Made nail mistake... I am a complete novice, help!

[CharlieBoo]

Ok I'm getting married at the end of may and had been trying to grow my nails with little success... I bought OPI nail strengthner and still flaky and rubbish. My friend talked me going into a nail bar to try some falsies for the wedding... Oh My Word... I hate them. They are bright white acrylic, American French manicure things... I think they might even glow in the dark the tips are THAT white.

So, enough about that disaster, I will remove (looked on YouTube how to do it). BUT... What do I want? I have no idea what to ask for? I love dark colours on my short nails normally, but obviously no good for a bride...

Can you get gel nails that are longer than your nail? What do I need to ask for next time?

Jessica geleration - gel polish set with uv light dries immediately and doesn't chip. Will keep your nails protected --but will e buggered when y. Will last a couple of weeks

Wtf?
Will bugger your nails when you take it off.
Better finish than Shellac IME

You can get extensions that aren't bright white tips - the ones done entirely with liquid and powder (sometimes referred to as 'natural' rather than 'white tips') aren't bright white and look more realistic - did you have white tips glued on first? They are very very very white, I made the mistake of having them once and I didn't like them either. You need a skilled technician to avoid them being super thick and horrible.

And you can paint them if you prefer. You just need to use an acetone free polish remover when you change the colour.

A friend of mine had regular Shellac in the 6 months leading up to her wedding, which helped her grow them - so she had natural nails with a shellac colour for the day, think she had the 'standard' french manicure style on the wedding day, from memory. When I've had Shellac, my nails are horrible when it comes off, but if you have it regularly removed and re-done by a professional then it should help you grow them as it is just an extra layer of strength.

OPI has a version of "shellac" (basically nail varnish that lasts 14 days). I personally hate long fake nails. I think shorter real nails are much classier. I use Sally Hensen nail strengthener as my nails are prone to peeling. I had shellac on my nails recently and they are peeling a lot less. However, the problem with shellac is that it needs soaking off with acetone, which is terrible for weak nails.

I would recommend using Sally Hensen and get the OPI long lasting gel varnish done (can't remember its proper name!). Neatly painted short nails look much nicer than plastic fake nails. IMVHO!

The Jessica geleration stuff is better than shellac IMHO. I had it done over Xmas and the finish was fantastic, they lasted 3 weeks and looked ace. However it was a bugger to get off, I would recommend you go and get it removed professionally whatever you have done. Our local place does it for a fiver.

Thank you all for your replies. The place was a Vietnamese place and they spoke hardly any English... She said French manicure and I said yes, obviously experimenting for the wedding. She has put on white tips, not clear ones, so I can't even paint them as the backs are bright white...( I tried a black on them earlier and looked great from front but bloody awful if I turn my hands over.)

What a waste of 25 quid but at least I know what I don't want.

There is a nice beauty salon near me that do shellac. So if I remove these hideous things, can I go straight there and ask for a shellac manicure? Or will I need to grow my nails a little? I told you owns clueless lol!

Thanks ladies... Love this forum.

i told you I was clueless

Whenever i have had shellac, they have cut the nails quite short, as then you have two weeks for it to grow iyswim? I have had a French manicure done with shellac, but not bright white, it's much more subtle-especially on short nails. I'm never going to bother with a normal manicure again-our local place does shellac for £20-can't wait to get off maternity leave so I can have it done more regularly! Too skint at the moment!

I wouldn't remove them yourself, you'll bugger your real nails up. The salon that does the Shellac will be able to remove them I'm sure. In the meantime, buy a bottle of almond oil from your pharmacist for about £1 and rub it into your cuticles ever day as often as poss. Keeps your real nail healthy underneath.
I have Calgel (similar to Shellac) and keep my nails short, they're fine.

Thank ladies. Will call salon tomorrow and see how much to remove and put a shellac on.

Get them removed asap by a good salon and go for the gel polish.

There are a few kinds. Shellac is cured under a UV light, Gelish/Geleration are usually done under LED which is faster and safer. Or, (if you are completely put off salons!), do it at home with Sensationail kit.

There are some lovely gel polish colours and you can wear whatever you want on your wedding day - I think French Manicure can look a bit outdated & 'TOWIE' now.

Also consider what colour you want for on your honeymoon as it will last for 2-3 weeks. Good thing with gel polish is if you do get bored of the colour, you can paint over it with normal polish for a few days, then remover with acetone free remover and your gel will still be perfect underneath

Thanks jackstini... I've read some fantastic reviews on sensationail... Have you got one yourself? I totally agree about French manicures... Well the subtle ones are ok but this one was shocking lol. I have filed them right down now and they look better.

Santa brought me a sensational kit - I love it, nails look lovely and shiny and are lasting 7/10 days and best of all it literally takes 15 mins start to finish

Right I'm gonna get one... I have some Xmas money.. Where's the best place to purchase?

Think if you order starter kit off their web site you get some freebies - but boots and sainsburys sell the stuff too.

Might be a little bit premature OP - get them done professionaly first and see how you get on. I had a Jessica Geleration and loved it and it lasted perfectly, it was an immaculate job done by a pro. I then had a mobile nail lady do a shellac that was fine but a bit sloppy and didn't last as long or look as nice. Unless you are a very good nail painter you might be disappointed. You need to put it on in really thin layers too.
Following these my nails are more ridged and weaker than they were so unless you are going to keep them done all the time you might be sorry.
HTH.

A friend of mine had her nails done to match the bridesmaids dresses so they werent just a random colour, Is that an option for you? I had the natural french manicure and I liked that but Im used to just wearing clear nail polish on hands.

I get artistic nail colour gloss manicures done that last 21 days. No exaggeration! There's some degree of gapping by the end but from a distance looks just fine!

CharlieBoo - if you don't have a steady hand, just do clean up before you put your hand under the lamp to cure - the polish doesn't set until you do this so you can take all the time you like to get right. I do it with a cotton bud dipped in the cleanser.

Have just read Sensationail reviews on Boots - you are right, they are brilliant!