You better shape up: Five nail shapes to flatter your hands

Cienna Rose founder Carla Opoku helps you nail the perfect shape with her handy tips:

OVAL
Oval shaped nails work best with medium to long nails and give the illusion of long slender fingers. To achieve this shape, file nails down the sides and round the tip. Perfectly suited to short palms and fingers and those who find it difficult to grow their nails.

ALMOND
Almond shaped is one of our favourites for fingers as it’s great for pretty much everyone. Very similar to oval but nails are filed to a round peak, it’s an instantly easy and chic shape to achieve. Another good shape for small palms and fingers.

BALLERINA
Mimicking the pointe of a ballerina shoe, this shape helps elongate short and wider fingers and make them look more delicate and is an ideal shape for longer palms and fingers. Healthy nail growth, however, is essential for achieving this length so you’ll need to regularly use nourishing and strengthening treatments to keep them in tip top condition.

SQUARE
Flat on top with sharp corners, this shape looks great on both short nails and long, narrow nail beds and helps broaden the appearance of your nails. Avoid if you already have wide nail beds though as this shape will make your hands look stubby.

STILETTO
Similar to Almond but with a longer, sharp point at the tip, this works best with longer nails and again, will elongate shorter fingers. It looks great on shorter and wider fingers as it gives the illusion of long slim nails. We like this shape as its edgy but feminine but beware, you will need strong and healthy nails to pull this off so. You’ll need to regularly apply hardening treatment products like The Shield and Inner Strength, both available from Cienna Rose.

SQUOVAL
Always a popular choice, they are one of most flattering nail looks. Merging square and oval, the softer edges stretch fingers. An oval with a flatter tip, get this look by filing straight across your free edge, then around the corners in one smooth stroke.