So many moons ago, I fell in love with color. Probably when I was a tiny tot and my mother signed me up for art lessons at the Cleveland Museum of Art. And taking photography in high school opened up a whole new world for me. In college (I have a BFA in Photography from Syracuse University) I took my first color theory class and BOOM, my love for color was given the firmest of footings.

Fast forward to 45+ years later and I’m still a color fanatic. I’m ND and tend to do very deep dives into subjects, as my husband says “Laura never tiptoes into anything, she always leaps in with both feet.” And I do!

My latest obsession is nail polish and nail art. I first did my own nails years ago, back in the mid 1980’s, and boy have things changed since then! I moved away from doing my nails for a long time; having kids, moving to a farm, being busy with critters and work and gardening meant I didn’t have the time or the motivation to paint my nails.

And then came the pandemic. Covid changed so much in all our lives, and for me it meant pandemic hobbies, including baking sourdough bread (which is rather hilarious as I eat keto and as such don’t eat bread), and doing my nails. Really, the spark for it came the summer of 2020, when I went to my family’s beach house on the OBX. My mother always kept a collection of shimmery polish at the beach, just to do her toes. And that summer I decided to do mine in her memory. But most of it was old and crusty, so I went and got some more.

And that my friends, led me where I am now. I fell down the rabbit hole of indie nail polish, and nail stamping/art, and haven’t come up for air since. Polish lets me play with color in a way I’d never found before, and I love it! I started an Instagram account for my nailfies, look for me as @chromafae there. I also have a Facebook page under the same name.

I’m not an expert. I’m not a swatcher. I don’t get paid to post pics of the polish I use, with one exception every bottle of polish I’ve ever used has been bought and paid for by me. (I was sent a topper once that I never used and probably should and review, mea culpa on that.)

But I do think it’s important for the average polish user to review polish, as we’re the ones, who by virtue of our lack of being expert swatchers, are the ones who truly can provide insight on a given polish. Is it easy to use? How is the formula? Does it provide coverage with two coats or does it need three or more? If it’s a flakie does it need a special top coat to grab the glitter? And for me, one of the most important criteria; does the polish look like the pics on the website when I swatch it at home?

As a photog I know how difficult it can be to get accurate photos of polish. And I really appreciate when makers include photos on different skin tones and under different light sources, I think that’s really important. I also tend to avoid makers who have what I consider problematic views on social issues. I vote with my wallet, and if you have values that clash with mine, I won’t be buying your polish, it’s that simple.

As I go on with this blog I’ll be exploring lots of stuff, stop by every now and then to see what I’m thinking about and working on. And feel free to like my FB and Insta pages, I’m pretty good about follow backs. Thanks for stopping by!