When you’re going to the effort of going on a trip to a manicurist and taking a good hour out of your day to rehab your nails, you want to make sure it’s worth it.

With so many different nail styles and every manicurist having their own preferred method of trimming and shaping, knowing exactly what to ask for will go a long way in ensuring you walk out of the salon with nails you love. My advice, is to find a few inspiration pictures to take in if you’re seeing a new manicurist for the first time.

Of course, sometimes you don’t have a lot of room to move if your nails are damaged or already pretty short. Applications such as acrylic or gel nails give you more flexibility so might be something to consider if you’re trying to achieve a certain look your natural nails just aren’t ready for.

Colour wise, darker shades such as wines, deep reds, purples and black tend to look better on short, square nails. These rich colours on long nails tend to look vampy, which is perfect for an edgy weekend or event look, but no so much for the office.

Lighter colours suit pretty much any nail shape and length with one exception. If you’re a fan of white nail polish, try to grow your nails out a little first. Having your nails too short and adding white polish can actually make your fingers look shorter and thicker.

As for the shapes…

Square

Rounded

Almond

Stiletto

Rounded Square