Introduction

Nail beauty, as with any beauty, is all about making the most of what you have. It is about identifying and highlighting your good points and disguising your weaker points.

Nail beauty might seem a simple topic at first sight but there are many aspects to consider, many ways to make your nails beautiful, and many mistakes to make for the less well informed. This guide should help you realise the potential that you have at the tips of your fingers and how you can make the most of it.

1. Basic nail shape

Nature provides basic physical shapes that signal "male" or "female". When it comes to head shape; square=male and round=female. Look at the way hairdressers shape masculine cuts towards a cube shape and feminine cuts in an oval shape. George Clooney and ex-girlfriend Ellen Barkin illustrate this perfectly.

 
Square male and round feminine head shapes

Take a look at the men around you and you will find this flat sides/flat top cube illusion in most styles. Beyond hair, men and women give off male/female signals all over their bodies, so what are the basic signals when it comes to nails? Well the first is overall nail shape. A feminine nail shape is longer than it is wide, and a masculine nail shape is square, or wider than it is long.

 
Male and female nails

If you have square shaped nails, growing them longer will change the overall shape but the square nailbed will still show. This can be disguised with a French manicure which gives the impression of a longer nailbed, or by painting the nails to hide the nailbed.

  
Square nailbeds, lengthened to look feminine, and disguised with nail polish

2. The Perfect Nail Shape

Is there such a thing as the perfect nail shape? To appear feminine the nails need to appear longer than they are wide, but is there a perfect length to width ratio? There is some science behind the concept of beauty and this has been proven to exist in many areas; in facial beauty, in bodily beauty, and even in art and architecture. The secret lies in the Golden Ratio which is approximately 1.618 to 1. Nails with this overall ratio can certainly appear to have a "perfect" length.

In this image, the middle fingernail has a Golden Ratio in the length and width of the nailbed, and a Golden Ratio between the length of the nailbed and the full length of the nail:

 
The Golden Ratio

The golden ratio can also be applied to the curve of the nail. Here, the ratio is applied to create a spiral which can mirror the accelerating curve in natural nail growth:

 
The Golden Spiral

3. Curved and flat nails

Like overall shape, curved nails and flat nails are male/female signals, with the curved nail being the more feminine quality. Nail polish shows off the curved shape of the nail. If you have curved nails use a high-gloss nail polish to show it off. If you have flat nails, disguise this either by not painting them, or by using a more matt finish.

  
No polish, matt polish and high-gloss polish on the same nails

 
Flatter nails need more length to make the same impact as curved nails

4. French manicures

Some nail technicians think that a French manicure is all about the growth, and will make the white area appear as large as possible, even to the point where the nailbed appears square. A French manicure can also be used to exaggerate the nailbed to extreme femininity, but a good French manicure will make the nailbed appear just the right size whilst appearing as natural as possible.

  
French manicures with emphasis on nail growth, exaggerated nail bed and a more natural look

5. Nail polish color

Nail polish comes in all colors but like lipstick and blusher, its roots lie in emphasising the living tissue and blood just under the surface. The most popular colors are pinks and reds, with the very red colors being perceived as outright sexual and daring. The French manicure with its neutral tones has made longer nails more permissable for many more women than previously. In the end the nail polish you choose will reflect your own taste.

6. Toenails

All that has been said for fingernails holds for toenails too, from shape, to nailbed, to length.

Many women have beautiful fingernails, quite a few have beautiful toenails, but women who sport both are still quite rare.