Allure Editor In Chief Michelle Lee Introduces the Freedom Issue

Ever since I was five, I remember being intrigued by nails. I’d sneak into my mom’s tiny stash of beauty supplies, file my little nubs, and paint them. It felt creative and fun. Like an art project, but one displayed for a limited run — just a week — and then gone.

The ’90s were all about Chanel Vamp and creamy pastels from Hard Candy (remember those?). Then I fell in love with nail art about four years ago. I had gotten my digits done by a few nail artists at editorial shoots and started to experiment on my own, too. Now I change my nails about once a week, as the spirit moves me, and my only rule is always try something new.

Sure, I’ve caught some side-eye over the years (especially when I had “star wars” written on eight of my fingers and Chewbacca on both thumbs) and a few snarky comments (I have been cuticle shamed!). But for the most part, my nails have become a conversation starter and an absolutely necessary part of my daily look. They’re my accessory. A final piece of jewelry.

I would feel naked without at least one dot of art. I’m sure that Bozoma Saint John, the fabulous, larger-than-life chief brand officer of Uber, agrees. Everything about Boz, who’s nearly six feet tall and one of the only black women in the C-suite in Silicon Valley, is an attention grabber. She admits she intentionally supersizes for dramatic effect. I peeped her nails when I saw her a few weeks ago, and they did not disappoint: Long and stiletto cut, they were done up in bright comic prints and the words “pow” and “badass” and bedazzled with dozens of crystals. These weren’t corporate-ladder beige; they were boss-lady extra.

This month, we celebrate freedom and everything it means in beauty and in culture. One of the reasons the beauty world has exploded in the past decade is that it’s a tool for freedom of expression. So go ahead: Use beauty as an act of creativity, personal style, whimsy, even rebellion. You do you. I­ — and my fully dressed fingers — salute you.

More on nail art:

• This Nail Artist Created a Manicure That Features All of Your Favorite '80s Cartoon Characters

• The Best Nail Art Celebrities Wore on the 2018 Met Gala Red Carpet

• Your Nail Art Could Soon Track the Amount of Sun Damage You're Getting

Now check out this Woman Power nail art: