Fingers Crossed — Jezebel's Cherry Blossom Nails

My gals at Jezebel posted one of their favorite nail polish colors for Spring, and I couldn't agree more.

Here's a great swatch of Essie Go Ginza. I really encourage you to check out Beauty Junkies Unite; they've got swatches of the entire Essie Spring 2013 collection. I'm loving Bond With Whomever, too...

Oh, Essie. I have a soft spot for Essie mainly because:

1. When I got my first professional manicure at the tender age of 14, my glamorous stepmother took me to a posh salon — in Darien, Connecticut, no less. Bouge to the bouge. It was at this salon that I encountered bottles of Essie for the first time. I liked the square bottles, I loved the logo embossed in glass along the side and...
2. My childhood nickname was Chessie. Never Fran, and certainly not Frannie. Oftentimes Chess. So I liked to pretend that it was (Ch)essie nail polish. Still do.

But despite these legitimate and heartwarming reasons, I hate painting with Essie. Love the colors, love the logo, love the name... hate the brush. I absolutely hate it. So tiny, barely spreads... It's enough of a disappointment to steer me in the direction of a dupe whenever I can.

So if there are any readers who also hate the Essie brush, may I suggest OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender? You'll get a very similar color (albeit not exactly a dupe) that will go on much more smoothly.

xxo, Francesca

Fingers Crossed — Jezebel on "Nail Art, the Last Bastion of Female-Centric Beauty"

Jezebel's posted another great opinion piece on nail art. Allow me to cross-post.

Tracie eloquently describes one of the top reasons I love nail polish:

[Nail polish] might just be the only form of primping and grooming that isn't rooted in making oneself more appealing to men or exploiting women's insecurities. It transcends skin color and hair texture and face symmetry and body type. (Nobody ever says, "I look fat in these nails.") It's an aspect of beautification that circumvents any conspiracy theories of the patriarchy's hegemony because the patriarchy simply does not give a shit.

Agreed!

I tend to feel more comfortable about the relationship between women and makeup versus women and fashion. Makeup is an easy way for a woman to feel good about herself and celebrate her own face. Fashion can veer off into territories that can bring down self-esteem; certain fashions just aren't for every body type, or for every budget, or for every weight.

But makeup isn't without its shadowside, either. For example, too much makeup can send a negative message... and yet the concept of what is and isn't "too much" is, generally speaking, very subjective. And then there's the fact that society expects women, particularly professional women, to wear at least some — and if you don't, that sends a message too. I think we've all had days where we head off to work, or out and about, and opt to skip makeup for once, and co-workers/friends say, "Oh ____! Are you feeling okay? You look a little sick."

Nope! This is just my face sans war paint! Mmm, awkward...

Nail polish is an element of beauty and grooming that, like Tracie said, transcends body type, and it's free from the Cosmo-esque "how to look sexy tonight" directive.

Nail polish can be cheap and easy, or it can be indulgent and detailed. You wear it, not the other way around. It can be whatever you want it to be — so you can do whatever you want to do.

xx, Francesca

Fingers Crossed — Jezebel's Olympic Nail Art Roundup

Happy Friday, Polishment pals! You know I have such a soft spot for Jezebel. They've got a great compendium of all things NAILZ from the Olympics thus far. Click the pic to check it out!

Have a great weekend!

xx, Francesca

P.S. These are my favorites! What about you?

Snakeskin Nailz. /shudder

Hello again! It's a big news day for nails, evidently.

Check out my beloved Jezebel's post on a spine-chilling "trend": snakeskin nailz.

Horrified, GLOSS

P.S. Very tempted to promote Polishment in the comments section, but that's grounds for banning. ;_;

P.P.S. But perhaps not in Groupthink? WELCOME JEZZIES!! :D