Nails, herbal hair wash and makeup before an ao dai photo shoot in Hue: a preparation guide for court costumes

In ao dai and court costume photo sessions at the Imperial City or Khai Dinh tomb, hands often appear in close-up as they lift a silk fan, hold a poem hat or fasten a hairpin. Many women visitors therefore spend their first evening in Hue at a relaxing herbal hair wash and a manicure that matches the costume, then have their hair and makeup done early the next morning.

Choosing a nail shape and colour that suit the Nhat Binh and five-part ao dai

Unlike modern street clothing, Nguyen dynasty court costumes such as the Nhat Binh robe, the ao tac and the ngu than ao dai with narrow sleeves use brocade embroidery and silk, a traditional colour palette and classic hand props such as paper fans, embroidered silk fans, lotus stems, ivory tablets and bead strings. When a photographer frames a close-up of hands resting on the front of the robe or lifting its hem, nails in a colour and length that harmonise with the costume make the frame look far more graceful.

• Suitable nail shape: Choose almond or oval shapes that extend 2 to 3 mm beyond the fingertip. Avoid long, square-pointed nails or bulky stone charms, which catch on thin silk and make it harder to fasten the brass toggle buttons of the ngu than ao dai.
• Shades that suit several costumes: If you plan to change between two or three costumes of different colours in one day, for example a red or yellow Nhat Binh at the Imperial City in the morning and a green or pale purple ngu than ao dai at Tu Duc’s tomb in the afternoon, choose clear gel shades such as earth pink, milky white, pale peach or a pearl cat-eye shimmer.
• East Asian motif accents: If you like painted decoration, jade-stone veining, a fine plum branch or a thin mother-of-pearl inlay on one or two ring fingers will match a jade ring and a brocade court fan. You can look through the Hue Ao Dai Festival and costume rental guide and send your nail technician a photo of the robe colour for advice.

Timing the herbal hair wash the evening before and makeup early the next morning

A common mistake that makes costume shoots miss the best morning light is squeezing hair care, nails and makeup into the same morning. To reach the Ngo Mon Gate or Dien Tho Palace area by 07:30, when the early sun slants softly and the heritage corridors are still quiet, split the preparation into two clear stages:

1. Early evening before (17:30 – 20:30): nails and herbal hair wash on the south bank. After checking in at your hotel, visit a nail studio and a herbal hair-wash shop on the south bank that uses a broth of soapberry pods, pomelo peel, lemongrass and ginger. A hair wash the night before leaves hair clean, fluffy and naturally dry. The next morning the stylist can more easily backcomb the roots, pin the volume and secure the headpiece firmly, much better than with damp hair.
2. Early morning on the day of the shoot (05:45 – 07:15): makeup and hair styling at a costume studio. Costume studios around Doan Thi Diem, Dang Thai Than and Dinh Tien Hoang streets, close to the Imperial City, or on the south bank accept early bookings from 05:30 to 06:00. Long-wear, water-resistant base makeup, a centre-parted style fastened with a phoenix hairpin and dressing in many layers usually take 75 to 90 minutes per person.

Why a car with air conditioning helps when moving between the Imperial City and the tombs

Once makeup is done and you are wearing a Nhat Binh or ao tac, with its inner layers, silk trousers, brocade body and a headpiece with a hairpin 10 to 15 cm tall on top of the head, travelling by motorbike in open sun and wind easily shifts the headpiece, dusts off makeup and crumples the hem.

Booking a one-day Hue city tour by private car of 4, 7 or 16 seats gives practical support for heritage photo sessions:

• Keep the hairpin shape and makeup base intact: The air-conditioned cabin cools you quickly after shooting on the brick courtyards of the Imperial City, before the 7 to 12 km trip on to the tombs of Tu Duc, Minh Mang and Khai Dinh.- Use the luggage area as a changing and storage space: A roomy boot is a safe place to keep makeup kits, flat shoes to change into between long walks through the palaces, and fragile props such as poem hats, oiled paper parasols and embroidered fans. To plan the order of shooting spots around the light through the day, you can also refer to the one-day Imperial City and royal tombs itinerary.