Your Stylist: Chic and unexpected nail color for brides-to-be
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Resident Image stylist and market editor Melissa Magsaysay soothes your sartorial woes in the weekly Your Stylist blog column:
What nail polish colors are there for brides these days? I’m not thrilled by the ho-hum soft pinks and boring French manicures and I don’t want to be too matchy with my bridesmaids (who are wearing rich eggplant purple). My friend suggested fire engine red, which intrigues me but might not go with the purples. Is there something else that might be daring but still classy? -- KR, Los Angeles
I am a traditionalist when it comes to weddings and always imagine pinky-nude shades like Mademoiselle and Ballet Slippers to be on a beautiful bride’s fingers, but I’m a little old-fashioned and boring when it comes down to it. And now you’ve got me thinking that it could be very chic to have somewhat of a statement nail as an accent to your wedding dress –- after all, with the amazing shades and techniques in nail color now, nails really are just another accessory like your earrings or purse.
Having said that, it is your wedding day and you probably don’t want some crazy palm tree and sunset nail art to eclipse your elegant dress.
Based on the eggplant-colored bridesmaid dresses you describe, a shade of light purple/lavender would be pretty and definitely out of the bridal nail “norm.” I love Demure Vixen (an iridescent cocoa mauve) from Essie and Metro Chic from Sephora by OPI which is a taupe-y purple. These are on the trendy side, following the fad in purple-ish/gray nail color and if you’re OK with wearing something more “of-the-moment” than classic, these shades are perfect, plus they’ll complement your bridesmaid’s dresses.
You could also go dramatic and dark as your friend suggested, but if you do, I’d say go dark and deep, rather than bright. I am guessing purple is a complementary color in your wedding, so stick with cool shades rather than hot and bright reds.
Chanel Paradoxal is an amazing shade that blends purple, silver and gray into a sort of swirly finish. It’s got texture and sparkle going on and could look really gorgeous. Or you could go way dark with a shade like Lincoln Park after Dark from OPI, Velvet Voyeur from Essie or Branwen’s Feather from Butter London. Both are a purple-ish black and definitely add some intense color to your overall look. But also think about those shots your photographer will take of you and your husband’s newly ringed fingers. Will you be OK looking back in 50 years at purple-black nails? I think anything goes and it’s your big day, it’s just something to think about.
Abandoning the purple altogether, gold would also look really amazing as well as complement the purple tones. The rich metallic hue is classic, while still being a bit edgy and unexpected. YSL La Laque in #139 Gold is a gorgeous warm gold that is opaque enough that it covers the entire nail with solid color but not in an in-your-face kind of way. For a more intense gold, try Dior Nail Lacquer in Timeless Gold. This polish is a tarnished version with an amazingly shiny finish that will have your nails looking like little gold bricks.
My advice is, go for the gold. Shimmery gold nails will look timeless, beautiful and unexpected as well as complement your wedding colors, which is so much more modern and chic than trying to rigidly match them.
And of course, congratulations.
Send your style queries to melissa.magsaysay@latimes.com
-- Melissa Magsaysay