Night out tomorrow. Nails are terrible but falsies not perfect either! What would you do?

[Jemster]

I am a terrible nail biter and have been for years. I am ashamed of them.
Tomorrow I have a posh work do to attend and I have a lovely outfit planned and thought I'd give the stick on false nails a go.
I've been sizing them up tonight and some are a perfect fit but I can't get ones to fit right on index fingers or thumbs. Having said that I'm thinking surely anything's better than my own awful nails!
Will the falsies look ridiculous?

I haven't stuck them on yet. What would you do?

Clear nail varnish. No one will notice your nails.

False stick on nails can make things look worse. Moisturise well and file any rough bits off. If your nails are really badly bitten the nail won't stick properly and it will ping off.

Buff, buff, buff!

Can you grab some buffing paste and a 3 way file somewhere tomorrow?

File the free edge, push back cuticles and then buff and shine. Apply oil just before the final buff for a high shine and conditioning for the cuticles. No clear polish needed.

Ok well it is most likely that no one will notice your nails, but it's how they make you feel that matters!
I'm a nail biter too and have just finished putting falsies on - I love them!
My falsies are super short and for petite nails, so just reach my finger tips and so look very natural.
When you say they don't fit do you mean they are too wide or too long? The packet on mine say you can file the sides to get the right fit.

Goldie I think I have the same ones as you for petite hands. Some of them fit very well and so are a vast improvement. There are just a few that are too long and so come way over my finger tip and too wide. I could go with a smaller size but ou can see the bit of nail underneath at the side, although I think you'd have to be looking pretty closely.
So do you just file down the long edge?

You can file the sides and the ends. Do each side equally then see if it fits better. Just do a little at a time and keep checking. And file to a suitable length. File before sticking them on. Stick on nails look much more realistic painted so if they are are clear or French then paint them with polish before you stick them on.

Thank you itsbetterthan - i was going to paint them as like you say thought that would look more real. Is it better to paint them before sticking on then? I was going to paint them once on my hands.

Yeah it's much easier to paint them before. If you paint them once they are on it likely to be less neat and the polish can run and pool down the sides of your nails and that will look messy. Also you can let them dry without any risk of knocking them and smudging it.

I've always sized down when they are too big as I think that looks less noticeable. Mine are by Broadway with a handy tab to snap off after application. I haven't painted mine before but that sounds a good idea - good luck!

Can you not fit in a quick mani/ nail paint and shape? If not, I would stick to tidying up shape and putting on clear varnish.

I find my ring finger the worst as the nail bed is so far from the nail tip - I often find filing the tip better than the sides for a more natural finish.

I use double sided sticky tape and press the unpainted nails onto this to hold them in place while I paint, leave them overnight then stick on, looks better than I could do them whilst on my hands. have fun

Another option is to go to a nail bar and get extensions. For a biter acrylic would be best as it's stronger. They will look perfect and last. You can get a natural length and look. It may help you stop biting too.

I handsome false nails on the other day. They were a short style. They looked fine from a distance but not so good close up. I would wear them for special occasions

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to go with the petite falsies and paint them first, great tip that. Hopefully no-one will look too closely but like was said from a distance it will look better than my own! Will take glue in case they ping off, just hope they don't land in my or someone else's dinner!!