Nail colour for ‘sturdy’ outdoor hands!

[LadyoftheLavaLamp]

What best suits to look polished and elegant? Dark or light? Colour or nude? I know what looks good on other people, but they don’t tend to use hand models with massive, ruddy hands and sausage fingers 😊

Bump!

It depends.

Are you getting your nails done for a specific occasion?
What is the rest of your look?

I'd say in general, dark goes better, but dark could be green, navy, burgundy, black, grey, teal, and then there are metallic shades too.

What about a taupe colour, nude but elegant.

I’ve got very workmanlike hands so I think I can see where you are coming from! If I wear nail varnish I tend to use Chanel Ballerina because it’s fairly natural and consequently very forgiving of my DIY efforts. However inspired by a friend I’ve just bought Opi Cliffside Karaoke- it’s a brown colour and it looked fabulous on her (so I hope it will do the same for me).

ps I really like hands that aren’t model perfect: possibly because my mother (who hated her hands because she felt they looked coarse after years of gardening and hand washing) always had beautifully varnished nails. So for me the contrast of capable looking hands and nail varnish is not such a paradox IYSWIM.

Thanks for the replies

it’s not for a special occasion, I just like to look well turned out and am never sure what to go for so often just use clear varnish! My hands never look like the pictures…I like your point on that though @mm47

I like field fox if I get shellac done, it’s like a taupe colour, very neutral and flattering, I think it would look nice in most hands.

When you say "outdoor", do they look "outdoorsy" or do you do actual outdoorsy manual type stuff? Because if the latter, your nails will be more prone to chipping. Dark colours are a lot more noticeable if they chip so you might want to go lighter/neutral for that reason.

Good point about manual work and chipping.

I'd go for a nude if it's for everyday wear and you don't want to look done up but just polished.

I actually do outdoorsy stuff 😊 so chipping is indeed an issue

I like Rose Poudre by Maybelline or Lady Like by Essie. Both darker neutrals with a pink tone. Superdrug also does a much cheaper one in their Gel Effect range which is called "My Go To" which doesn't last as well but you could try it t see if you Iike the colour. If you do like it, the Essie one is the best quality (and it dries really quickly!). I recommend Sally Hansen Double Duty base and top coat.

The colour is also forgiving if it chips or if you miss a bit 🙂

Try BIAB - that’s bomb proof!!!