The product: Burberry Nail Polish in Poppy Black (No.299)
I’ve never been able to wear nail polish.
I remember the first time I put it on. I was maybe 11 or 12, painting my nails a pearlescent nude-pink from L’Oreal at our old kitchen table with my aunt. She was a vision of glamour in my preteen eyes: tanned and beautiful, with a magazine smile and the most perfect honey-brown hair you’ve ever seen. I wanted to live in her skin. I wanted to look that comfortable.
But I also remember the way the polish felt on my fingers. Like I was suffocating from my nail beds; like they were were heavy and I was wrapped in thick cotton.
The Burberry Nail Polish formula
I’ve painted my nails a lot since then. I’ve done a lot of things since then: got braces, graduated from high school, had sex. A lot of it was for theNotice; some of it was just for me. I’ve painted my nails enough to know which brands I love, and enough to know it doesn’t feel right.
Until today.
Burberry Poppy Black ($23 USD/$25 CAD) feels right. It feels like an adornment instead of a disguise. It’s partially because it’s Burberry, I think: there’s something unquestionably luxurious about wearing expensive nail polish; a treat that’s truly just for you. To everyone else, it just looks good. To you, you know that you spent those extra few dollars just to make your life easier. (Because let’s be honest. Drugstore brands are great, but nothing applies like an expensive nail polish.)
The Burberry Nail Polish formula is glossy and rich; free of toluene, DBP, and formaldehyde. The brush has a rounded edge, and each shade is opaque in one or two coats. They last for days: I never notice chipping until five days later, even without a base coat or a top coat.
The magic of Burberry Poppy Black
But it’s a little more than that, too. I own a few Burberry polishes, and they never disappoint, but I don’t feel at home in the others.
Burberry Poppy Black is different. Black polish from a luxury brand is a lovely little anomaly: too punk to be classy, but prestige enough that there must be some degree of intentionality. It feels at home here – heavy, never suffocating. And textbook perfect on short nails; combatively gender-fluid in a subversive way that doesn’t often become a topic of discussion. It’s good with a topcoat, as I’ve shot it here, but I prefer it without. (Its glossy finish is always smoother alone.)
My little bottle of Burberry Poppy Black is my girl-disguise, my quiet attention-grabber. It’s just what I want: you, looking near me.
Availability: $23 USD/$25 CAD at Burberry, Net-A-Porter, and Nordstrom. Shades vary based on country and boutique.
Burberry Poppy Black Nail Polish is worn here with Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Tar Pit and Essie Top Coat. On cheeks: Charlotte Tilbury Bronze & Blush Glow.
