There's so many ways to personalise your mani – the shape alone offers a whole world of choices. There's oval nails, almond nails, squoval nails, lipstick nails, stiletto nails… the list goes on. And, just like a haircut can change the overall vibe of your look, your nail shape can make a mini statement all on its own. Are you a trendy girl, a glam girl, a practical girl, or all of the above?
For a shape that fills the above requirements, look no further than oval nails. It's a classic shape, but one that never goes out of style, despite newer cool-girl shapes joining the conversation: see almond (long and softly pointed, like the tip of an almond) or ballerina (similar to almond but squared off at the tip).
The beauty of oval nails is that they're pretty natural-looking, so they have an effortlessness about them, but they're neatly uniform enough to look elegant and glam. And they look just as good long or short – so if you can't commit to XXL nails that make buttoning your jeans up a mission, they're a pretty practical choice.
Different shapes of nails set. Collection of fashion female nail forms. Professional manicure. Vector illustration.klerik78
So that's the overview done, but we've drilled down into specifics, then lined up some dreamy inspo, so you know exactly what you're signing up for before you live out your oval nail dreams…
What are oval nails?
Nails come in all different shapes and sizes. If you look at the pattern of your natural nails, you'll probably find that you have an assortment of shapes between fingers – one might grow quite square, the other more rounded. The more rounded shape, is oval. Effectively it follows the same sort of shape as your finger tips, with softened round edges.
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Why might people choose an oval nail shape over others?
Oval nail shapes are a classic. Since they're a natural shape, they're not trend driven. They're neat (once you get all your nails looking uniform) and they work across all shades and lengths. Also, if you find your nails tend to break easily, an oval shape is a solid choice. Squarer edges tend to catch (when your washing your hair or going about your day), but a soft rounded shape holds up better as they're more difficult to dent.
How would you file your nails into an oval shape?
You want to soften edges and make sure that the tip of your nail is slightly longer than the sides, so it doesn't look to squared off. Taking your file, use a rounded motion aiming diagonally up one side and diagonally down the other. You can make the oval more or less pronounced depending on how vigorously you file. Don't make it too sharp, though as you're edging into 'almond' territory.
Does it make a difference if your nails are long/short?
Oval shape perfectly suits both long and shorter nails.
What tools would you need?
All you need is a nail file and possibly some clippers if you want to lose the length.
