Still bashful over the new toes in deep pink, I decided to expand my color collection. After reading much about this, I couldn't quite grasp what nail polish tones are considered "manly." Odd paradox. A popular link seemed to be Manglaze, which are matte colors offered in only 2 tones, black and grey. This is one of few, if not the only brand to directly market to men. It is aimed for the rocker or punk folks. Cool! Rock on. I guess there was a brand by Hard Candy directed at men with funky macho names that didn't do so well and is no longer available.
For me, part of the allure to nail polish is the polish part of it. I love seeing my piggies smooth and shiny, reflecting the busy world around me. They especially look fantastic out in the open sunlight wearing my favorite pair of sandals or flip-flops. There is a marked difference between artificial lighting and sunlight when it comes to the brightness of your chosen color. I've found that there's even a difference between the apparent color of the polish at the store, in different parts of the house, and actually once unleashed onto your toes. I'm still figuring it out.
As my wife's collection was limited to mostly pink shades, I decided that I needed more choices. I was shopping at Nordstrom Rack and found my next adventure. I have since lost the bottle so I can't recall the brand or my wife hid it from me in a gesture of discouragement. Sultry was its name. It was a beautiful maroon that contrasted well with my light skin and well groomed feet. I wore it through the Phoenix airport without much fuzz, not that I expected any. Not before long, I was already wondering what color to feed my piggies as they got a taste for the polish. Something redder would be nice, I thought. I finally found time to visit a local beauty supply store. It was in midday as I had gotten out of work early and nobody was in the store except for the two employees. I walked around a little bit hoping to find the nail polish section right away, hastily pick a color, and pretend it's for someone else. I had no idea how much stuff they sell there and many of the items I didn't even dare guess at its intended purpose. One of the helpful girls promptly approached me with a "Can I help you find something?" greeting. I didn't have the balls to ask where the nail polish was so I had to think quickly. "Do you have a cuticle pusher?" I had read about getting one of these from an informative thread and figured that was a good start. Harmless. She showed me a variety of pushers, from the cheap wooden stick version to the german surgical grade type. Ahhh! Surgical grade. Must have it, much in the same way a guy goes into the hardware store to get a screwdriver and comes out with an air compressor and a dozen other power tools just to change a lightbulb. Once I picked one, not realizing they came in different widths and different scrapers on the other end, I moved along and shook the girl off. I browsed the aisles and walked purposely past by the nail polish display. Bingo! My adrenaline sped up my ticker two notches. Now I'm by the file section and must work my way back to all those little precious bottles of OPI. Of course it had to be right by the counter where the girls were chatting. I checked out a few low grade files, let my heart catch up, then walked over to where I wanted to go in the first place. So many colors to choose from and luckily displayed in a kind of color gradient pattern with lights on the left upper corner and darks on the right lower end. I only looked at the reds and maroons and fiddled with some bottles nervously. Vodka and Caviar was too far on the left side to consider at this time. I inched a few bottles down the spectrum and found Quarter of a Cent. It seemed to be well placed between a bright red and a light maroon. I"ll take it, along with a bottle of clear nail strengthener, which at the time I thought was top coat but didn't have a clear mind to know better. No loss though since it served as base coat and top coat quite well thus far.
I've enjoyed my new red and took it out for a spin at the mall. A pair of teen boys laughed at it but I didn't value their reaction at all. It makes me happy, which is the main reason I do it. Imagine if you could change the color of your sleek sports car every week or so. How awesome would that be?
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