Cherry Red Nail Polish

I’ve spent the past week meandering between the bed and my couch in various states of annoyance, frustration, and exhaustion. I got a naughty, persistent cold watching Krampus last week and it bugged me that I was feeling so meh. Instead of playing with the other kids at various X-Mas markets, I had to stay home while my body threw out its uninvited guest. Grr!

Fortunately, I’m on the mend now.

Do you know that feeling, when you’ve been out of commission for a bit and finally your body signals to you that - yes! - it’s ready to participate in the world again?

I got that today. Hooray!

So, I took a long shower and scrubbed off the malaise of the past days.

When you’re not so well, you descend into this state of piratedom, where - sensibly so! - your appearance is just less and less of a concern. Feeling at least gross-adjacent seems to be part of the package. Or, at least I’ve yet to manage being glamorous with a flu.

[Sidenote: This reminds me of an InStyle interview with Celine Dion I read in high school, where the author described that she had a cold, was dressed to the nines, and wearing strappy sandals to her interviews. Then again, when you do public facing work, looking part is part of the parcel. Either way, it seems to have made an impression on me, because I can still remember it 20 years later. Imagine being the person who has the sniffles and casually floats to the front door in slippers with feathers and an oversized silk robe breathing: “But daaaaaahling, it is lovely to see you.” Certainly elegant…]

-back to topic-

How glorious is it when you awake from your viral slumber to rejoin the fun of the world again?

I wanted to bask in this feeling and put on some tinted lip balm and mascara, a cozy cashmere men’s sweater I recently got (just the right amount of oversized), and decided to paint my finger nails in a lovely X-Mas red.

Here’s the result. The left hand turned out better than the right one. Even after all these years of doing my own nails, full ambidexterity in my nail jobs eludes me.

I feel decidedly more ready to conquer the world again.

It’s often the small things we do for ourselves that can make a world of a difference. 

At the end of the day, some people may say these are all external frivolities. Clothes, makeup, nail polish - and talking about it…

And, it’s exactly these frivolities - indulging in playing with clothes, delighting in wanting to be pretty, and luxuriating in the smell of your favorite perfume - that add so much color and fun to our lives.

Enjoy them!

Have a lovely week,

Johanna

PS: A note on vegan vs. conventional nail polish

I experimented with vegan nail polishes a couple of years ago. While I appreciated the idea, I found the outcomes lacking - less durable and with a more cumbersome process of application.

I’ve now settled on using a clear, vegan, plant-based nail polish as a base coat and then use conventional nail polishes for whichever color I want to apply. This feels like a good compromise between wanting to be pretty and protecting my body from excess exposure to all sorts of chemicals.