Behind the Cover: Victorian Wedding Nails

I have always loved the Victorian era!

From its detailed architecture to its delicate lacey apparel… It just speaks to me! That’s probably why my own wedding dress reflected the style. The Victorian esthetic inspired me to collaborate with Clear Jelly Stamper to design this stamping plate, reflective of the time. It features cameos, antique items and patterns in floral and lace, allowing us to revisit the era! And with Koko and Claire gel nail polish designed to have a vintage look, we can create a truly timeless masterpiece.

Although I can’t fit back into my wedding dress thirty-seven years later... the hat still happens to be in my size!

All these amazing products got me thinking of what kind of nails I would have worn if I had access to them years ago… After my fair share of playing around with them, I think I’ve come up with my dream wedding nails!

Products Used:

Suzie’s Victorian plate from Clear Jelly Stamper

Koko and Claire gel polishes Vintage Linen #057 and Blanket Blue #079

CJS high pigment stamping polish #’s 084, 042 and 069.

CJS scraper

Before beginning my stamping designs, I prepped my nails with two layers of Vintage Linen #057 and Blanket Blue #079, alternating between the colours in a pattern I liked.

For each of my stamping designs, I start by painting on the colour I want for the specific part of the design I’m doing. Here I’m painting on CJS’s stamping polish #069 for an intricate pattern on my pinky finger.

Then gently using my scraper, I clear away the excess polish from the design.

Using care, I pick up my design with my stamper.

Be sure to line up your design the way you want it on the nail by looking through your clear jelly to check the placement!

Continuing transferring the design, I press the stamper onto my nail gently.

And voila- lift to reveal your design!

Use these stamping steps for each plate design you choose. You can keep it simple or get as creative and detailed as you want, using different polish colours for different parts of a piece or layering plate designs. For example, on my ring finger I used CJS’s stamping polish #067, which is less of an off-white, to make it stand out from the nail.

Here are some adorable designs from the Victorian plate that I didn’t end up using for my wedding nails, but that I have to mention...

Adorable chair!

Doves in flight, carrying key

Birdcage

It’s normal for your stamping to go over the edges of your nails. Just clean them up with nail polish remover when you’re finished.

All cleaned up and ready to shoot!

I still have my wedding dress, which was a major inspiration for these nails. So, we used the laciest bits for the backdrop of this cover.

You can be in front of the camera and behind it at the same time! We have a tablet connected to our camera, so that I can hand model and still contribute to the direction behind the scenes.

Such a fun cover to shoot- and full of nostalgia!