By Shape & Length
Short, squoval, almond, and everything between, with guidance for how each shape changes the look.
About by shape & length
We sort our nail ideas by shape and length because it changes everything - how the tips look, how the chrome catches light, and whether the manicure feels comfortable after day one. In this category, you'll find short and affordable French tip options in blues (from soft baby blue to deep navy), plus acrylic inspo in pink and orange with chrome that actually stays crisp. We also include almond-length looks that feel a little more polished without going full glam. When you pick an idea here, start with two things: your natural nail shape and how much length you want to live with. Short nails need a tip that's wide enough to read as a French line, but not so thick that it looks like a sticker. Almond nails can handle thinner, sharper tips because the taper gives the design room to breathe. For chrome, length matters too - on shorter nails, the shine reads best with a cleaner gradient and fewer distractions. Two pointers we've learned the hard way. First, keep your French tip width consistent from nail to nail - measure it against your nail bed width, not your nail size. Second, for navy and dark blue tips, let the base coat fully cure before you start the linework; otherwise the blue bleeds and the edge looks fuzzy. If you're recreating any of the blue French ideas, we'll tell you exactly where people usually mess up and how to fix it before it ruins the whole set.