The day began with some pampering at the nail salon. We had a booking at JJ Nail Studio in Bangsar but for some reason, the person stuffed up our bookings.
It was quite ironic that when we made the booking, they told us not to be late because there were five of us waiting to get manicures and pedicures - my two cousins, my two sisters-in-law and me. We arrived on the dot to find that the salon was not even opened and the owner was “on the way”.
Stopping off for a much needed caffeine fix at the nearest Star Bucks, the girls had some time to attach a tiara to my hair while we waited until they were able to confirm us an appointment at the branch in Midvalley Megamall. So this was the little surprise my aunt had eluded to the evening before… I was required to wear the tiara for the whole day where I received a number of weird stares. Luckily, I was joined by my hens who also wore a mini tiara each.
My second time ever having a professional manicure done (the first was when I took my pre-wedding photos), and my very first pedicure, it was probably one of the more girlie days I’ve experienced. It did seem that these days were on the increase ever since C and I decided to get married. I maintain that there is something about vanity in a woman that is realised in even the most tom-boy of girls when the moment calls for it.
Since I was getting the most done, I had to start first. I was in for a long haul - acrylic nails and a pedicure. SL and I posed for the camera while the lady began the arduous task of cleaning my nails and making them presentable.
Next ST and I… Hard to imagine we’re cousins. She’s absolutely gorgeous!
Holding up my “wicked witch” nail extensions for the camera before they lopped them down to size.
Here’s a close up. I can’t imagine anyone walking around with full nail extensions. I had the lady cut mine until they were so short she probably wondered why I was even bothering with the nail extensions.
The procedure, though tedious, is really quite simple. They clean up your nails and roughen the surface so that it picks up the glue. Then they select some nail extensions that are the cloest fit to each nail and trim the neck before gluing. The glue dries fairly quickly, because as soon as she had stuck the last nail on, she goes about trimming the nails to the desired length of the customer.
Then they roughen the surface of the nail extensions and apply the acrylic. It was interesting to note that the acrylic layer they applied over the whole nail (including the extensions) is very similar to the cold-cure acrylics we used to use in the dental lab for repairing dentures.
Once the acrylic is set, she polishes the surface and begins applying the nail polish much the same way as they do when they work with your own nails - two layers of colours for the base. Then they pain on the nail art and stick the crystals, followed by two layers of lacquer.
After an eternity under the nail dryer, I still have to watch my nails to make sure I don’t damage them. Voila! The finished product:
The next part was the manicure. Poor HL had a mightily uncomfortable time because she was trying very hard to control her fits of giggles as the girl scraped off the dead skin from the soles of her feet. I thought I was sensitive…
HL and ST looking pretty with their tiaras as they waited for the rest of us to finish up.
HH gets her nails done for the nth time because she kept knocking them before they were fully dry… Luckily she had a very patient guy working on them.
Next was ST’s turn to repair some damage. She decided in the end that she wanted a french manicure, so they kindly changed it for her. I also finally understand what a french manicure is… they paint your nails so it looks like the whites are whiter than white and the nail beds are pink. It’s a glossy au naturale look that seems to be quite popular.
Being the magpie that I was, I had to got for some shinies or I would not have felt quite right…
After some three hours in the nail salon, I was ravenous, so we stopped by the bakery for a quite bite.
We had intended to rest when we reached home, but because the manicures and pedicures too so long (who would have imagined that beauty treatments are so time consuming), it was back home in time to for a shower to freshen up for the evening.
There’s a certain delight in being a bride and having everyone fuss over you to get you looking gorgeous. HL and HH were helping me with my make-up and hair.
Then it was time to put the veil back on.
Dinner was at Chili’s in 1Utama, located along Highstreet on the ground floor (next to Coffee Bean and opposite Burger King).
It was a quiet, simple evening organised by KH, who also bought me some sexy knickers as a Hen’s present. Luckily I didn’t have to wear them then. I’ve never been to a Hen’s party before, but all the ones I’ve ever seen on TV look quite dreadful. I was rather relieved that the girls were all very kind to me.
KH - the head organiser - posing for the camera with me.
I forget why I was making this face for the camera… I think I was fulfilling some of the few simple Hen requirements they gave me. Since they were so kind to me, I decided I should be as sporting as possible.
Here’s a group shot taken with AC, AF, and AL who arrived a little later. SL looks quite exotic in her blue dress…
It was the last photo we took before my cousins had to split back to their hotel. I should thank my lucky stars that I got off quite lightly for the evening. From what I heard, the boys got off to some questionable activities with a lady called “Porky Pauline”.
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