Dear Alison and congrats on have the brass cahoonas to post a picture!! I have rated you the following and here's why!

Length I gave you 4 out of 5... they are all consistent and a very nice legth for her hands well done!

Shape I gave you 3/5; you have a gone for a soft square which looks pretty! these fingers could also take a beautiful almond but the length would need to be longer - I like your choice!

Sidewalls and edges I gave you 1/5; this is where you need to pull out the stops. They are all Egyptian hats (they all fan out at the sides) and every one of the free edges is off kilter and not balanced. Take a good look - these nails have the potential to be really gorgeous but you need to grab a Kanga Board and taper in the sidewalls and and get every free edge perfect and 'the same' on every nail!

Apex Placement is very difficult to see and so I couldn't score you on that... I tried to look at the thumb but still the angle isn't good enough for me to tell.

Smile Line I gave you 3/5 because you were consistent and although they are not deep smiles, they compliment the hand. They would have looked even better being slightly more 'smiley' but you have gone for understated so fair enough!

Use of Colour - I gave you 4/5 because i really appreciate the subtly of the colours used. These are natual looking and not OTT - well done!

So to finish.... I know why you are getting wonky free edges. You are sawing on one side of the nail and sweeping you file on the other side. I used to do this and it's so simple... either see saw on both sides of the nail or sweep on both sides... then you will get the same shape on both siides. I hope this makes sense and once again... well done for posting... with shape tweaking you will have a wicked set of nails there!

what a fab write up....and great advise on the filing thing. Great example of how to get the best from this new nail critique section.....spurs me on to post a pic now...brill x
x

Thank you so much for the comments, you confirmed by doubts about this set. I am having trouble with the width and im afraid to file the sides incase I catch the soft tissue and cause a bleed. Will definately work on this. Also struggling with smile lines and instead of doing a deep wonky one ive decided a gentle curve the easier option for now. Could someone help me with apex placement because im still baffled by this! I add a little more pink to zone 2 to create a nice curved shape without making them domed.

Alison,

I think you have done a good job here. Dont be afraid to file the sidewalls, use a kanga like Mrs Geek said and you will be fine.

With regards to getting apex critique, you will need to incluced a side and barrell shot as well.

Thank you for your comments, will correct the faults on her rebalance and post a side and barrel shot. Have booked on the Creative skillbuilding course so am very pleased with my progress so far. The lady was very pleased with them and im hoping she doesnt get lift cos of the width. Thanks again everyone. Ive learned loads on this site.