The Essential List 23. Classic Red Nails
Perfect nail polish colors (according to me), plus some highlights from a week in London and Paris.
After mostly swearing off gel manicures since the pandemic, I recently had an experience that reminded me why I used to love them so much.
While in London last month, I ducked into a small, nondescript nail salon near the top of Portobello Road with a friend. We’d been trying to fit in a manicure for days and finally committed to just finding a nearby spot via Google Maps. We settled on Nail Palace, which has 4.9 stars on 101 reviews — exceptional for a nail salon in 2025. We arrived to a tiny space with bright white lighting, but we sat down and proceeded to get such wonderful gel manicures that we were texting about them in awe three weeks later when they finally started to peel.
The manicure reminded me how great it feels to have my nails done and feel just ever so slightly more put together each day (and also, not to judge a place by how it looks — only its Google reviews). I’m bummed that this gem of a salon is across the world from me and not somewhere I can pop back into on a whim, but it got me thinking about my favorite nail colors.
For as long as I can remember I have been committed to red nails. I don’t dabble in blues, greens, or purples and I think after a few failed attempts at a nice pink I gave up on that too and decided to just stick with red. It always looks chic and after trying many, I found some favorites that I rarely stray from.
I thought it would be fun to share my tried and true colors, plus a few extra nail favorites, in case you ever find yourself going cross-eyed in a nail salon while staring at 200 plastic painted nails when all you really want is a classic, timeless red.
My salon manicures are usually gel, so I’ve honed in on the OPI colors that I like the most (it seems to be the most ubiquitous brand and I don’t like looking through those plastic nail thingies). So, I thought it would be fun to share my tried and true colors, plus a few extra nail favorites, in case you ever find yourself going cross-eyed in a nail salon while staring at 200 plastic painted nails when all you really want is a classic, timeless red.
I don’t usually give Valentine’s Day much thought beyond scrambling to make sure my kids have something to hand out at school, but coincidentally, this post is kind of Valentine’s in theme so I guess I’ll lean in this year. With everything going on in the world, I like the idea of everyone leaning into love and kindness for a day. 💗
OPI Red A classic red with blue undertones and a very subtle shimmer. This is the one I get for gel manicures most often because every salon has it and it works year round.
OPI Dutch Tulips A red with slightly more pink, I like this one in the spring and summer time when a salon has it available, which is not always the case.
OPI Malaga Wine This is the farthest I’ll stray from red. I like this deep, wine red in the winter when I’m in the mood for something a little darker/moodier.
Essie Russian Roulette My favorite nail polish, this is my go-to color if I am not doing gel, or if I’m getting a pedicure. I remember Violette posting about it being her go-to color in 2017 (and I trust her on anything color related) and I’ve used it ever since. I buy a bottle of it and bring it with me to the salon since they rarely have it there. It’s a bright red with blue undertones and a hint of pink.
essie hard to resist advanced nail strengthener I like to use this after removing a gel manicure to strengthen my nails and add a little shine.
Manucurist Active Shine I’ve written about this before because it’s one of my biggest discoveries/obsessions from 2024. This is the polish I wear most often these days as I don’t do regular salon manicures anymore and don’t have the patience to do colored nails at home. It’s so easy to apply, good for your nails, and adds a fun, subtle shimmer. I’ve been wanting to try out some of their other polishes, but I’m not tired of this one yet.
Notes from London and Paris
First and foremost, I can’t get over the fact that both cities felt cheap compared to Seattle/the USA — everything here feels so expensive and this trip confirmed that it really is. Meals, transportation, goods, and groceries all felt so much more reasonable and, no one was asking for automatic 25% tips on top of it all — what a thrill.
We had one free day in London to just roam and explore to our hearts desire, which is the ultimate luxury. There is so much more I would have loved to do and see, but here are some spots we enjoyed:
Choosing Keeping, a small stationery shop in Covent Garden full of treasures. Sarah had just mentioned it in her list, so I was especially excited to visit.
Liberty London, which I learned is a full blown department store, and also, also one of
’s fave places to shop. I was able to meet Camilla for dinner on my last night of the trip, which was such a treat. She was wearing the Sophie Bille Brahe Botticelli Earrings from her list, which I am obsessed with, and now want even more after seeing them on her in person.Arket I love to browse Arket online, but never get to see the clothes in person because, sadly, they do not ship to the USA.
Alex Eagle Studio I’ve been wanting to visit here since Camilla shared it and I’ve had these caps on my wishlist since gift guides! I picked this one because I like the color combo, and I also hate running so I like that it’s a bit ironic.
The Cloth Shop, a fun stop for any interior design fans who love browsing fabrics.
Nail Palace, my new favorite nail salon, as mentioned above 💅🏻
We had an excellent dinner at Straker’s upon the recommendation of the lovely shop owner’s around the corner at Rove. The vibe, the food, and the service were all top notch.
Lastly, shoutout to It’s Bagels in Primrose Hill for giving me a free bag of a dozen bagels at closing time when I asked for just one bagel (and fully intended to pay!) to help with my jet lag carb cravings. I’ll always remember this act of kindness. (Also — how great that you can get great bagels all over the world now?)
We were in Paris for a work event, so free time was at a minimum, but we had some wonderful meals and did a bit of exploring none the less:
Winter Sales If you’re unfamiliar, pretty much everything in Paris goes on sale in January (it’s called Soldes and it also happens every July). With the euro and dollar practically equal right now, there are so many amazing deals to be had. We didn’t have time to properly shop, but I dream of going back next January with a single travel outfit and an empty suitcase to do all of my winter shopping.
AXS Design Tucked away in a little courtyard in the 11th arrondissement is this perfect home store that carries vintage glassware, dinnerware, decor and more. If you can’t get to Paris anytime soon, you can also browse/shop online.
Doors of Paris I loved taking special notice of all of the doors of Paris. The intricate details and all their perfect shades of blues are the type of things I miss so much back in the states.
THE Staud dress We had some formal events while in Paris and my friend Anne purchased this Staud dress from Rove in London. It turned out to be the dress of the week as we saw it in different variations on at least 6 different women and they all looked great. (In case you’re in need of something fun and fancy…)
Giant Chocolate Mousse At our first lunch in Paris, the table next to us order a bowl of mousse that was the size of my head and came with a rubber spatula for serving and a side of fresh whipped cream. We obviously ordered one for ourselves, and then I came across a recipe for “party-sized” mousse in the Feb issue of Bon Appetit shortly after. (In case you’re in need of a giant bowl of chocolate…)
This party-sized dessert is inspired by the French bistro tradition to serve one giant bowl of mousse à volonté or “as you will”
From the Archive
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a year since I started the Essential List. I thought it would be fun to start revisiting posts from last year:
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Your Paris trip was right up my alley—especially the mousse au chocolat and the architecture textures! ❤️
I feel like we’d have fun exploring together if we ever got the chance.
I remember feeling bratty during my first London and Paris visits, after remarking how much less expensive it was than my life in both LA and Seattle. I know the salaries are different, but the US is so expensive, I agree!
Thank you for this great post, and for a year of wonderful writing on substack!! Félicitations !
I can’t believe it’s been a year!! Loved reading this one so much - came for the red nail colors and stayed for the memories 💕