For as long as I can remember, I detested polishing my nails in any hue other than light pink or, a french manicure. I’m not exactly sure why this is, because it’s not that I didn’t like it on other people, and it’s not like nail color is permanent. Within a week it starts to chip away and, if you’re not happy with the color, you can take it off, no problem.

A few years ago, I decided it was time for a change. I started buying bold shades of pink, or, what I thought were bold, but in reality, they really weren’t. One day, I even decided that I wanted a shade of red. Of course, all of these colors were strictly for my toes…my fingers were reserved for the same colors as before, or more often than not, nothing at all. I told myself that I would never get anything extremely dark; I didn’t want the color to be mistaken for black, or me to be mistaken for something other than who I was…people tend to sometimes look at you differently if you are wearing black nail polish. And also, I felt that it was rather goth.

About a year ago, my friend Melissa and I stumbled upon a shade that would forever change my thoughts on nail color. It wasn’t a shade of pink or red, but brown; a dark brown to be exact. I love the color brown, but I never had thought of wearing it on my nails. I told myself that if I didn’t like it, I could take it off right away. So, I polished my toes with it and instantly, I fell in love. It became my go-to polish for my toes. I even wore it through the summer, despite the fact that that is the season for bright colors.

Then, a little over a month ago, I was at the salon with R and Z, and we were searching through polishes to choose colors for manicures. I automatically migrated towards the light pinks, but something told me to look at the rest of the colors. As I was searching, I found my brown (little brown dress, Essie) and considered if I should try it on my fingers. I went back-and-forth for a few minutes and ultimately decided that I was going to do it. It was time for a change…and I have been polishing my fingers with it ever since.