I Stopped Picking Nail Colors by the Bottle and Started Looking at This Instead

Why That Nail Color Looked Better in the Bottle Than It Does on My Hands

I can stand in front of a wall of nail polish and somehow convince myself that I know exactly what I’m doing.

That color.

That’s the one.

I can already picture how good it’s going to look.

Then it gets on my nails and I’m staring at my hands thinking,

Well. This is not what I pictured.

The pretty nude suddenly makes my hands look washed out.

The pink looks way brighter than it did in the bottle.

The brown that looked rich and expensive somehow looks dull on me.

Meanwhile, I’ll see the exact same type of color on another woman and it looks beautiful.

For years, I really thought choosing nail polish was mostly about picking a color I liked.

I’ve learned there’s a little more to it than that.

The color of my skin matters.

The undertone of my skin matters.

The shape and length of my nails matter.

Even whether the polish is sheer, creamy, shiny, glittery, or completely solid can change the way the color looks.

That doesn’t mean I need a degree in nail polish before getting a manicure.

It just means I’ve gotten better at understanding why some colors make me look at my hands all day because I love them, while others have me ready for a polish change before I’ve even left the parking lot.

I Finally Understood That Skin Tone and Undertone Aren’t the Same Thing

This confused me for a while.

My skin tone is basically how light, medium, tan, brown, or deep my skin looks.

My undertone is the color underneath my skin.

It can lean warm, cool, neutral, or olive.

And that little difference explains a lot.

Two women can have skin that looks almost the same shade and still look completely different wearing the same nail color.

One woman puts on a beige nude and it blends beautifully.

Another woman puts on the same type of beige and suddenly her hands look gray.

It’s not necessarily a bad color.

It may just be the wrong version of that color for her.

One easy trick I’ve learned is looking at the veins around my wrist.

If they look more blue or purple, my skin may lean cooler.

If they look greener, I may lean warmer.

If I can’t tell what color they are, I may be somewhere in the middle.

I don’t treat this like some hard beauty rule.

It’s just a place to start.

Because honestly, lighting can make my veins look like they’re participating in their own identity crisis.

The Shape of My Nails Changes More Than I Thought

I used to think nail shape was mostly about deciding whether I wanted short nails or long ones.

Now I notice how much the shape changes the whole look of my hands.

A dark burgundy on short round nails has a completely different feeling from that same burgundy on long coffin nails.

Neither one is better.

They’re just doing different things.

So now I think about what I actually want my hands to look like.

And just as important, I think about what I’m actually willing to live with.

Because there are nail shapes I admire greatly from a safe distance.

Round Nails Are My Easy Option

Round nails follow the natural shape of the fingertip.

They’re clean, easy, and they work especially well when I want to keep my nails shorter.

I like them because they don’t feel like they’re fighting with everyday life.

I can type.

I can cook.

I can button things.

I can reach into my purse without turning it into an archaeological dig.

Round nails can look really pretty with soft pinks, creamy neutrals, reds, berry colors, and even very dark shades.

Actually, I think dark polish on short round nails is underrated.

A deep red, plum, brown, or almost black color can look really clean and polished without being over the top.

Oval Nails Give Me a Little More Length

Oval nails are similar to round nails, but they taper a little more along the sides.

That small change can make the fingers look longer.

I like oval nails when I want something feminine without going really long or dramatic.

They also seem to work with almost any type of color.

Soft nude.

Classic red.

Dark brown.

Wine.

Pink.

Deep plum.

There’s something about an oval shape that makes almost everything look a little more finished.

Square Nails Feel Clean and Put Together

Square nails have straight sides and a flat top.

They have a more structured look.

I especially like short square nails because they can look neat and modern without needing a lot of length.

A sheer pink looks good.

A bold red looks good.

A French manicure works.

Chocolate brown works.

Even a bright color can look really cute because the shape itself is so clean.

This is one of those styles I’d choose when I want nice nails without spending the next two weeks learning a new way to use my hands.

Almond Nails Make My Fingers Look Longer

Almond nails taper toward the end but have a soft rounded point instead of a sharp one.

To me, almond nails are somewhere between practical and dramatic.

They give me that longer, softer looking hand without taking me all the way into stiletto territory.

I especially like this shape with nude colors, soft pink, deep red, wine, chocolate brown, or anything really glossy.

Even a basic polish can look completely different on an almond nail.

It’s one of those shapes that makes me feel like I tried harder than I actually did.

I appreciate anything that gives me credit I didn’t earn.

Coffin and Ballerina Nails Are Here to Be Seen

Coffin and ballerina nails look very similar.

They’re longer, they taper toward the end, and they finish with a flat tip.

This isn’t usually the shape I’d pick if my main concern was practicality.

This is the shape I’d pick because I want my nails to be part of the look.

Bright pink.

Milky white.

Deep burgundy.

Chocolate brown.

A pretty nude.

Chrome.

Something shiny.

Something bold.

Long coffin or ballerina nails can make even a basic outfit feel more put together because the nails themselves become an accessory.

And sometimes that’s exactly what I want.

Stiletto Nails Are a Commitment

Stiletto nails come to a sharper point.

They’re dramatic.

There’s no pretending otherwise.

When I see a beautiful stiletto manicure, I get it.

I understand the appeal.

But I also know myself.

I’d probably spend the first day admiring them and the second day trying to figure out how to get my debit card out of an ATM.

Still, if I wanted nails that made a statement, this would absolutely do it.

Deep red, black, plum, metallic colors, bright shades, and even soft nude can completely change depending on that pointed shape.

With stiletto nails, the shape is part of the color story.

Then I Start Thinking About What Colors Actually Look Good on Me

Once I know the shape I want, picking the color gets easier.

I don’t think there’s one list that can tell every woman exactly what she should wear.

But there are some good starting points.

If my skin is lighter and leans cool, I’d look at milky pink, berry, cherry red, plum, navy, and cooler shades.

If my skin is lighter and warmer, I’d try peach, coral, creamy nude, warm pink, or sandy beige.

For medium and tan skin, I love the idea of caramel, terracotta, warm red, brown, coral, taupe, rust, and richer earthy colors.

Olive skin can be a little trickier with nude polish because some pinkish nudes can look strange against it.

I’d look more at taupe, mushroom brown, peach, burgundy, warm beige, muted brown, or metallic shades.

On deeper skin, I think contrast can be gorgeous.

Bright pink.

Rich red.

White.

Orange.

Pastels.

Deep plum.

Burgundy.

Chocolate.

Chestnut.

And this is where I think we sometimes make nail color harder than it needs to be.

If I put the color on and immediately love how my hands look, I’m not going to argue with myself because a chart somewhere says I should have chosen something else.

Nude Nail Polish Has Lied to Me Before

Nude sounds easy.

It is not.

There is no one nude.

A nude that looks beautiful on one woman might look completely wrong on another.

For one woman, nude might mean soft pink.

For another, beige.

For another, caramel.

Taupe.

Peach.

Chestnut.

Brown.

A nude manicure usually looks better to me when the color has enough difference from my actual skin to make my nails stand out a little.

If the polish matches my skin too perfectly, my fingers can start looking like they don’t have nails.

I’m not personally trying to achieve mannequin hands.

So if a nude is almost right but something feels off, I’ll usually try going a little warmer, cooler, lighter, darker, or pinker.

Sometimes the difference between loving a nude and hating it is surprisingly small.

The Finish Can Change the Whole Color

This is another thing I didn’t pay enough attention to before.

A sheer pink and an opaque pink might technically be very similar colors, but they can look completely different once they’re on my hands.

With sheer polish, some of my natural nail still shows through.

With a thick creamy polish, the color takes over completely.

Then there’s shimmer.

Pearl.

Glitter.

Metallic.

Chrome.

Glossy.

Even the same basic color can feel totally different depending on the finish.

So now, if I like a color but don’t love how it looks on me, I don’t always give up on that color family.

Maybe I don’t hate pink.

Maybe I hate that pink.

There’s a difference.

My Nail Salon Decision Is Much Easier Now

I used to sit there looking through polish colors like I was making a major life decision.

Now I try to narrow it down.

What length can I actually live with?

What nail shape gives me the look I want?

Does my skin seem warmer, cooler, neutral, or olive?

Do I want the color to blend into my skin or stand out?

Do I want soft and natural today?

Or do I want somebody across the room to notice my nails?

That usually gets me much closer.

But there’s one question I think matters more than all of the others.

Do I like looking at my hands?

Because I can know my undertone.

I can know my best nail shape.

I can study every flattering color suggestion I can find.

And I can still choose hot pink because hot pink made me happy that day.

These little beauty tricks are supposed to make choosing easier.

They’re not supposed to take the fun out of it.

Sometimes I want the flattering nude.

Sometimes I want the classic red.

And sometimes I want a color that makes absolutely no sense with anything I’m wearing because I saw it and liked it.

I’m okay with that.

The best manicure I’ve found isn’t always the one that follows every so-called rule.

It’s the one I keep catching myself looking at after I leave the salon.

The one that makes me move my hand a little differently when I’m holding my phone.

The one that has me thinking, Okay, she picked a good one this time.

And for me, that’s really the whole point.

#EvolvingWomanhood

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