Here we go! Writing about beauty in the middle of a pandemic situation? How rude! Or maybe not. I’ve come to understand that after months of quarantine, of being fed on a daily basis with the covid-report, one thing’s for sure: we lack normality. To browse a magazine, indulge in retail therapy or the simple pleasure of a lush beauty-routine. Its only natural; we human beings need our downtime even when life around us is anything but normal.
In Dubai, I rarely missed my nail appointments. They where a weekly treat, time to relax and lets face it: well manicured hands adds a lot of sass to any outfit.
Now, with COVID-19 ongoing, I find the decision difficult to make. On one hand (no pun intended) I want to support all SME’s in the beauty industry who’s suffered a lot during lockdown. On the other hand, personally I don’t find it comfortable to visit the nail salon. Hence: time to learn how to do my own mani-pedi. A first class problem, sure! But nonetheless, to make sure not to look like a five year old has painted my nails, using really high-quality products goes a long way into achieving a successful result.
Enter: MAVALA Switzerland.
I still remember being around twelve years old, standing in the local supermarket admiring those iconic mini-bottles of nail polishes. The extensive range of shades and the fact that theywhere teeny-tiny spoke to me. I’ve owned MAVALA Nail polishes for as long as I can remember. The 5ml bottles are inexpensive, easy to travel with and rarely dries up as you end up using every last drop!
MAVALA, an acronym of its founder Madeleine van Landeghem was founded back in 1958. Although sold, it still remains a small family-owned business that pride itself for always putting care before beauty. Ms. Landeghem was the first one to launch a highly technological nail harderner – often copied but still to this day one of its kind. She put the brand on the global map when in 1969 she started the MAVALA professional manicure school in London. The brand is till known for this: their high focus on in-house education and carefully selected retailers sets them apart. What I appreciate about the brand is the fact that they never over-promises: they deliver exactly what they claim to do.
MAVALA still to this date manufactures and develop their products in-house at the Geneva Scientific Laboratories, thus meeting all regulations in terms of formulations. Nail polishes are by default paint and there should be some kind of satisfaction knowing that when you use a MAVALA lacquer, you add a product free from formaldehyde, heavy metals, cellophane, toluene, parabens and camphor onto your body. To top it up, the products are completely cruelty-free. Kind to your nails, body and the environment.
I prefer light and discreet colours for my hands and something more feisty on my toe nails (yes, I’m now residing in Stockholm but the poolside girl won’t die anytime soon). Painting light pink or white nail polish can be tricky if the brush isn’t well designed or the paint lack of pigment. With MAVALA I never need to worry. Two coats followed by a top coat works well and the results last about a week. The formulation claims to let the nail breath and I think it shows in the way my nails never gets discoloured or thins out/chips.
Going back to my first standpoint of trying to make your own manicure during COVID-19, there’s one more aspect to add. One that might make people upset: hygiene and the precautions of hand sanitizers. What I’m about to say is by no means anything new or revolutionary: everyone working within the health care system and especially in any OR environment knows this: hand sanitizers are only effective on organic materials. As soon as you have built nails on your hands, you walk around with a part of non-organic surface that isn’t properly COVID-19 sanitised, no matter how much gel you’ve used! Only by investing in a Surface disinfectant approved for the matter, will you be “safe” and keep others safe too. Therefore, and with the highest respect for all nail technicians currently struggling to meet ends, I still recommend you to skip the salon, skip building your nails for a while and make it a nice little home-ritual to learn how to paint your own nails. That is, if you feel you can’t go without a little something on those finger tips! Choose wisely and invest in products that will carry you to the finish line. ♥
Products provided for review consideration