Question time. Who remembers that poem we had to read and analyse in school about the woman who decides to paint her nails red, and then goes on to explain her various reasons?
I’ve painted my nails various shades of red over the years, but it wasn’t until I did this particular manicure that the poem started ringing through my brain and memories came back to me. Now, I wasn’t exactly filled with as much passion as the speaker in the poem was, but something about painting my nails red this time really struck a chord with me.
Like I just said, I’ve painted my nails various shades of red over years, but it took me a while to work up the courage to try the colour. At first I started with darker shades, afraid that the brighter shades wouldn’t suit my dark skin and that it’d look weird. It actually wasn’t until very recently (probably in the last two years) that I finally branched out and bought a REAL red shade and actually tried it. True to my original thoughts, the first time I tried the bright red shade, I wasn’t comfortable and wanted to remove the polish asap. But then a few days in, I noticed something quite interesting. I absolutely LOVED the colour and realised it suited my perfectly.
Since starting this blog (and as a Black woman) I’ve started paying more attention to beauty trends, articles and basically anything beauty and makeup related especially if it involves what colours Black women can and can’t wear (as well as what colours supposedly do and don’t look good on us). I don’t know what first scared me out of wearing red nails, but I do know that I wish there had been a dark skinned girl out there that I could have seen rocking such a bright colour. While this blog may be small for now, I hope that at least one Black girl (or any girl too shy to try something other than nude and neutral shades) out there will see these pictures and see that they too can try a bright and bold manicure, and not to be afraid of wearing red.
And for those of you unfamiliar with the poem, check it out below.
Because of a bit of color is a public service.
Because I am proud of my hands.
Because it will remind me I’m a woman.
Because I will look like a survivor.
Because I can admire them in the mirror.
Because my daughter will say ugh.
Because my lover will be surprised.
Because it is quicker than dyeing my hair.
Because it is a ten-minute moratorium.
Because it is reversible.
Sidebar: Even though I feel this way about nail varnish, I feel weird about wearing crazy colours (i.e. anything that’s not nude/neutral) on my face. Does that me hypocritical? Or just plain inconsistent? #questionoftheday
alice
xo
