Nail Contouring Is The New Way Women Fake A Longer, Stronger Manicure

A short list of things on your body that are not thin enough, according to the larger world: your butt, your waist, your arms, your thighs and now, your nails.

Oh, you heard me. Bet you thought that filing and buffing your nails to an even shape was enough, huh?

Well, you're wrong.

There's a new kid on the block, courtesy of the nail world. Soon, everyone will be contouring their nails.

Longer, thinner nails are generally considered more attractive than the short, stubby kind. Unfortunately, most women weren't born with the nails (or fingers, frankly) of a professional hand model.

When I hold my hand flat, so much light shines through the cracks between my crooked fingers that it's practically a professional lighting fixture.

When you place a darker shade around the border of your nails, you create the illusion that they're rounder and, uh, more bodacious than the average person's.

Alternatively, you can place a dark stripe down the center while leaving the edges naked, or you can outline your darker polish with a lighter one.

Effectively, you're aiming to make anyone who sees your nails cross-eyed and disarmed, as all good beauty treatments do.

Cosmopolitan reports the trend surfaced at New York Fashion Week, where nail pro Jin Soon Choi used it at the Vera Wang show.

However, it's been around in various versions for some time.

Instagram holds a secret treasure load of photos.

Even the legendary Miss Pop is trying out the trend.

Even if you're not immediately taken by the trend, it's worth trying.

Even a metallic outline will do the trick.

Go bold, or go home...

...whether or not it makes your nails any skinnier.

Citations: Nail Contouring Is the Fastest Way to Fake Long AF Nails (Cosmopolitan)