Cutex introduced the first commercial nail polish in 1916. Amazingly, the formula was derived from nitrocellulose, a chemical used in automotive paint, another new innovation of the time. Before this, people made do with henna, or concoctions of wax, egg whites, and gelatine. No longer! A new kind of beauty salon was born, and a new way of highlighting a mundane part of the human body. The trend was given a strong push by the Hollywood film industry and its attending glamour, and the manicure (as well as the pedicure) became a must for the fashion-conscious woman.
Early colors were fairly factual and only a little exotic in their description, such as Cutex’s Orange Crush and Chen-Yu’s Dragon Plum. When French company Revlon entered the business, however, names became more fanciful, like the classic Cherries in the Snow and Love That Red. The latter marks the point at which the name began to serve more to intrigue than to describe. What is the shade of the red in Love That Red? Is it a brick red, a fire engine red, what? We only know that we love it, and that everyone else does too. That was enough.
Today’s colors named by giants Essie and OPI take a further shift away from mere description, their punny names describing far-off places and situations, often sexual. A few from my collection are Don’t Be Koi, Play Date, and I’m Not Really A Waitress. You’d never know the colors were a dark orange, a purplish lilac, and a pinkish-red, respectively.
Interested in the history of nail polish?
Stumped for a nail polish (or lipstick) name? Here’s some randomgenned ones.
Nail Polish Colors
| Scarlet Ever After
Shrimp for One Venetian Ruby Let There Be Cherries Roll Out the Licorice Violet Rose Temple of Garnets Sugarplum Confetti Gaucho Plum Auburn Brandy Rum Butter Berry Sunrise Metal Papaya Bodega Caribbean Copper Orchids Forever |
Skies of Violet
Free and Fired Arabian Cardamom Saffron Buick Tropic Nude Papaya Silk Huckleberry Nectar Crush n’ Blush Mocha Twilight Sugarplum Lily Triple Nude Parisian Tea Hibiscus Rain Oktoberfest Fire Mocha Persimmon |
