Black-Owned Nail Press-Ons, Polish & Products To Use While Quarantined
This quarantine made me realize I've definitely been taking my salon trips for granted. Don't get me wrong, not getting my nails done isn't the worst thing in the world, but I definitely miss that fresh set feeling. Recently, we dropped an article on this site called "10 Press-On Nail Inspo To Get You Through Quarantine"; and now we're giving you the tea on who, what, and where to get the things you need to get your nails on track. And you already know, this list is going to be blackity-black-black!
Before I get into the list though, I have to say, I love the variety of black-owned businesses to shop. I mean to go from growing up without many black businesses to variety, our ancestors would be proud. While it's necessary to have businesses for us and by us, it's just as important to support them.
From press-on nails to nail growth products, here are some black-owned nail brands to use while in quarantine.
Nail Supplies & Wraps
bVAIN Nail Supply
First of all, you had me at the name. Vanity usually has some negative perception but this business wants to encourage you to take pride in your looks, especially your nails. bVAIN offers everything you need to enhance your nails like: charms, decorations, crystals, and more.
Power Nail Decals
If you're wondering what the heck is a nail decal, it's pretty much a sticker or gem that is applied to a portion of your nail. Power Nail Decals offer a variety of high-quality but affordable nail decals that highlight black culture one handshake at a time.
Press-Ons
ETN (EthereallyTouchedNails)™️
Ethereally Touched Nails is a luxury nail company based in the UK. Ethereally offers trendy and custom nail designs, from animal prints to ombre styles.
Complimenté Nails
Complimenté Nails offer a variety of vibrant gel color press-ons. Get into the spring/summer season with light and bright colors like this "Madame" red.
Precious Kreation
Precious Kreation creates a variety of custom nail options for your birthday, prom, etc. This LA-based nail company offers one-of-a-kind designs for every moment in your life.
Léluxx
If long nails are your thing, then I definitely recommend that you check out Leluxx Beauty. Their press-ons give you long chic but classy vibes. They offer long-length coffin, stiletto, and almond shaped nails in almost every design you can imagine.
Sassy Nails Studio
Sassy Nails are nothing short of its name. It's far from basic, this is for the girls who like to add sassiness to their nail design. Sassy Nails offers high quality custom multi-design press-ons, plus the option to make your own.
Glam NailZ
Glam NailZ offers a variety of affordable glam-worthy press-ons and accessories for those who like both an edgy and natural look.
Nail Polish
Law Beauty Essentials
LAW Beauty Essentials is a luxury nail polish line that's innovative and eco-friendly. Their pigments are high shine, chip-resistant and 13-free and cruelty-free, meaning no animal testing or harsh chemicals.
LaPierre Cosmetics
LaPierre is a luxury nail polish brand that embodies elegance and class. Their polishes are free of harmful ingredients so you don't have to put your health over beauty.
Rooted Woman
Rooted Woman bridges nail care and self-care together. It's a non-toxic, ethical nail brand that offers treatments to promote radical self-care for women.
POLISHED BY PRETTI
Polished by Pretti offers acrylic nail powders in a variety of colors, nail cuticle oil, and press-on nails. Polished by Pretti gives a very girly and trendy look for your nails.
Triple O Nail Polish
Triple O Nail Polish is dedicated to inclusivity. They provide imagery, nail lacquers and gel polishes for underrepresented skin tones so no color is off limits. Their mission is to inspire people to explore beauty that is relatable.
Breukelen Polished
Breukelen is a luxury vegan nail polish brand straight out of Brooklyn. They cater to the health conscious who isn't afraid to own their dopeness.
Kaeess Nail Polish
Kaeess Nail Polish empowers everyone to break boundaries through color and self-expression. This brand was created to be diverse and empower those who are boxed in and want an outlet to express themselves through subtle yet bold color art.
People of Color™ Beauty
People of Color Beauty offers quality and vegan-friendly nail polish that represent everyone who lives in and loves color. One of their main missions is to represent People of Color and the various shades of brown skin when curating our nail polish collections.
Pear Nova
Pear Nova is the perfect mix of function and fancy and is committed to celebrating the strength and beauty of women everywhere. Pear Nova is cruelty-free, vegan-friendly and 5-free, which means — no harmful ingredients.
Mischo Beauty
Mischo Beauty nail lacquers are vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, gluten-free, and free of artificial fragrances and ingredients. Mischo offers over 16 soft and very pigmented nail lacquers.
Nail Growth
Woo Me Beauty
Woo Me Beauty offers a nail growth nail serum made with all-natural ingredients like Olive Oil, Biotin Oil, garlic, and Vitamin E Oil. The nail serum claims to transform brittle and fragile nails that refuse to grow into strong healthy nails.
Nail Gel System
Pottle
The Pottle offers a variety of nail care systems for you to get the most out of your nail design like the Ebony and Ivory set. This set inspires more DIY projects and allows you to create your own colors and creations. They also offer healthy gel nail alternatives.
Featured image via LaPierre Cosmetics/Instagram
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Freelance writer, content creator, and traveler. She enjoys the beauty of simplicity, a peaceful life, and a big curly fro. Connect with Krissy on social media @iamkrissylewis or check out her blog at www.krissylewis.com.
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Why Do Millennials & Gen-Zers Still Feel Like Teenagers? The Pandemic Might Be The Reason.
There’s nothing quite as humbling as navigating adulthood with no instruction manual. Since the turn of the decade, it seems like everything in our society that could go wrong has, inevitably, gone wrong. From the global pandemic, our crippling student debt problem, the loneliness crisis, layoffs, global warming, recession, and not to mention figuring out what to eat for dinner every night. This constant state of uncertainty has many of us wondering, when are the grown-ups coming to fix all of this?
But the catch is, we are the new grown-ups.
As if it happened without our permission, we became the new adults. We are the members of society who are paying taxes, having children, getting married, and keeping our communities afloat, one iced latte at a time. Still, there’s something about doing all these grown-up duties that feel unnaturally grown-up. Enter the #teenagegirlinher20s.
If there’s one hashtag to give you the state of the next cohort of adults, it’s this one. Of the videos that have garnered over 3.9M views, you’ll find a collection of users who are overwhelmed by life’s pressing existential responsibilities, clung to nostalgia, and reminiscent of the days when their mom and dad took care of their insurance plans.
@charlies444ngel no like i cant explain to her why i had to buy multiple tank air dupes from aritzia #teenagegirlinher20s #fyp
The concept of being a 20-something or 30-something teenager is linked to the sentiment of not feeling “grown up enough” to do grown-up things while feeling underprepared and even nihilistic about whether that preparation even matters.
It’s our generation’s version of when we ask our grandmothers how old they are and they simply reply with, “I still feel 45,” all while being every bit of 76 years old. In this, we share a warped concept of time while clinging to a desire for infantilization.
Granted, the pandemic did a number on our concept of time. Many of us who started the pandemic in our early or mid-20s missed out on three fundamental years of socialization, career development, and personal milestones that traditionally help to mark our growth.
Our time to figure out and plan our next steps through fumbling yet active participation was put on pause indefinitely and then resumed provisionally. This in turn has left many of us hanging in the balance of uncertainty as we try to make sense of the disconnect between our minds and bodies in this missing gap of time.
Because we’re all still figuring out what the ramifications of being locked away and frozen in time by a global pandemic will have on us as a society, there really is no “right” way of making up for lost time. Feeling unprepared for any new chapter of life is a natural rite of passage, pandemic or not. However, it’s important to not stay stuck in the last age or period of life that made sense to us because self-growth is the truest evidence of personal progress.
So whether you’re leaning on your inner child, teenager, or 20-something for guidance as you fill the gap between your real age and pandemic age, know that it’s okay to grieve the person you thought you would be and the milestones you thought you’d hit before you ever knew what a pandemic was. If there’s anything that the pandemic taught us, it’s that we have the power to reimagine a better world and life for ourselves. And if we tap into our inner teenager as a compass, we can piece together our next chapter with a fresh outlook.
Sure, we’ve lost a couple of years, but there are still some really amazing ones ahead.
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Featured image by Stephen Zeigler/Getty Images
