Nope, I'm not talking about your wedding night (get your minds out of the gutters), but a few handy products that can definitely help you simplify and save on your wedding or special occasion beauty routine.
Did you ever play around with fake nails when you were in junior high or high school? My friends and I did on several occasions but we always bought the cheapest, most outrageous nails we could find. However, if you do some searching, you can find very realistic, professional looking nails that are much cheaper than the cost of a salon manicure. I really wish I had considered using false nails for my wedding instead of shelling out $30 for a manicure that wasn't all that impressive anyways. Over the summer I had boudoir pictures done as an anniversary present for my husband and decided to take a chance and wear false nails. I was nervous that they wouldn't stay on, or that they would look obviously fake, but they look amazing in the pictures! A quick search on amazon turns up hundreds of results for fake nails that are a far cry from the fake and juvenile looking ones I was accustomed to seeing. Particularly good brands that I have found are Fing'rs,
Kiss, and
Broadway, but there are others as well. You can easily get a gorgeous manicure for $6-$10 by using false nails, instead of the $30+ that a salon manicure costs.
Obviously, you want to purchase your false nails well ahead of time to do a trial wear so you can see how they look in person and how well they stay on. The
Fingr's false nails that I used came with glue stickers, but I constantly felt like they were coming loose and had to obsessively check to make sure they were still on. The nails themselves looked awesome, but I would recommend using liquid nail glue as opposed to stickers. Also, you can buy some pretty crazy nail designs, but I would definitely stick with a classic french manicure or solid, subtle color to avoid looking like a wannabe teenager prom-queen.
Now, to ensure that your false nails look as good as possible you want to follow a few basic steps:
- Choose a false nail style that is a subtle color and a short to medium length.
- Before applying glue, check to ensure that each false nail fits the width of your natural nail bed. Nails that are slightly larger than your nail bed may be painful to wear, but they will look okay. False nails that are smaller than your natural nails will look obviously fake.
- Gently push back your cuticles with a clean orange (cuticle) stick.
- Swipe each of your natural nails with nail polish remover and let dry before applying nail glue. This will remove excess oils and ensure a good tight bond between your nail and the false nail.
- Gently file any unnatural looking bits of plastic off the false nails.
- Be sure to bring extra nail glue in your bridal emergency bag, just in case!
