Men Wearing Nail Polish, Fad or New Trend?

• 

  LAINE said,

  I think if I guy wants to wear polish that is great! I feel badly sometimes that it is one sided. i look at my monstrous collection and think it is too bad that only a woman could appreciate it. I can’t imagine polish on my man, though. He is not very edgy or rockerish, and I am not saying you have to be to wear it, but i just don’t think it would suit him. he does have beautiful feet. he actually gets compliments on them from people, so painting his toenails may be a great idea. Now how do I convince him….

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  Jake R said,

  Hi Kim! I guess I never expected to see my comments here, on your makeup site, but I am really glad you did this.

  There are many men and even women who have an interest in seeing this mainstream endorsement for guys. Many men are ‘afraid’ to try this though because of what others will think. Well, my view on this is that if we governed our lives according to what others think about it, we’d have a hard time getting out the door in the morning – because nothing would be ‘safe’ in everyone’s opinions!

  I can tell you and your readers that just letting go of your inhibitions and enjoying what you feel is pretty darned exciting and an exhilarating experience. My first pedicure was a big surprise to me – much more pleasent and enjoyable than I had expected, and I thank my insightful wife for encouraging me to try it! I worked up to wearing polish over time, first with clear, then french and finally colors. I receive so many compliments that I think I would feel pretty weird if I stopped wearing it now.

  It’s great to see that more women and men are opening up their eyes to the idea that men can have great-looking feet too, and I truly hope your featuring of nail polish products and colors for men here will allow many more to consider the cool experience!

• 

  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks for your thoughts!

• 

  beautyqueen said,

  Wow Jake to be honest I would of been more surprised if you had not.. I spend so much time in the Post Office I have taken to feet watching..
  I’m yet to see a guy with nail polish on, but a few feet that need to be hiding cause of lack of care.. But 9 out of 10 guys do have nice feet and look like they might be having pedicures done as well.
  Like I said it easier to remove nail polish than a tattoo..
  Thanks for stopping by!

• gaytacular :: Another great mention of male nail polish said,

  [...] the article here. While you’re there, buy yourself some nail polish. If you’re like me, you’ll [...]

• 

  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks! Hope you are having a wonderful evening! We here at Overall Beauty feel everyone should have the best nail polish ever, in any color they
  like! One the most amazing parts about ordering off the web, no one looking at you funny when you say its for you…

• 

  Patrice said,

  Very interesting post. For me, men who wear nail polish is at first an issue for me however as time goes, I learned to accept that not only women has the right to wear nail polish but men can wear it too. If men are comfortable wearing nail polish, then so be it. As of now, it’s no big deal for me.

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  Dr.Georges Novak said,

  For several years I wear clear pink nail polish on my fingernails and a pink OPI on my toes. Many times I ahd compliments about my fingernails, how nice and shimy my nails are. I think it looks very elegant and sexy. I wish more men would use nail polish on fingernails, so that it wouldn’t look odd to have your fingernails coloured. Georges.

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  Nik said,

  Hi Kim,

  It was really reassuring to find your site. I am guy living in London and have had fascination about nail polish for many years. I have always admired women who have nice nails especially when they were painted nicely and I always wished it would be ok for guys to ware nail polish too. I started off giving my self manicures regularly but very occasionally applied some very pale or clear polish. In recent years I started to ware colours on my fingers. A few years ago, I decided to have a Pedicure and plucked up the courage to ask for them to be painted also. The girls at the Salon were only too happy to do this and I started to visit one every 2-3 weeks. I become quite good at doing it my self and they complimented me on my nails. I remember going to buy some new polish in a shop and the girl asked me straightaway if it was for my self. I was quite taken back by this but I said yes. She didn’t treat me any differently and helped me with the colours I wanted. From that point onwards, I decided to start wearing it at weekends after I gave my self a manicure. I stuck with pale colours mostly but every once in a wile, I went for dark brown and other similar colours. My hair dresser who her self has really lovely nails and wears nice colours usually always compliments me on colours I ware. When I got married couple of years ago, I wasn’t sure how my wife would take to it but she surprisingly was cool about it. She often buys me Nail Polish when we go out shopping however she doesn’t like me to ware anything dark or bright.

  I would like to send you a picture of mu nails as they were this weekend. I hope more guys will start to ware it so that it is socially more acceptable.

  Kind regards,
  Nik

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  beautyqueen said,

  Wow thank you so very much for your thoughtful comments. I would love to see your nails! I am thinking of setting up a page for photos of nails and toes of guys wearing polish. BB Couture now has colors for men chosen by men! We had guys help us work out the colors and more are on the way! I will email you and lets see your nails!

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  Brandon said,

  I started painting my toenails at age 13, and then started wearing it full-time in 2000 at age 29. My wife is great about it and thinks it is no big deal. I would like to be more adventurous, but I have received a few not-very-nice comments, but by and large most of the comments are very nice and supportive and those are from women. To me it is like when men started wearing earrings, people made a lot of negative comments and it took some time before it became socially acceptable. As much as times change and society becomes more “open” there will always be negative people and those are the ones to pay no mind to. Tomorrow I have some errands to run and I am wearing flip-flops and I have my toenails polished with ORLY SEASHELL and I am pretty tan so my feet look great! Beautyqueen, I would love it if you put up a photo page and would definitely put some pics up.

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  Emy said,

  Hello ppl !
  I paint my toenails since 4/5 years, especially in black, maroon or deep red.
  I consider myself very pretty, i cure my body and obviously my feet…i make myself pedi 2/3 times/week…and i have beautiful short squared nails.
  I’m straight, married and have a very supportive wife, that’s consider this practice normal…
  We are a young couple and on holidays during summer, i’m absolutely shameless on showing my feet in flipflops on public sideways, clubs or beaches..
  Btw i have “le physique du role” i’m androgynous, skinny and shaved…imho is horrific to see painted nailpolish on a “bear”...
  )
  Bye

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  beautyqueen said,

  Wow thanks for sharing!! I think if you are going to care for your feet and wear nail polish, you need not have hairy toes..

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  Brandon said,

  I, too shave completely & consider myself “metrosexual”. Yesterday I re-did my toenails & used OPI “I’m Fondue of You”, a really great chocolate-cherry color. This morning I went tanning ( I work evenings, so I do my chores & running around in the daytime) and I wore a pair of brown flip-flops, I bought them in the women’s section, but they look unisex to me…anyway, there was a young man in front of me in line and he turned around, looked down at my feet and laughed at me…at first I wanted to crawl into a hole, but I stood my ground and asked him if something was funny? He laughed at me again and walked to his tanning room. There were 2 women behind me, mid to late 40’s, probably just done working out as there is a health club next door and the one woman was so kind and sweet, she said to me, “Who cares what that idiot thinks, I think you are brave and on top of that your feet look great, we were both admiring how nice that color looks and how nice you keep your feet, don’t be embarrassed and stop doing what you’re doing because of some ignorant person and by the way, what is the name and brand of that nail polish, we both love it!”...she made my day! Then to top it all off as I was leaving the 3 counter girls at the tanning salon motioned me over as I was leaving and told me if that guy ever say’s anything again they will refund his money and he will not be allowed back and THEY wanted to know the name and brand of that nail polish too! so it ended great and I walked to my car proudly with my head held high. This is fairly new territory and people are going to make rude comments and assumptions over sexual orientation due to a cosmetic, very ignorant, but if guys like me don’t stay “out” it will never be okay for the next guys to wear nail polish in public.

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  Marty said,

  Why do we need to use terms such as metrosexual or anything else. I am a hetero guy, married for 39 years with some kids and love to wear nail polish both on my feet (in all colors) and lately in French (although with beige not white tips) on my hands. I’ve been doing it for over 20 years. Compliments galore, mostly from women who wonder how to get their guys to do it. Life is short – who has the right to tell us what is right or wrong if it makes us feel good. I don’t think of myself as trendy or edgy. I am a normal guy who just likes the look. In fact my wife says my feet are prettier than hers. And she is not jealous or angry about it. After all, think about what women have stolen from men with no consequences – high heels (made for men by men and stolen by women), Pants (made only for men and stolen by women). I see numerous women without make up or nail polish – I don’t think of them as not feminine or perhaps gay. Too many inhibitions. Let’s do what makes us happy – we need to enjoy the short lives we have.

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  Jonathan said,

  Why is society so gender strait jacketing to the male gender? Women have taken so many things from the “males” & called their own, as many have said above. But when men do something out of their little gender box that women have put them in, society looks at em like they’re wrong & shamed for it???? Umm, whats wrong with this picture??? I think its high time that society loses that gender box all together. As antropologist/sociologist Margret Mead said in the 70’s that the genders are going to become more & more alike in the future—& the time is NOW!! I’m a 55yr old metrosexual/heterosexual, been married for 25yrs, & have even gone to makeup artistry school, to go with my photography hobby. I wear makeup in a masculine manner to make myself look better, & my wife thinks I look great in it! I’ve been getting manicure’s for 14yrs & wear clear topcoat on em. I”ve gotten pedicures, along w/my wife & had clear polish put on em. I”m now venturing into color polish for my toenails & see how that looks & feels. I love having a manicure/pedicure b/c of medical reasons, it feels good on my body. My nails are like rubber & have to wear nail hardener, or they will tear badly. So, the polish helps protect them & I enjoy the look they have polished. I am very anchored in my male sexuality, so none of this fazes me, I”m still a man, just more well groomed & looking better for my age.

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  David said,

  I came across this blog while doing a little browsing and thought it was a great read. I’m a male that enjoys wearing nail polish of all different shades, I prefer dark purples, blue, black and grey / silver colors. Never been one for painting my toes, but wear it on my hands quite frequently!

  I’m not gay, completely hetero, and if anything at all wearing nail polish has been great conversation starters with ladies, and most to all think its great! So any hetero guys unsure about it, I say give it a try!

• 

  Kevin said,

  I am a straight 53 yr old politically conservative, happily married man who just happens to love the way my toenails look painted. It has caused me to look at my feet a different way. I used to take them for granted, if my toenails got a little long I’d either clip them down to the nubs or since they are thinner than usual, just tear the excess off (if I couldn’t find clippers.

  Well, one day this last summer I went to pick my wife up at the salon, and one thing led to another, so I ended up getting a pedicure, sans polish. I loved the way it felt, and totally understood why women go for them. It got me thinking about what I have been doing to my feet, and paying them a little more attention.

  A few weeks later we were sitting around the pool when my niece and her fiance’ talked me into letting her paint my toenails, and from then on I haven’t looked back. I think my wife is jealous, though. I tend toward the darker and more unusual colors (I am wearing BB Couture “Dark Knight” right now), something she has been hesitant to do, she likes bright reds, purples, and pinks, but I caught her eying my OPI “Suzi Loves Sydney”, and BB Couture “Iced Olive”, I have a bottle of OPI DS “Glamour” coming in this week as well.

  I am totally unabashed about my feet now, painted or not. If it were office policy I’d wear sandals or go barefoot. In my own office I do, but slip on some moccasins when I head out. My secretary (excuse me, administrative assistant), and another female co-worker saw my toenails the other day and just raved about them and how nice they looked, specially for a guy. The night before that I got a lot of positive comments from the ladies I sing with in the church choir. If I had known of the reaction I’d get from painting them I’d have done it decades earlier, and probably would have had a lot more lady friends in the process.

  My male friends are becoming very accepting too. I was wearing sandals at lunch the other day with my attorney, insurance agent, and another friend, and they all commented positively as well, one even said he was going to give it a try.

  Guys, if you are secure in your masculinity, and you want to add a little something to your wardrobe, if not your life then, if you are so disposed, give toe-paint a shot, start conservative at first, then be a little adventurous. You might just have a little fun.

• 

  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks Kevin for stopping by and leaving your thoughts! I think Dark Knight is a awesome color! I would love to see your toes!

• 

  Kevin said,

  Kim,

  I’ll get around to sending you some soon.

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  Anton Wyroste said,

  Your article is entitled ‘fad or trend,’ – I’d have to vote trend, or maybe even the next level past that. Men wearing nail polish began to be widespread in the 90’s Thanks to the rock stars out there – then – it seems – that after the year 2000 – this practice has literally exploded out there!

  I’m a 100% straight male, who has been wearing nail polish ever since the 80’s, when rock stars like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler were wearing it all the time. I started out wearing nothing but black on the fingers and toes, and I still basically wear black most of the time on my fingers. But, with my toes, I’ll wear any radical looking color or design on them, or otherwise with the plain black, most people will never notice ones toes. I’m particularily fond of sports teams colors and team designs for my toes, which looks very masculine on them, couples up with my team jerseys that I usually like to wear. For the other males out there that may really like the idea but are still a bit timid, going to a sporting event wearing team colors is the perfect way to break out! My girlfriends in the past all loved the idea, and my fiance really digs it! For me – Nail Polish Rocks! It’s just an extension of radical looking hairstyles, piercings, and tattoos – that’s all. I plan on wearing it for a very long time – if I make 80, I may be the only old dude in the nursing home with racing stripes on my wheelchair and my nails! Thanks for the illuminating article!

  ps – for the ones really interested in this – go to Flickr.com, and in their search window, type in ‘nail polish,’ and click on any of the photos there by the dude called ‘St. Louis Punk-Rocker,’ he is a very big proponent of this cause!

• 

  9PrettyPiggies said,

  Dear BeautyQueen,
  I am rather new at keeping my feet well pampered and toenails well polished. I’m free to try all types of colors and shy away from sticking to “manly” colors. Nail polish has given me much confidence as a man and a little perk to life. I am married with daughters and the act of painting their toes one weekend got me started. I’m inspired and now write a little known blog about it. There are many pictures of me wearing a polish and writing about how I feel. Please check it out: http://9prettypiggies.blogspot.com and leave me a comment. Thanks, 9PPs

• 

  beautyqueen said,

  Wow thanks! I am so glad to hear from you! It maybe a trend but its not as open as many men would like. I hear from all kinds of wonderful
  men who wear polish on their toes and never share it with the world. And others who are very open about it! Thanks for sharing!

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  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks 9 pretty piggies! I will stop again and take a peek. I love the fact that like yourself and others who have comment on this blog
  post all agree, its a really neat thing to do and no one cares what others think.

• 

  Clint said,

  There is a lot of “Im not gay” going on here and while I can understand the need to make that point concerning the subject – I AM gay and I paint my thumbs, I do it not to thief from the “female tradition” or be femminine as a closed mind would expect from a gay…but rather because I’ve always seen it a little bit Raw and punk to do so – moreso shun the whole establishment of assignments (lol)- I started though, by doing my whole set of fingers in a nice sandy Versace varnish but now I only use Opi and I stick to just my thumbs as I like the way it looks with my tattoos and other modifications (just medium gauge(2g with a goal of “1/2)stretched lobes). My colors are Black Onyx, Big Apple Red, Blue My Mind, Greenwich Village, Russian Navy Matte, and You Don’t Know Jacques from the new Suede line. I usually always have my left black to signify certain beliefs I hold close to myself and the right thumb in any of the other shades. I wear polish to feel unique moreso than to feel uhhh polished I guess, heh. I just can’t wait for the world to open its collective mind and graduate from the simple antiquated thought paths battered into it’s brain since inception of right angles…ok, stay true to yourself all. keep it solid.

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  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks Clint for your honest thoughts. You are correct all that have said anything about this post have been pointing out that they ‘are not gay’ and I am really glad to finally have someone add they thoughts who is. I am a open mind person, to each their own but its so interesting to read all the comments left for this post. I think its very important to be true to one’s self and if wearing nail polish makes you feel good then do it!

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  Kevin said,

  “I think its very important to be true to one’s self and if wearing nail polish makes you feel good then do it!”

  Exactly. That is my point entirely. Gay, straight, who cares? Life is too short to worry about labels, either our own or the ones we stick on other people. I admit that it has been a problem for me in the past, but I’m learning to be more accepting.

  For me wearing polish on my toes makes me feel good, and that is it.

• 

  Kevin said,

  Kim,

  Check out the blog I just started.

  http://toebad.blogspot.com/

  Best regards.

• 

  Roger said,

  I just stumbled on this site because I was interested. I am a straight guy who likes to enjoy some feminine articles. I like the feel of stockings, my wife sometimes puts mascara on me when we go out to bars, and she has in the past had me wear glue-on nails. “You want me to wear long nails? Then you try wearing these for the weekend,” she would say. They would never stay on when trying to open a pull-tab or using your thumb to pull on socks or shoes. They would hurt like hell after a while because the curve did not match my real nail.

  This time it was, “You want me to wear gel nails on vacation, then you do it first.” So I went down to her nail salon and asked for French tip Gel nails. The tips to be white and as long as the nail bed. It took 90 minutes. I had never done anything like his before. When she finished they looked great, and felt just like my own nails.

  I put my hand in my pocket to get the money, and nothing broke. I thought other customers would be laughing behind my back, but there was nothing. My wife said, “Wow, those look great. Let’s see how you feel about it in a week.” I did not know it was to be a week.

  The next day I got up and drove thru McDonalds. I completely forgot about them until I went to pay. The girls just smiled and gave me my change. I had to go to WALMART. Some people looked at me funny in the store, but when I was unloading the cart at checkout, the girl said nothing. I had to hand her the credit card, and get the bagged stuff from her, but nothing.

  They feel great. Except being twice as long, there is no difference. Do I have to take them off in a week?

  Roger

• 

  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks for your thoughts! And no you don’t have to take them off after a week. Most nails like gels or acrylics are good for about two weeks. After that you can see that your own nail is showing at the base. Most get their nails filled after about two weeks some can go longer but not many do. I would ask your nail tech about how long she feels you should go between fills.
  And you know what? Good for you!! It takes a real man in tune with who he is to do something that many would feel is just a ‘woman thing’ doesn’t make you any less than a man. If you are ok with it, and your partner is go for it! So glad you stopped by!

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  Pauline said,

  Whether it is a fad or a trend, it is entirely up to the indivual. A man is still a man whether he wears nail polish or not.

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  George said,

  I’m a married guy who does some part-time hand modeling when called. As result, I been going for manicures and wearing clear-coat nail polish for years to protect my nails from the pounding they take from my full-time job. I love Sally Hansen’s Natural Shine Instant Nail Finish. But I hear it’s going out of production so I’ve stocked up. I’d love to wear some of the men’s nail polish I’ve seen from this thread, in public. I hope it becomes more mainstream. Maybe someday…

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  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks for stopping by! And yes maybe someday it will become more mainstream but for now lots of guys are wearing nail polish for no other reason than to them it looks good. Most people don’t go around looking at other people’s toes. I would love to see your hands though.. part-time hand modeling? How cool!!

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  George said,

  Thanks Kim. I’m considered a “gender netural” hand model because, quite frankly, my hands are very delicate to the point that people often mistake them in photos as women’s hands. I’ve modeled products like office supplies and uni-sex bracelets (some of which I get to keep. I have to keep my hands and arms free of hair as to keep the gender-neutral look. So I’m sure that colored polish on my fingers would really draw attention in public—not that it would bother me. But on my feet…I wear the Sally Hansen product on my toenails too and I do wear sandals in the late spring and summer. Hey, maybe I’ll give it a try and see what happens! Those colors look great!

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  Kevin said,

  Go for it George. I’ve worn polish on my fingernails a couple of times, even at the office, and even though some of the guys were a little taken aback by it, the women seemed to love it.

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  beautyqueen said,

  Thanks for your feedback and comments to George. I personally would love to see his hands wearing any of the BB Couture nail polishes for men

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  George said,

  Kevin, thanks for the encouragement, but the environment I live and work full-time in is behind the curve when it comes to people breaking traditional molds. I’ve had a bracelet on my wrist and clear coat on my nails for 20 years, yet I still get stares. But you’re right, the people who are the most accepting and complimentary are women. Some women will even grab my hands to tell me how “pretty” they are. My wife is cool with with my jewerly and polish as long as I don’t push the envelope any further. She knows I need to keep my nails in great shape for when I get called upon to model. Such calls usually come on short notice. And Kim, I hope to mastermind a top-secret operation some day: order the BB Couture Vise polish, get to my nail tech to get a manicure and have her apply the polish early some Saturday morning before her customers roll in, then come back home, take some photos of my hands and send them to you. The photo won’t be as professional as the studio shots I’m in, but it should be okay. I just love that Vise color!

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  beautyqueen said,

  Well you know George if you don’t mind me emailing you, I got a interesting idea I would LOVE to run by you

• 

  George said,

  Okay.

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  George said,

  Kim, I think you need to put me on your “safe list” or something similar as my e-mailed response to you is bouncing back.

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