Since summer 2023, I’ve been obsessed with red nails – so much so that after an almost six-year manicure sabbatical, it was the first colour I reached for – and I have almost exclusively worn nothing but a red manicure.
While I used to only wear Barry M, after a nail infection left me with a weird-looking nail (it’s never fully recovered despite me completing a few rounds of antibiotics), I’ve been exploring other brands, namely Essie. Right now, I’m oscillating between Rock the Runway and Lady in Red and tend to wear them back-to-back – although I do try to go a couple of weeks between manicures so that my nails can breathe.
I don’t know about you but there’s something so perfect about a red manicure. For the longest time, I used to be afraid of red, and even though I had worn a plethora of other colours (literally everything from grey to pink to brown), red was always the only colour I didn’t go near. But then something happened and I got hooked on the fiery hue.
My love for the shade obviously never went away because why, after nearly six years when I decided it was time to start wearing nail varnish again, did I order the Essie Gel Couture Lady in Red and Rock the Runway in quick succession and not look back? As I mentioned before, I’ve had these on my nails since last summer, and I absolutely love the feeling wearing these colours gives me. I feel sexy, I feel confident, I feel good, and unlike anything I’ve ever felt wearing other colours.
My red manicure wishlist
Though I’ve been loyal to Essie for the last couple of months, I’ve noticed that my nails break and split quite often so I’m not 100% convinced that Essie is the nail varnish brand for me. However, in my search for a nail-strengthening treatment, I came across Nails Inc., a mainstay in the manicure world, and have been loving their Back to Life and Glow and Grow nail repair varnishes, which I wear when I’m in between manicures. Because their products put nail care at the forefront, I’ve been looking at some of their coloured polishes and have fallen in love with most of their red shades. Right now I’ve got my eye on the Nails Inc. Mayfair Made Me Do It, West End, Victoria & Albert and St James.
Check out some of my previous manicures from before my nail infection. And for more manicure content, follow me on TikTok because I post my nail varnish updates there.
alice
xo
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