Nails

The one time I visited France was part of a whirlwind European vacation with El Hub before we got married, and we rode the rails to get around, hustling from train station to train station in performance fleece and flannel.

I must have looked more like a hobo than a fashionable girl, burdened by the weight of my big red backpack, as I passed perfectly put-together French women on the streets, them with their scarves and perfume; me with my maps and dirty laundry.

I tried to soak up as much proximity glamor as possible, a feat I believe is also possible by osmosis, even though there’s very little (read: no) scientific evidence to back it up. (Persnickety science fun fact: technically it would probably be glamor through diffusion, not osmosis, since osmosis refers specifically to the movement of water molecules from a higher to lower concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.)

That trip was six years ago, and now my French glamor/glamour reserves are running dangerously low (like low-rise jeans for men), and it could be kismet that the Essie French Affair collection and I met at this intersection of my so-called life.

I’m told that Essie Weingarten, founder and president of the brand, was inspired to create the six limited edition polishes by actress Brigitte Bardot, the scorchingly hot French ’60s sex symbol and former French fashion model.

“I think every woman has a little Brigitte Bardot in her,” Weingarten said, “and this palette coaxes her out!”

Essie French Affair Polishes from the left: French Affair, Nice is Nice and Coate Azure

Sand Tropez; Topless and Barefoot; and Kisses and Bises
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