As I type this, my hands are without polish and have been chaotically clipped by a woman (“me”) who was extremely frustrated by their length, because she kept accidentally scratching her face, and just felt, well, dirty. Long nails make me feel dirty. Not sure why. To me it feels alien and unnecessary to have my nails long, and plus, I’m far too clumsy and childish to do them with elegance.
I have a friend who has long, oval nails, and they are absolutely magnificent. They suit her, because she is a careful, graceful woman, the type who knows which knife is for which course at sophisticated dinners, and how to tie and wear scarves in multiple ways. For her to have short nails wouldn’t be right. But for me, and my little kid hands, shorter nails are much better. I still ask for an oval shape though – it’s much more flattering on the hand, especially a stubby one such as mine, than a straight, blunt edge. (Mimic the moons at the base of your nail bed for the most flattering nail shape.)
This afternoon it all stops. I will set off to my local nail bar and enjoy an injection of high-gloss cherry red. I will probably chose OPI Big Apple Red because it is a wonderful, orange-based red that doesn’t make my hands look lifeless, like blue-red reds do. (I am warm toned.)
I will do this this week because I always wear red lipstick or a red dress (or both! How outrageous!) and certainly red nails on Christmas day. It makes me feel festive and celebratory, and as it takes just as much effort to put on a Party Dress as it does shorts and a t-shirt, why not? We dress up for friends and work and restaurants and roller discos all year round – why not our family on this one day? They’re the ones giving us kitten calendars and novelty mugs to unwrap after all.
But back to nails, and more specifically, the Big Nail Trends for 2012. It’s fair to say that while nail polish is predominantly a mood/outfit/habit thing, there has been a tremendous increase in professional manicures and nail varnish trends in the past few years. And so, there’s no harm getting your head around which shades and textures will be in fashion and on nails, so that should you choose to experiment and try something exciting and new, (or you’re the type of thrilling broad who balances dangerously on the knife-edge of trends) you’re well equipped next time you’re told to “choose your colour please.”
