Feb. 26, Feast of St. Porphyrius, bishop.
1 // Sephora by OPI in A True Romantic
2 // Sally Hansen Dry Kwik Nail Color Dryer
3 // essie in Butler Please
4 // Sephora by OPI in Green With Envy
5 // Sephora by OPI in Break a Leg-Warmer
Let's be honest here: I don't make nail polishing a regular thing, but I'm starting to think I ought to. Even the name suggests a sort of tying-up and patting-down, the finishing touch of a well-put-together woman ("She's so polished, right down to her nails!"). I like the idea of old Hollywood glamour, making a certain amount of ceremony part the everyday. My father's raised me on the black-and-white dramas of Greta Garbo and later Katherine Hepburn, who wore trousers with a bored look that said, "Why yes, I do ride." Back then, the average woman might have a use for an evening gown without having to enter a beauty pageant. You had to think about it before going somewhere. It took planning. You couldn't just dash out the door. Not if you had to pin on a hat. And how elegant would it be to cast your gloves down on the hall table when you come home?
All dreaming aside, I thought my polishing days were over after I had a baby. But lo-and-behold, there is this awesome phenomenon (#2) that makes painting nails not too much more than an extra step in your bedtime routine. After applying the nail color of your choice, you wait a one minute before applying the Kwik Dry clear coat. After that, it dries within minutes. So much more practical than sitting in a salon. Like anyone has time (or money) for that!
The other polishes in my "collection" are ones I've had from years ago (told you I don't wear it often!) or that I've found at Big Lots for a dollar. The only one pictured above which I don't actually own is #4. Anyway, I like that they're subtlety spring without being Easter egg-pastel.
My fashionista baby sister swears by soft pink, and it looks nice on pretty much all skin types. Just as long as you avoid matching it exactly to your skin tone; that'll just blend in and wash you out. essie's Butler Please is TARDIS blue; kinda says spring in London to me--a traditional color with a fresh brightness that's not at all shy. OPI's Green with Envy is likewise fresh, without being sweet and simpering. And gray . . . I'm really liking gray nail polish right now. It's sophisticated without aging, and I think it's a good middle way between light and dark to transition well from winter to summer. I've also got a Sinful Colors in In the Mist, which is kind of gray, kind of dusty moss.
Pair one of these colors with Christy's bright lipstick and winter will be running for cover.
Do you wear nail polish? What's your favorite brand or go-to color?
Five Favorites is hosted at Moxie Wife.
Before I got pregnant with my first, I had a period of about 6 months to a year when I was just really not dealing with NFP well and just wanted to get the baby-show on the road. I dealt with it by doing things I thought I couldn't do once I had children... one of those things was have fun painting my nails in colors that a "mom" wouldn't wear. The entire month of March that year my nails were this dark jade green. Hah! Needless to say, I don't paint my nails terribly often but I have been getting back in the habit lately. I really like Sally Hansen's quick dry nail polish. I have it in a handful of colors. I'm thinking this weekend mint green is happening!
ReplyDeleteEvery time we're at Walmart, my green-obsessed three year old boy tries to chuck a bottle of green nail polish in the cart. With St. Patrick's Day coming up I may have to oblige him. :) Thanks for the rec on that kwik-dry coat!
ReplyDeleteHaha! "Why yes, I do ride!" I want that on a tshirt now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I own so many nail polishes and I don't consider myself a nail polish lover. But I do love colour so I think that's what sucks me in. Also; since Christmas I'd paint my nails while watching Downton every Sunday, partly because those first episodes were so boring, but it's kinda a habit now.
And thanks for the link ;)