Anyone who spent half their childhood getting their fingers yanked out their mouths by a teacher/parent/overbearing mother of a friend (that occasion was the absolute worst) will be well acquainted with the guilt a set of nibbled nails carries.
But the now fully established craze for nail art is only making that guilt worse, right? And causing you a fair bit of consternation that you can't be part of the nail art party?
Well, turns out you don't have to spent hours Google imaging Lana Del Rey’s gloriously manicured hands and starring, eyes full of hate, at your own.
Instead, here's nail genius Michelle Humphrey on how to achieve cool nail art which still looks amazing on super short nails.
Step One: Apply a base and the main colour of your choice.
'You’ve got to go minimal and simple,' says Michelle. 'I really rate a dark polish on a short nail as it gives an illusion to a longer nail. Besides, dark polish is always chic. We’re going to create a metallic look involving glitter polish but those can go on see-through, so I’ve started with two layers of Blackout by Maybelline, one of the best black polishes out there.' And P.S. ridiculously cheap, too. Like £2.99 cheap!
Step Two: Go on with a layer of your glitter polish.
Michelle uses Red Excess by Maybelline to create her Galaxy effect. 'Always add a base before applying glitter polish, unless you want to spend ages trying to get it off later on,' she says. If you forget this, the best way to remove a glitter polish is by using false nail remover. Soak a cotton pad in it and just hold against your nail.
Step Three: Add your polka dots
Put some white polish in a small pot and grab yourself a nail art dotting tool – if you don’t have one, just use the rounded end of a bobby pin. Michelle advises practicing making tiny dots on a piece of paper 'before you go in full throttle' and then going in and placing little white dots all over your nails. Finish with a clear top coat and you’re done!
Just do Michelle a favour: try not to nibble it all at once.
**Michelle is the brand ambassador for Maybelline. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. **
You can follow Helena on Twitter @hezzlehazzle
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.