If you want your hands to look attractive, there are a few things you need to know about nail color and nail shape. Square lines are masculine and round lines are feminine. Men’s jaws, pectorals, and buttocks are square; women are round in those areas. Square nails will make you look aggressive and even less feminine. Top Hollywood starlets have already noticed this, and currently the only “in” shape for nails is oval. And if you don’t ever have to lift a finger but have “people” to do everything for you, stiletto nails are the shape of choice for you.

Red nails (and red derivatives like orange, fuchsia, and pink) have conveyed the most status since nail polish was invented. However, since the advent of “fake” acrylic nails in the 70s, red’s status has slipped. It used to be that only VIPs and high-powered female executives could “afford” the upkeep and maintenance those luxurious-looking nails required. If you were a typist, long nails simply weren’t an option. And if you did your own housework, your nails wouldn’t last more than a couple of days before they chipped, split, or broke off, requiring you to trim the rest of your nails so they would match. And, of course, you can’t carry off red polish if your nails are short. But those days are over.

Today anyone can have long, luxurious-looking nails that remain perfectly manicured for days or weeks on end. Now that nails are egalitarian, not everyone lusts after long red nails. “Everyone” can have them now. Some women like black nails. But is it a good idea? Maybe not. Read on and find out for yourself.

Blue, green, black, and other nail colors may be enticing because you don’t want to be like everyone else. However, there’s a reason red nails dominated the scene for decades, and it’s the same reason blue, green, black, and other exotic colors didn’t get star billing. The reason is Simultaneous Contrast. Every artist knows about it, and you need to know, too, so you’ll be aware of the consequences of each and every color you put on your nails.

Simultaneous Contrast is the reason most women have noticed they don’t look particularly good in dark purple lipstick. It’s not just the Goth appearance of dark purple; it’s the fact that this color makes your teeth look yellow.

So, before you choose a new nail polish color, you need to be aware of the consequences of the colors you are wearing. Here’s the scoop on Simultaneous Contrast. In a nutshell, the eye demands equilibrium and will generate the opposite color on the color wheel and throw it out onto your field of vision.

For example, when you wear an orange top, blue color is generated by your eyes and thrown on your face because blue is the color opposite orange on the color wheel. Remember when your mother put “bluing” in the laundry to make whites appear whiter? Blue creates the optical illusion that white is whiter. When you wear the bright orange top, your face looks pale because blue will be thrown on your face by anyone looking at your nearby orange top.

The same thing happens when you wear red or orange nail polish. Redness is diminished and your hands look paler. Red knuckles are whitened and dishpan hands vanish. And, yes, red lipstick makes the teeth appear whiter, too.

Blue nail polish does just the opposite; it emphasizes red knuckles and dishpan hands because your eyes will throw reddish color on your hands when you look at the color blue or green.  Remember the purple lipstick? Yellow is opposite purple on the color wheel, which is why purple lipstick makes white teeth suddenly appear yellow.

Now that nails are egalitarian and any woman can have long elegant nails, you may decide against red nails because they aren’t so special anymore. If that’s the case, instead of choosing blue or black nails, go for the natural but elegant look of French nails. But go for oval tips instead of square ones. 

Sandy Dumont is the leading pioneer in the field of color an image. Get her latest video product on her website: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .