right not for nails. I''m not a huge fan of French pedicures, so I will probably just do a darker reddish/burgundy on my toesies since my wedding is in the Fall.

 

[honey22]

I am having sort of a french manicure, white tips (but I ask them to only use one coat to make them more subtle) and a shimmery pinky colour on top. It''s more romantic and soft than a full stark french. I certainly wouldn''t be doing bright bold colours to match your BM/colours or anything.

 

[4ever]

Date: 10/5/2009 5:41:57 PM
Author: sunnyd

Date: 10/5/2009 5:30:18 PM
Author: 4ever
I paint with clear polish and then used this great pencil thing I found to colour the underside of my nails white. It''s like a eyeliner pencil but white and intended to be used under your nails. you get the effect of the french manicure but alot more natural looking and it''s SO EASY, I''m horrible at painting on coloured polish but this I can do and it looks gooood.

Where did you get that?? Sounds interesting!

Just a local phamacy by all the manicure stuff (I live in NZ so telling you exactly where I got it is probably not going to be very helpful, sorry)

 

[violet3]

I am also doing light pink on the day of. I have two OPI colors that i love, and i wear them more than any of my other colors. The shiny color is tutti fruitti tonga, and the non-shiny is Passion. I love them both and highly recommend them!

 

[MagsyMay]

I think Sally Hansen makes one, check that section!

 

[Lilac]

I got a French manicure for my wedding. I happen to like French manicures on me so that''s what I wanted, but if you don''t like the look then I think you should go with one of the light pink suggestions some other ladies mentioned (Ballet Slippers, Mademoiselle, Blushing Bride, etc. by Essie)

 

[Dannielle]

I love the look of OPI "Otherwise Engaged"

 

[Jen_91909]

Date: 10/5/2009 12:57:34 PM
Author: cocolaw
i think im getting gel nails because i always chip my regular manicures after about a day. i have to have my manicure almost a week before the wedding because we are having a destination wedding!

cocolaw, I did the gel manicure for my wedding and loved it! My wedding day was september 19th and they still look flawless (well, except for the nail that is growing in on the bottom, there is a bit of that now that I''m not fond of). But really, normal manicures last about 5 hours on me before chipping, so this was amazing.

 

[Dreamgirl]

Because you don''t really paint your nails I would surely go with something more neutural. OPI has some great sheer pinks that are to-die-for.

 

[vc10um]

I definitely agree that your fingernails should be some shade of sheerish pink (my current fave is Suzy and the Lifeguard from OPI...it''s a little more opaque than some of the other suggestions, but still looks natural to me!) but if you''re looking to cover up a dark bruise on your toes, no one says you can''t go for a fun color! Tons of gals on here are using colored shoes as their "something blue"...why not use your nail polish?!?

(This, from the girl who never has what her sister calls a "normal" color nail polish on her toes...)

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 10/5/2009 10:00:30 AM
Author: cocolaw
i would go neutral! like, appropriately, ''blushing bride'' by essie.


or do an american manicure!

I love Blushing Bride- such a delicate and subtle color. I would go neutral, or classic French manicure.

 

[cocolaw]

Date: 10/6/2009 9:18:50 PM
Author: Jen_91909

Date: 10/5/2009 12:57:34 PM

Author: cocolaw

i think im getting gel nails because i always chip my regular manicures after about a day. i have to have my manicure almost a week before the wedding because we are having a destination wedding!

cocolaw, I did the gel manicure for my wedding and loved it! My wedding day was september 19th and they still look flawless (well, except for the nail that is growing in on the bottom, there is a bit of that now that I''m not fond of). But really, normal manicures last about 5 hours on me before chipping, so this was amazing.

that''s great! i think i will do that!