There are two major crimes still being committed in the name of bad manicures. Length and hideous dated polish.

Firstly, let's sort out the length issue . . . long talon like nails are not fashionable or attractive and are actually aging.

They haven't been in vogue for years now so if you're still wearing them like Edward Scissorshand, please have a rethink.

But most of all, we have issues of colour . . . pearlised finishes should be binned at once . . . they belong back in the '80s when you bought them.

Dark colours look great but only on shorter nails and really should be kept for night time. To get a really nice finish on your nails, opt for something soft and natural.

I recently discovered Barbara Daly for Tesco's GoodbyeYellow ( 5.07).

This is a clear polish but gives your nails a beautiful healthy pinky tint.

If you like something with a little more colour, Revlon's Pink Nude ( 8.25)is a real classic and nearly all colours in the Essie range are soft and easy on the eye.

So your nail rules are:

keep them short and neat and don't go bananas with the colour.