Hey guys! Long time no talk! The past few weeks have been a whirl of travel and work...and more work...and even more work on top of that. At the beginning of March I traveled from my part of Michigan to Chicago where I attended the AWP Writing Conference for a few days. Then I flew out to Dallas to stay with some friends for another 5 or so days. The last day of Dallas threw me for a loop when I came down with a really bad cold, which had me out of commission for 4 or 5 days. Whew! All that plus doing homework on my trips, homework when I got home (while sick, even!), and on top of that I am now writing for the Arts and Community section of the school paper (I just completed my first article about a very talented mural artist in my college town). Double whew. Oh, and I'm applying for multiple jobs and internships as well...sheesh!
Anyway, I'm back on board and ready to post more swatches and nail art photos. I bought a TON of nail polish over the past few weeks, and this weekend I'll share my February/March haul will you guys. Also, I've gotten a few followers past 25, so look for my 25 follower giveaway in the next week or so!
For now, though, I wanted to make a post dedicated to nail shapes. I have been having problems with nail chipping and splitting (though the Michigan weather has been very warm this winter, the humidity had been low...dryness=gross nails) so I've been keeping my nails very short. But now that it's warming up and the humidity is rising, I've started to grow them back out again. But what shape?! Normally I keep my nails squoval, but I've been really amped about all the "beak" nails I've been seeing. I call them "beak" nails because the tip looks just like the top view of a bird's beak, but I guess they're oval with a pointed tip.
I found this handy guide at
The Royal Nail.
Oval - My nails don't look so good oval shaped, and I think it's because of my spindly fingers (big knuckles, skinny fingers. It makes my hands seem old.
Square seems to be the most popular shape right now, especially for fake (gel/acrylic) nails. I do enjoy the square look, but the 90 degree side angles always catch on things and tear.
Squaval seems to be my go-to shape (as it is for many nail bloggers, I'm sure). My nails seem to naturally grow this way so I only have to file my nails if I break or tear them.
Round nails used to be popular years ago. I neither love nor hate this shape.
Pointed! Yes! This is the "beak" shape I mentioned earlier. I love love LOVE this shape. Maybe not pointed to this extreme (this happy medium between oval and pointed) but seriously, I love this look. I'm attempting to file my nails to mimic a softer version of this nail, and I am so excited to see what they look like on me when I get some good length going.
Another set of nail types cater to the art of artificial nails: the "Edge" nail and stiletto nails.
Here are pictures of both:
example of edge nails
example of stiletto nails
What do you guys think about these? I love them, but they're definitely not for me. If anything, I would be more apt to getting the edge nails done, but significantly shorter than the above photo. Also, every time I see edge nails I think of triangle head from Silent Hill.
The stiletto nails, while incredibly awesome and creative, just seem extremely inconvenient. How do you eat? Dial a phone? Go to the bathroom? /shudder
Some things just aren't for me!
So what is your favorite shape for the spring? Going with the same shape as usual, or are you going to try something new?
