When it comes to different nail shapes, there are just *so* many options in 2018.
Stiletto? Ballet? Coffin? Squoval? How is anyone meant to keep the different nail shapes straight?
As a lifelong manicure addict, I am here to de-mystify ALL the nail shapes out there. Because shouldn't figuring out your dream nail shape be as easy and enjoyable as getting a fresh manicure?
Exactly.
Let's illustrate all the different nail shapes… with Kardashians.
SHORT SQUARE NAILS: Kim Kardashian
Kim's preferred nail shape? Square — meaning nails are shaped straight across at the tips.
This shape works best for people who keep their nails short and have strong natural fingernails. If your nails are fragile or prone to breaking, you may find square nails prone to even more breakage.
LONG SQUARE NAILS: Kylie Jenner
If you love a square shape but demand to live that long-nail life, Kylie Jenner demonstrates how to rock long, square nails like a badass. With a tip the same width as the widest point across, long square nails are impossibly chic.
SQUOVAL NAILS: Kris Jenner
The "Squoval" shape — yep, it means "square oval" — is the favorite nail shape of Kris Jenner. Squoval nails maintain the square shape of their bigger sister, but are slightly rounded on the top… just like (you guessed it) a squared-oval shape.
SHORT OVAL NAILS: Kendall Jenner
The short oval nail shape is a classic for a reason. Kendall's nails are kept short and rounded on both the top and the sides.
LONG OVAL NAILS: Kylie Jenner
Oval nails are rounded from the sides and up across the top. This is sometimes called the "natural" nail shape, even though very few people have naturally oval-shaped nails.
Kylie made this basic nail shape cool again when she dipped out on her long claws and re-embraced the oval in 2015. And just like that, the '80s were back.
"NATURAL" NAILS: Kim Kardashian
The "natural" nail shape is by far the hardest to pin down, as it can mean something different to almost everybody. In general, though, most people use this designation to refer to an elongated, slightly pointier squoval nail shape — less pointy than almond, more angular than oval.
Complicated, right? Here's Kim casually coming for our lives with her long "natural"-shaped nails and rings that spell out North West.
ALMOND NAILS: Khloe Kardashian
Almond nails are, as you might expect, shaped like an almond — round at the base and slightly pointier at the tip. Here, Khlo-money is casually killing it in a pale polish with metallic tape accents. Just in time for Easter!
STILETTO NAILS: Khloe Kardashian
The stiletto nail shape — as shown by Khloe, again — is as sharp and pointy as the heel of the shoe (or the blade of the knife). Bonus points if your stilettos have ponies on them, as Koko's do.
COFFIN NAILS: Khloe Kardashian
Coffin nails are shaped exactly the way you might think — long, tapering up towards the top, then ending in a narrow, squared-off point. Khloe (and who knew she was always switching up her nail shape like this?) is a big fan of the coffin nail shape.
BALLERINA NAILS: Khloe Kardashian.
Coffin-shaped nails are also sometimes called the ballerina, thanks to its resemblance to a pointe shoe. Khloe, who is by far the biggest manil risk-taker, has gotten CLOSEST to this shape — though not exactly.
I personally think the ballerina nail shape is more dramatically tapered at the top — think a squared-off stiletto shape that looks like this. To the best of my knowledge, no Kardashian/Jenner has ever gotten this kreative with their manicure.
SQUARELETTO NAILS: Kylie Jenner
Stilletto + square equals the "squareletto" nail shape. As Kylie demonstrates, squareletto nails taper slightly from base to tip like stiletto nails do, but then end with a very flat, square tip. Unlike coffin nails, squareletto nails are much wider at the tip.
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