What You Need to Know About Sporting Long Nails

Thinking of joining the faux nail club? Here’s what you need to know. (Photo: Trunk Archive/MCG)

Was everyone staring at my nails? Or was it the girl next to me wearing cat ears? That was the first thought that ran through my head after I left my appointment at Valley Nails in New York City with a fresh set of nail extensions. I finally took the faux nail plunge. I had sat next to my mom countless times as she got her acrylic nails done at the nail salon when I was younger, always asking when I could get my own. “When you turn 40!” she would tell me, lovingly. Since I was only eight years old at the time, I gave up on my desire for extra long tips pretty quickly. Fast-forward to high school when every girl in my class was getting pink and white tips in time for the prom and I longed for them once again but still didn’t do it. Fast-forward again to present day, where I’ve spent the good part of the past year mesmerized by celebs like Kylie Jenner, Rihanna, and Adele, who seem to live their lives with extra long nails and not a care in the world. I mean, Adele broke every record EVER and did it with pretty (and long) almond shaped nails. Jenner, queen of Snapchat, is able to use her phone all day (everyday) with a set of squared-off talons. And Rihanna does whatever she wants all the time, never being held back by her manicure. If they could do it and if my mother could do it, I could too, right?

On the left, a recent manicure posted by Kylie Jenner on Instagram. On the right, Adele’s manicure by Kimmie Kyees using RCM for her Saturday Night Live performance in November. (Photo: Instagram)

Kimmie Kyees, a celebrity manicurist and the woman behind Adele’s well-manicured digits, says that the type of long nails really depends on the woman wearing them. “Some women prefer to have permanent nails, so they opt for acrylic or gel extensions,” she says. “Other women only want long nails for an event or for an evening, in which case a press-on gives them they look they want without the commitment.” I landed somewhere in between and went with glue on nail extensions. I didn’t want anything too damaging (and because I was terrified, they seemed like the easiest to remove on my own, if it came down to it). The nail artist carefully fit each of my nails with a long plastic fake nail and applied with a glue adhesive. It was all happening.

Then she cut and shaped them to my desired length: a little shorter than Adele’s, but the same almond-shaped, pointy style. Kyees says that nail length is all about personal comfort, but to keep in mind that the longer they get, the harder it can be do to normal things, like texting, typing, and putting on jewelry. “I have clients who do a phone test and actually check their ability to text when choosing the length of their nail,” she says. “The good news is going from longer to shorter is easy, so I always recommend starting long and then cutting down until you feel comfortable.”

An exchange with my best friend regarding my new celeb-inspired nails. (Photo: Yahoo Beauty)

When it comes to color, she suggests sticking with a nude or neutral shade (she likes RCM Caviar Dreams or Natural Talent). “Bright colors are sometimes a little too much for that much real estate,” cautions Kyees. I followed her advice and selected RCM in Backstage Pass ($8), a rich grey-brown that I was sure Adele would approve of. When I finished, I sent a photo of my new hands to a few friends. My best friend loved them, my sister (a long time acrylic nail fan who didn’t have to wait until she was 40 to get her first set) swore to me that by day three I would decide to keep them forever, and both male friends who I sent a photo too replied with, “Oh sh*tttttt.”

The key with making long nails work, whether they are natural or artificial, is keeping them hydrated. Kyees recommends using nail oil and using it often to keep cuticles and nails hydrated and healthy. “Under acrylics, natural nails often dry and can separate from the tip of the acrylic, which leaves space for makeup, food, and dirt but also ups the risk of the nail breaking,” she says. Keeping your nails hydrated will help to prevent this breakage. I kept a bottle of cuticle oil at my desk and a cuticle balm in my purse for hydration 24/7.

My goal going into this all was to keep the nails on for a week. Seven days. That didn’t seem like it was going to be much of a challenge — but it was. It took me a solid two days just to get used to the tapping sound they made every time I attempted to type (it was as annoying as that clicking noise that comes when people leave the keyboard sound on their iPhones). In the end, using my phone turned out to be a whole lot easier than I expected, which explains why Kylie is the queen of Snapchat. Things that were a very real challenge included: taking off my jeans (likely explains why we often see Adele in dresses), making it through my five-step nighttime routine (I now know why brands include those tiny little spatulas with jars of cream), and typing on my computer (it was nearly impossible, to the point where I considered dictating my email responses to our intern). And these were just the things I experienced on day one.

The nails, day one. (Photo: Yahoo Beauty)

On day two, I woke up feeling like I was wearing Bugles (the corn chip, not the instrument) on the ends of my fingers. It was weird, unnatural, and as my coworker pointed out, it just wasn’t me. “It doesn’t match your personality. You need to change your makeup and what you’re wearing for those to work,” she told me. I couldn’t have agreed more. These nails were not for me. So on day three, I threw in the towel. Three days is almost seven days, right? I like to round up. As I sat in a conference room, my hands soaking in a cup of acetone (not recommended, but it did the job) I spent some time reflecting and realized that yet again, my mother was probably right: I probably should’ve waited until I was 40.

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