My Fashion Week Backstage Diary

fashion week nail backstage

Day 2: Limited-edition nail polish and hot manicure tips

My second day begins at the Peter Som show with MAC makeup artists and Wella hairstylists — but it’s a table of Zoya nail polish that catches my eye. A trio of shades — a pale pink, deep eggplant, and a smoky evergreen — are packaged together in a velvet box. Nail polish envy? Check. The set is specially designed to go along with Peter Som’s fall collection, and it’s only available to the public for a limited time on the day of the show. How’s that for exclusive?

While Zoya color designer Rebecca Issa is extremely excited about the new hues, she also has a few useful tips that I (shockingly) haven’t heard before. “If you want your manicure to last, use a remover with a little acetone in it,” she says. This is because the acetone leaves a little residue on the nail, which provides a better grip for the base coat. When I ask her how she’s able to do so many models — manicures and pedicures — in such crazy, cramped conditions, she says she couldn’t do it without Zoya Hurry Up Speed Dry Drops, $11. “The key to using them correctly is to tilt your nails forward when you put it on,” she says. “Otherwise it just pools around your cuticles.”