'You should never have chipped nail polish.
Either it looks good or you don't wear it'
Those words belong to a friend of mine's old friend. I have never met this person, but I imagine her being a very well-put-together woman, with soft white hair tied up in a bun, a simple string of pearls around her long neck and her hands resting on her lap. Perfect.
I thought a lot about these words, every time I looked at my hands, to be precise. See, my nails are never perfect. My nail polish is never not chipped. Sometimes it chips within the first hour of wearing it. I blamed the polish, the top coat, my impatience. But I don't think that's right. The thing is, I use my hands. They're in my hair when I'm thinking, in my mouth when I'm nervous. They restlessly run up and down my skin right there where a mosquito decided to leave a bite. They tap on every surface, slide on every cheek. They go through water and dirt and flaky lips. They are covered now in ink and now in soap. And in this vortex of skin and walls and paint, some nail polish gets lost. It's the sacrifice that my life requires, and I'm not mad about it.
So I decided to start this series to celebrate the beauty of chipped nails. The beauty of slightly faded eyeliner after a night out and messy hair after a rough morning. The beauty of something that's not perfect, because life got in the way.
Here I'm wearing L'Orèal Hypnotic Red, a beautiful deep red and a dupe for Essie's Wicked. Two coats, chipped.
rimmel 60 seconds » WHITE HOT LOVE
White is beautiful: I love it in the Summer and I love it in the Winter. Crisp white boyfriend shirts and chunky ivory knitted sweaters are currently filling my dreams, but a good way to incorporate the lightest shade into your look is by putting it onto your nails, which is something I'm loving at the moment.
I know some people can find white nails a bit OTT, though, so here's a quick guide on how to rock them without falling into the kitsch hole.
» THE RIGHT LENGHT
With such a statement block color the length of your nails is really important: too short can make your fingers look a bit stubby, while too long may not appear very classy. File or grow your nails so that they maximum stick out of your fingertips of one mm, this way white will elongate your fingers and you'll have a very classy look.
» DARE TO SQUARE
To me, iron shape nails + white polish = Ariana Grande. If the Break Free's singer is not your number one style icon, you can keep everything a bit more subtle and elegant by opting for a more natural nail shape, like square.
» THE MATTE EFFECT
If you want to make your alabaster talons appear a bit more modern and interesting, there is nothing better than a matte top coat. Perfect to refresh Summer pastels and subtle your look even more, it will add a unique twist to your snow colored nails.
If you think about mint green nail polish I bet Essie Mint Candy Apple is gonna pop into your mind straight away, but that 10€ price tag was something i really couldn't get over and so I never got the pleasure to add it to my collection. As the color was getting everyone's obsession, though, a millions variations of mint green polishes started popping up everywhere: here's (as
Jack&Dean would say) the good, the bad and the just plain options you're offered.
I'm so exhausted. Yesterday I went to Rome to do a bit of shopping and it was very stressful. Obviously, I bought EVERYTHING that wasn't on sale, I had Coke and blackberries for lunch and was almost attacked by a girl that wanted my pennies. And please let's not talk about that weird fortysomething man that randomly told me 'Hello, how is it going?' while I was eating. Awkward.
Anyway, here's what I bought:
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