Nailed
Bibi wearing Vanessa Sanchez McCullough’s nail art as featured in the HUE issue. Photo by The Laboratory
A condensed history of nail polish.
The exact date of when it all began cannot be pinpointed to a specific person or place but around approximately 3000 BC people were experimenting with coloring their nails.
As with most things to do with dress, class was involved. Colours denoted where you were in the pecking order. Kohl black nails for nobles and green for the common man. Archeologists at Ur of the Chaldees unearthed a solid gold vanity set along with other treasures. This was further confirmation that the Babylonian warriors would spend hours dressing for warfare, curling their hair and colouring their nails, in an effort to look frightening.
Relief of 'Ashurbanipal hunting on horseback. Nineveh, Assyria, 645–635 BC. Photo: British Museum
The most famous nail polish colours however have been attributed to the women who wore them. In Egypt, according to myth Queen Nefertiti used henna and blood to colour her nails a deep crimson. A royals only varnish.
When it was Cleopatra’s turn to rule, she also was the only person in her kingdom allowed to have red nails, coloured by dipping her fingers daily in henna.
Like Cleopatra, Rita Hayworth, the beautiful 1940s movie star favored red on screen and off.
Rita Hayworth's hands in the film Blood And Sand, 1941
The comedienne Joan Rivers famously made Essie’s “Jelly Apple” a sell out success in the 1980s when she mentioned it on-air and launched the brand in every woman’s imagination. Essie nail polish now sits in every salon to this day.
Uma Thurman carried the love affair of red nails further when she played the character Mia Wallace, with a 1990s darker version, Chanel’s Rouge Noir. This dramatic colour suited the vamp in the Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction.
Uma Thurman in Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’
Carolyn Bessette was running late on the fateful day of her plane crash with John F. Kennedy Jr. because she was having her nails repainted to match the exact shade of a swatch of fabric she had brought with her. The tragic and unforeseeable consequence of getting the perfect colour match was that all those who flew that day sadly perished.
On a happier note, Vanessa Sanchez McCullough is excited by the possibility of her small canvas. She is one of the worlds leading nail artists right now, pushing the limits of wearable art with exciting results.
Vanessa Sanchez McCullough backstage at work. photo courtesy of nailzbyvee
“Today people are no longer simply looking for just the perfect shade but they now strive to have the hottest, trendiest look on their nails.” explains Vanessa “Nail art has taken the fashion world by storm. This is true for both men and women.”
Billie Porter - Nails by Vanessa Sanchez McCullough, photo courtesy of nailzbyvee
“Whether it’s short nails with hand drawn images on each nail (Harry Styles), nails adorned with crystals or glass, (Billy Porter), or rich nails accented with foils and pigments (Lupita N’yongo or Idina Menzel), people are not just using jewelry to accessorize their wardrobe.” explains Vanessa.
Lupita N’yongo, nails by Vanessa Sanchez McCullough, photo courtesy of nailzbyvee
“They want to wow you from tips to toes. Nail art is the hottest accessory that speaks volumes.”
Vanessa is doing just that. She has nailed the wow factor.
Nails by Vanessa Sanchez McCullough, photo by The Laboratory as featured in the HUE issue.