When dressing for work, I tend to err on the conservative side. When I feel crazy, I will omit a blazer/ full suit for nice pants/ a pencil skirt and a – sometimes even colourful – cardigan every now and then (especially in summer when my chance of client contact is zero).
However, I’m not one of those fashionable women that are able to create stylish outfits from a minimal wardrobe without any (visible) effort. I also haven’t been brave enough to own the bright lippie (mind you, I do own several, but don’t actually wear them that often and definitely not to work).
That’s not to say that I don’t do colours though. I do. On my nails. There, I will wear any shade that strikes my current fancy.
In my bathroom cupboard there is a veritable collection of little bottles of many shades and colours and I’ve given in to somewhat organising them by using a wheel to keep track of the hues I already have. Lately, I have been able to detect growth in the pink/ lilac/ nude department – also, because I “had my colours done” last December, was told I was a Summer and to get rid of everything brown/ khaki/ orange/ etc. Having said that, I’m still holding on to Essie’s Braziliant.
My favourite brands have been Essie and essence, followed by Catrice. I have not yet tried any of the high-end polishes (such as Chanel, Dior, YSL) because I’m too stingy to spend over € 20 on a tiny bottle of nail polish and have not worn nor will ever wear gel nails.
My preferred products convince me by their colours, how easily they are applied and how long they last. To me, the best top coat in the world is essence‘s Better than gel nails. It’s cheap (less than € 3) and effective: I spend most of my work day hacking away at a keyboard and – whenever I take the time and allow the layers dry properly – the colours won’t show any tip wear for at least three days. Brilliant!
To me, putting on nail polish poses a relaxing pastime. I will often sit on the couch in the evening, painting on the latest colour, which will often not necessarily be the latest colour I bought, but more often the colour I recently rediscovered in one of the two Glossybox boxes they’re housed in. Interestingly, I will normally only paint my finger nails. My toes are usually covered in socks because I am always cold and therefore my toe nails will rarely receive any colour-tlc.
Now that I’ve started on my vegan journey, I will of course move to animal-friendly (and less toxic) brands in the future, even though this will mean I’ll have to give up on Essie.
Unfortunately, also my much-loved Cosnova brands (essence, Catrice) aren’t vegan either, so in the future I’ll switch to others such as Spa Ritual, elf, Butter London, NCLA, American Apparel and Zoya.
Of those, Spa Ritual, elf and Zoya are also non-toxic (do not contain formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate – DBP and toluene), as are most shades of Butter London. A big yay for vegan, non-toxic nail polish!
If you’re ever wondering what I’m wearing, you will regularly find my latest hue on Instagram.
How do you show colour in your job? Any other nail polish-junkies out there?
