Matte Finish(ed)

Ever since the Boston Globe predicted matte finish nails as one of the season's hot new trends, I've been curious--and doubtful. Why matte finish? Isn't part of a manicure's allure that shiny, polished look? Take that away, and what's left? Well, last night I had the opportunity to find out...

Needing to replenish my supply of Black Satin Nail Colour, I detoured to the Chanel counter at Nordstrom on my ride home from work--to no avail (it was out). For the sake of free shipping, I ordered my polish then and there, but in the meantime, my nails needed a plan B. I headed towards Sephora, since I'm all about OPI for Sephora these days. Being mentally prepared for black nails, I was forced to choose my own adventure: (1) Go for another bottle of black, even though my favorite polish was already paid for and en route to my house; OR (2) Act like a grown-up and pick a different color. Fortunately for this indecisive fashionista, the choice was an easy one, thanks to Sephora by OPI's Matte Nail Colour Collection--and specifically What's A Tire Jack?, their limited edition shade of matte black. According to Sephora, matte polish is a nail-color trend for fashion-forward manicure mavens. Was I such a maven?--obviously a question that needed an answer.

If you're unfamiliar with matte polish, then you should know that it is not intended to be worn with either a base coat or a top coat (gasp!). Nor is it intended to last as long as your standard polish (eyebrow raise?). Nonetheless, I was willing to try it. And after an exhaustive DIY spa regime, ten fingers and ten toes were impeccably matted.

The verdict? Unless I'm the only weird, artsy, fashion freak in the room, then perhaps you remember painting your fingernails with actual paint when you were a child--you know, when you were distracted during art class or something? Shockingly, this has the same effect. All the shine and snap of your standard manicure is reduced to the look of gloss-less paint. Sephora's website claims that matte nail color is not for everyone--further explaining that it is for the woman who likes to lead instead of follow and who wants to make a daring fashion statement. I would agree, but only if your definition of daring is "I want my nails to look like I scraped paint off the wall."

Needless to say, I'm not loving it. I'm just hoping my Black Satin arrives with some serious quickness, before people start thinking the recession has me resorting to Crayola paint instead of grown-up polish. Consider this fashionista matte finish(ed).

Image: black matte nails, photo from the August 27, 2009 Boston Globe article, Four fall fashion trends you can live with by Hayley Kaufman. Information from Sephora, online at www.sephora.com.