I'm telling you, the best thing I EVER did was shape my nails differently. For my entire life I've had square nails, and I always loved them and could never imagine my nails in another shape, but I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to try it. As they're growing, I refine the shape often trying to coax the tips into soft points, and I'm really enjoying them. There are so many nail designs that suit oval and pointed nails that never look right with squares like half-moons for instance, but now I'm enjoying the experimentation.

Anyway, for this look I used Sparitual Paradigm for the base color. It's a very thin and milky cream color and it makes the nails look perfect, even when underneath they may look like total crap. Ahem. Like my stained little claws, for example. Believe it or not, beneath Sparitual Paradigm and a coat of Color Club Milky White Base Coat, my nails are a disturbing shade of ear wax. This color is awesome, it's like the Spanx of the nail world. Then I used CND Copper Chrome to highlight the very tips and base of the nails. The result is almost like jewelry for the nails. I loved this.

Products used:

• Color Club Milky White base coat
• Sparitual Paradigm
• CND Copper Chrome
• Seche Vite topcoat