An almond nail tapers from a wide base to a soft rounded point. It is the most requested shape in Saudi Arabia and the one that flatters the widest range of hands, because the taper visually lengthens the finger without the sharp edge of a stiletto.

Almond suits most nail beds, and it is particularly good on shorter fingers because the point carries the eye past the fingertip. It is the shape to choose if you want length to read as elegant rather than dramatic.

The point is the part that catches. If you type or work with your hands, take a shorter almond rather than a longer one — the shape stays the same, the risk of a snag does not.

Every set comes in sizes XS, S and M, where size is the width across the nail bed and not the length. Applied in about five minutes, worn 3 to 5 days with adhesive tabs or up to 14 days with nail glue. Sets are priced from 129 SAR.

The almond tapers from a full base to a soft rounded point, and that taper is doing something specific: it narrows the visual width of the fingertip, which makes a short finger read longer and a wide nail bed read slimmer. It is the most requested shape in the Kingdom and the one we would put on a first-time buyer who has not decided what she likes yet. Almond press-on nails are also the most forgiving of a slightly imperfect fit, because the eye follows the taper rather than the sidewall.

A point concentrates force at the tip. In a long length that means an almond set is the most likely of any shape to catch and lever, which is why we make almond in short and medium as well and sell more of those than of the long. If you want the shape but live a hands-on week, take it short.

File the sides of an almond, never the point — the point is the shape. A few passes in one direction along each sidewall narrows the nail without touching the silhouette. If you file the tip you will flatten the taper and end up with an oval, which is a legitimate shape but not the one you bought.