Vintage Manicures

[Elaina]

I wear mood nail polish on my toes if I'm not wearing shoes anyone can see my toes. My son found some vintage nail polish and gave it to me (and was proud of himself) so I had to wear it. It is some of the ugliest colors. Yellow, green, denim...ew. I wear the mood polish because my 11 year old sister gave it to me (use it up and they don't get hurt).

Other then that I wear a revlon pink/red I've had for years or a pinkish beigy gold color. I need more polish I think.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Well, the girls here tell me that back then they would coordinate nail polish colors like blue, yellow, and green with outfits of the same color. Might make it more palatable.

 

[Elaina]

don't care if I'm wearing the same color yellow I'm not wearing it in public. Ugly is ugly, no matter how you make it nice.

I really don't like red on my nails, because I don't want to attract attention to my hands. That particular color yellow just makes me think I changed a diaper and need to go wash. It's just ugly. Did I mention it was ugly yet?

My toes are bad enough. I can always put on socks.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I know, when I see yellow on nails, I think "nail fungus."

 

[thebadmamajama]

I always say I was "born in the wrong era," but I do think that we have definite perks of living today because we can pick and choose all of the goodies from ALL of the eras of before to make ourselves the lovelies we deserve to be, and not have to be confined to the conventions of yellow (ugh) nails.

 

[olive bleu]

I always have my nails painted & i am quite stuck on reds. the last one I bought is Revlon, "Frankly Scarlett", i thought i would try to shake things up & try something else and bought Revlon's "Vixen". In the store i thought it looked plum,but on my nails, it was too much ... quite goth!

 

[VargasGirl]

Well, the girls here tell me that back then they would coordinate nail polish colors like blue, yellow, and green with outfits of the same color. Might make it more palatable.

I went to the funeral of my former fire chief's wife a few months ago, and in her ulogy given by the daughters they mentioned how she always made sure her nails and purse matched her outfit. This lady was in her late 50's-early 60's I believe. But there is NO WAY I can see this lady wearing yellow or blue nail polish, even when she was younger. She seemed too classy, and I only met her once or twice. Yellow reminds me of fungus, and blue looks like you're dead.

 

[VargasGirl]

I always have my nails painted & i am quite stuck on reds. the last one I bought is Revlon, "Frankly Scarlett", i thought i would try to shake things up & try something else and bought Revlon's "Vixen". In the store i thought it looked plum,but on my nails, it was too much ... quite goth!

I have Frankly Scarlett because I was trying to find a cheaper version of OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress. It wasn't as dark and was too sparkly. Wasn't bad, and I loved the name, but it sits in the rejected makup drawer becuase it didn't live up to the one red polish I compare all others against.

 

[olive bleu]

HEE<HEE...yeah, i got caught up on the name too. I am a sucker for cute colr names...lipstick, too. I agree..it is a bit sparkly.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Revlon's Raven Red is a good '40s-vintage color that still works if you can wear bluish-reds. I just wish I didn't keep breaking my nails off so I could wear it more often!

 

[Phaedra]

Chanel makes some really nice reds. One I like in particular is Fire. The polish is also long lasting. I like it just as much as OPI.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Chanel makes some really nice reds. One I like in particular is Fire. The polish is also long lasting. I like it just as much as OPI.

I love Chanel colors too, but they cost about, what, $18? That's a lot more than OPI!

 

[Renee]

It is a very unique look, but it is one of the very few vintage styles I have come across that my initial reaction was "I don't care for that look at all!" Actually, I think that is still my reaction.

I agree. That particular look doesn't appeal to me at all. Actually, I'm not really a fan of painted nails in general - though I do think toes must be done - but if the nails are painted I prefer the whole nail to be covered.

I also don't care for the vintage green/yellow/blues in polish, but I do see it as something that would be appealing to younger women or girls. Kind of like the current fad of black Chanel polish that I see on a lot of young starlets in the fashion mags. I don't care for it, but my 21 y/o daughter thinks it's cute!

 

[absynth]

It's one of the better brands, but not a secret code word or anything

I can't wear most drugstore brands, as they cause my nails to peel horrendously

Hey JBD
I meant to tell you that one of the reasons why you might find that they make your nails peel is that they have Acetone or Alcohol in them. Always try to find the polishes and removers without acetone if you can. Also, O.P.I. is a nail lacquer and not a polish, which is why it tends to be a much truer color and longer lasting. I am an esthetician and love to use O.P.I. A nice thing that you can do to strengthen your nails and make your cuticles amazing is to heat a little bowl of almond/olive oil in a glass bowl in the microwave until it is quite warm almost hot and then dip the tips of your fingers into it until it cools, wipe off the excess and then rub into your nails. You won't be able to paint your nails right after unfortunately because the oil will make the polish not bond but it makes your hands feel amazing!!!

 

[olive bleu]

Revlon's Raven Red is a good '40s-vintage color that still works if you can wear bluish-reds. I just wish I didn't keep breaking my nails off so I could wear it more often!

Thanks Lizzie, I am not sure if i have seen that one.But I will have to look. Bluish reds are good for me.


What about the Sheen of the color? were the finishes usually cremes, or were there frosted ones too? I don't care for the frosted look myself,( except for the aforementioned Frankly Scarlet, which i wear on occasion)

 

[fleur]

My first attempt at....

a good vintage style nail painting session.

I found OPI's Im Not Really a Waitress in our Sallys and got over excited! I did this for Saturday night and was going to wear opera gloves but didn't. Its amazing the amount of people that commented on how lovely it looked .... and were they false!!!!

 

[mysterygal]

Don't you just love false nails!!!!!! I'm usually always sporting them myself, but I aways get the french manicure. Everyone else absolutely thinks that they are real and love the way they look. Right now, I just don't have the time to devote the time needed for great nails, so just glueing some on real quick has been one of my most loved finds!

 

[Miss Dottie]

Wow! They look amazing!

Was it hard to do?

And I love that OPI color. I usually use "Malaga Wine" for my red.

 

[fleur]

lol Mysterygal they are my own nails! They are really thick and strong as I have never bitten them and it actually makes me feel nauseous to cut them so usually they are all slightly different lengths!

Miss Dottie - it was but with the help of some industrial strength polish remover and an old eyeshadow blender brush it all came out well in the end!

I was over the moon with the results.

However I might get some of those french manicure stick on guides next time so I dont have to worry quite so much!

As for the colour it was a sheer accident that I found it and I absolutely love it! The price made me blanch a bit - at £9 for a bottle (thats $18) I nearly cried!

 

[pigeon toe]

Beautiful! I've been wanting to do my nails like that for awhile now, but since I'm an art major and always working with my hands, it's not really worth the effort.

I remember once when I was little asking my grandma to paint my nails and she did it how she used to do it when she was young, with the half moons and everything. I thought she was totally crazy at the time and made her re-do it! Maybe I'll ask her to do it again!