nails - The Seventh Sphinx

verdigris, n. a bright bluish-green encrustation or patina formed on copper or brass by atmospheric oxidation, consisting of basic copper carbonate.

I’ve been wanting to collaborate with indie Cambridge nail salon Wet Paint Nail Spa for a while. Michelle, the owner, is a seriously talented nail technician, with the curiosity and creativity displayed by the best artists in every medium. I’ll definitely be featuring more of her work in the future. If you are in the Boston area I cannot recommend this salon highly enough, the other technicians are wonderful as well.

I asked her to create a look inspired by my snakeskin clutch and makeup bag and she designed this incredible verdigris manicure, mimicking oxidized copper and at the same time reminding me of gorgeous reptilian eyes. I love every shade of copper…really all warm metallics (as evidenced by my recent eyeshadow post), and could not be more pleased with how it turned out.

This is two coats of acrylic paint (paint! Not nail polish, painted on with a paint brush! Which I will not be trying at home.) dusted with a glittery green pigment from CND. Topcoat and basecoat from DazzleDry, both of which I am so impressed with (really quick drying) and plan to pick up immediately.

Longtime readers will remember my beloved python clutch. The teal one above is from the same Etsy shop, linmade.

Like the tarnished silver of the amber ring with this tarnished copper manicure. I’d been wanting my nails painted for weeks (they are often bare but I crave the decoration once in a while) and now it’s a constant, beautiful distraction.

Freshwater pearl ring from Pearl Paradise, which is having their Mother’s Day sale at the moment…

Zoya’s Blu nail polish is just what I hoped it would be, a pale powder blue with the barest hint of lavender, opaque in two coats.

You know how you can be drawn to shades of polish you wouldn’t really consider in any other wearable life category? Not that I’m virulently against powder blue but I don’t own anything else in this shade, hardly anything that could be considered pastel at all, and that’s not a coincidence.

Michael Kors open arrow ring, other rings…

In the land of nail polish, though, suddenly an entire different set of criteria seems to be at work. The touch of lavender makes the blue pop against my olive skin, the pale, opaque color pops on the hand as white would, but in a softer, more intriguing manner than straight white. I’m not certain why this doesn’t convert me to the shade all around…but it doesn’t. Though maybe it should?

Nails, like shoes, are a style zone of their own, with bold colors and patterns not at all unusual, even arguably boring, now, with a demand for more and more creative designs to catch the eye of the machine of cultural interest. I appreciate this, though I wish this trend would spread to more and more categories. Which it is, I think, spreading…but, you know, I wish it were faster.

Vintage beaded clutch

Full marks to this shade for being pigmented enough (not too close to white) to pair well with every white accessory ever.

Category: nails

the verdigris mani

powder blu