Your gorgeous dress and glowing smile may be the first things on show on your big day, but for much of the rest of the day your hands will be centre of attention - particularly your left hand. It's no good spending weeks preparing to look utterly breathtaking if you neglect your nails, so make the most of your hands with our simple 10-step guide to the classic French manicure.
- Condition your hands by massaging in a hand cream last thing at night for at least a month before the wedding. You'll soon see a difference.
- Use cuticle oil regularly to keep dry skin and hang nails to a minimum.
- Trim your nails to the same length and file them carefully. Decide whether you prefer squared or rounded shapes before you begin.
- Apply a single layer of base coat and allow to dry.
- With a steady hand, paint on nail tips using a white tip polish with a sheer effect as this looks more natural. Warning: this takes practice so don't attempt it for the first time on your wedding day!
- Use a nail polish corrector if you make any mistakes or dip a cotton bud or fine paintbrush in nail polish remover and neaten it up.
- Paint over a single layer of pale pink polish.
- Avoid getting bubbles in the polish by rolling the bottle rather than shaking it.
- If you get air bubbles on the nail, a layer of top coat should sort it out.
- If the polish chips while you're getting ready, wet the pad of your finger with nail polish remover and wipe it across the chipped area to smooth out the edges. Dab a bit of polish on the chip and reapply a top coat when it's dry.
