THE NECESSITY OF SHORT NAILS NOW

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Short nails are a necessity now. Give them a subtle sheen with Dior Nail Glow, a universal shade that enhances your natural nail color.

Short nails are a necessity now. Give them a subtle sheen with Dior Nail Glow, a universal shade that enhances your natural nail color.

It has always been my style to keep my nails short.

But as soon as I read reports that COVID-19 was spreading in the U.S., I trimmed them even more. It only makes sense with all the Public Health warnings calling for us to be extra vigilant about washing our hands, especially under our nails where bacteria can lurk.

Even though long nails are popular, giving them a good trim is one simple thing we can all do to help fight the spread of the virus. Even before this pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that nails be kept short and trimmed often to prevent the spread of germs.

How short is short? Try for the same length that doctors and nurses strive for, which is as short as possible while still leaving a sliver of white at the top of your nail.

Going short doesn’t mean you have to forgo nail polish. My go-to is OPI Nail Lacquer in Passion. For a no-fuss subtle sheen, my favorite is Dior Nail Glow. It’s a universal shade that enhances your natural nail color.

Painting shorter nails does increase the chance you’ll get polish on the tissue surrounding the nail, but it’s easily cleaned up with a Q-Tip dipped in nail polish remover. I also have a tiny paint brush that I use just for that purpose.

With all our extra hand washing, polish is going to chip faster. For tiny touch-ups, straighten out a bobby pin and dip the rounded tip in polish and apply where needed.

There are two new nail polish lines I’m interested in experimenting with while I’m at home:

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Pure, a new vegan line by Sally Hansen, comes in 30 shades inspired by nature. They are all plant-based and made without the 16 chemicals often found in nail polish including formaldehyde. Based on the online color charts, Romantic Peach looks similar to the shade I normally wear.

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And Essie has launched Expressie, a one-step color and shine that comes in 40 shades and dries in a minute. Although that’s not really a problem right now. I have some extra time on my hands.



FALL NAIL COLORS FOR SASSY LASSIES

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Is the crisp air making you feel like a sassy lassie? Then try one of the rousing nail colors from OPI Fall 2019 Scotland Collection.

The 12 new shades are inspired by everything Scottish from bagpipes to the Loch Ness monster - all with OPI’s signature clever names that make customers smile.

Each is available in classic Nail Laquer ($10.50); and in long-lasting Infinite Shine ($13).

Here are descriptions of each shade. Scroll through the slideshow above to see the colors.

A Little Guilt Under The Kilt, a metallic red with flashes of gold.

Boys Be Thistle-ing at Me, purple with a silver undertone.

Edinburgh-er & Tatties, a classic nude shade.

Good Girls Gone Plaid, an alluring dark amethyst.

Nessie Plays Hide & Sea-k, a shimmery blue-green.

Nice Set of Pipes, a gray-purple.

OPI Grabs the Unicorn by the Horn, a fun shade of blue.

Red Heads Ahead, a cherry red.

Rub-a-Pub-Pub, a mix of coal black and gray.

Suzi Needs a Loch-smith, a copper-kissed bright orange.

Things I’ve Seen in Aber-green, an edgy green.

You’ve Got that Glas-glow, a purple-toned nude.

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