I have a confession: I spent $65 on a salon pop art manicure last spring, walked out feeling like a walking Roy Lichtenstein painting, and then watched two of the outlines chip by Tuesday. That’s not the salon’s fault — that’s what happens when you put black linework on a curved surface and then use…
I have a very distinct memory of sitting in a nail salon in 2019, looking at a swatch of “neon pink” that looked less like a fun pop of color and more like the inside of a Stabilo highlighter. I politely asked for something else and ended up with a muddy coral that I hated…
I have what my nail tech gently calls “stubby nail beds.” It’s not a compliment. I spent years watching long almond nails on Instagram and thinking short summer nails just weren’t for me — like the whole category existed for people with naturally elegant fingers and unlimited time. Then my friend Dani got a micro-French…
I have a confession: I spent the better part of 2022 trying to find a pink nail polish that didn’t make my hands look like I’d just handled raw chicken. It’s surprisingly hard. Pink is one of those colors that can go wrong so fast—too pastel and it washes you out, too neon and it…
I’ll be real with you: I didn’t think I was a “pumpkin nail” person. My nails are short, my cuticles are a disaster in October, and every year I screenshot a dozen designs I never attempt. But last fall, my friend Priya showed up to a dinner party with these tiny hand-painted pumpkins on a…
I have a confession. For about three years straight, my manicure rotation was chrome, chrome, and more chrome. If it didn’t reflect light like a disco ball, I wasn’t interested. Then my friend Priya showed up to brunch with what looked like a tiny piece of vintage jewelry on each finger — warm amber swirls,…
I used to think fall nail designs meant one of two things: a basic burgundy you could find at any drugstore, or some elaborate leaf-art situation that took three hours and cost more than my electric bill. Then I started paying attention to what was actually happening in salons and on my own Pinterest feed,…
I used to think winter nails meant one of two things: boring glitter French tips, or some Pinterest-perfect snowflake design that took my nail tech forty-five minutes and still chipped by Thursday. It wasn’t until my friend Diane showed up to our December coffee catch-up with this deep plum almost-black manicure with the tiniest hint…
I’ll be honest with you: I resisted the chrome nail thing for way too long. I blamed it on my job — I type all day, I cook most nights, I am not gentle on my hands — and I convinced myself that a mirror finish was something only people with nail tech money and…
I almost didn’t repaint my nails this January. I had a half-chipped gel manicure left over from New Year’s Eve — glitter tips, obviously — and I figured I’d just ride it out until February. Then my friend Rosa sent me a picture of her nails from a salon appointment she’d booked on a whim,…