There’s no better feeling than a fresh manicure: You feel like the best, most put-together version of yourself, even though all you did was shape and paint the little slice of keratin protein onto your nail bed. It’s fun, but usually expensive, to get your nails done at a salon. That’s what prompted Sarah Gibson Tuttle of Los Angeles–based salon Olive and June to teach everyone how to paint their nails successfully at home.
We’ve probably all had varying degrees of success when attempting an at-home manicure. Maybe it’s air bubbles, smudging, or just the inability to hold the brush steady with your non-dominant hand. Tuttle spent a year forgoing a salon manicure to really hone in on what kinds of tools and formulas you need to know to bring salon results home. The coolest thing she did was invent The Poppy, a universal ergonomic tool (it looks like a giant foam thumb) that you can put on the top of any of your nail polishes to help make it easier to paint your nail. It should help you get a better grip on the top of the brush, which will help steady your hand for a more controlled application. No more smudges or wobbles when it is time to “switch hands.”
In addition to The Poppy, there are seven soft nude shades of polish for you to try, all vegan and cruelty-free. They’re also designated as “7-free”, which is a way of classifying nail polishes that are free of potentially harmful ingredients, like formaldehyde and phthalates. Each nail polish is also named after one of Tuttle’s real life friends, like pastel lavender gray shade “Tara”. On the website, Tuttle writes, “I want to be Tara when I grow up. She’s always smiling, always spreading the love, and always goes for the chicest polish colors.” You can hang out with Tara, as well as Mandy (for Mandy Moore), Eva (for Eva Chen), Caroline, and the rest of the gang starting now.
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