I wanted to hate Olive & June’s Everything Manicure Box. The skeptical side of me thought, There’s no way this is a good deal. $80? To do my own nails? Please. Still, I yearned for a manicure—to feel a surge of joy and normalcy upon glimpsing my pretty, painted hands, even if I’m not headed to any formal events or an office soon. So when I received a sample, I decided to try it with an open mind, and somewhat begrudgingly, I really, really like this dang box. It makes doing my own nails way more enjoyable than it’s ever been before.
For a little background: I have a long-running relationship with nails/manicures. I sucked my thumb until the age of five, when my dentist persuaded me out of it (with the promise of an enormous stuffed reindeer, which I named, no lie, Rudolph Giuliani). But then I took up nail biting instead. In my adolescent years, I tried to quit by using bitter-tasting polishes designed to turn me off, but this didn’t work. I continued chewing my nails, hated myself for doing so, and, in turn, spiraled and bit them more.
In my 20s, after I moved to New York and landed my first job, I finally stopped nail biting by getting regular gel manicures. On one hand, yay, I no longer bit my nails! On the other hand, I became reliant on salons, spending $40 every two weeks to swap out shades. This was incredibly costly, an exhausting use of time, and—as I stuck my hands under a U.V. light to dry the gel—potentially damaging for my skin. I realized that I couldn’t, nor did I want to, spend the rest of my life replacing one habit with another. I eventually gave up manicures completely and just let my natural nails live and grow. I started exercising more to (somewhat) manage my anxiety, and I’m pleased to report that I haven’t bitten my nails in several years. I’m no longer dependent on manicures as part of my routine, which strangely frees me to miss them as acts of self-care. With the pandemic forcing me to stay home (which is, I recognize, a privilege), I’ve started missing the pampering of my hands. Enter the Everything Box.