The Best Travel-Inspired Demure Nail Polish

So demure! So mindful! Are you on board with this travel trend?

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As the owner of the world's oldest running cozy travel blog (I think!), no one has been more excited than me to welcome this summer's biggest trend: Demure.

What, exactly is demure? It would be easy to dismiss it as simply TikTok's trend of the month. Demure means being modest, mindful, and a little cutesy. Yes, this sounds pretty close to the classical definition of the word but for beauty influencer Jools Lebron, who put it into everyone's lexicon this month, demure is so much more. It's about being respectful but not trying too hard. It's about rejecting the messy world, subtly  protesting crassness and drama by sipping your drink with one perfectly groomed eyebrow arched. And I predict that this is going to be much more than a social media trend. I think it's going to be an ongoing lifestyle movement akin to the Danish hygge (homey coziness) phenomenal, because demure folks have been waiting SO long for their moment to come in a world of excess.

Demure and travel go hand in hand. Staying in your seat until the aircraft has come to a complete stop at the gate? Demure. Kindly greeting your seatmate? Demure. Putting on your headphones, sipping your drink, and ignoring your seatmate? Also demure. Demure travellers are always polite with airport staff, never put their bare feet on someone else's seat, and pack carefully considered snacks without being too fussy about it. 

I wanted to have some fun with the idea of demure travel and talk about the best travel-inspired demure nail polish shades. Now, do I really know all that much about nail polish? Nope. Am I secretly hoping to ascend the ranks of beauty influencer? Definitely not. But your girl knows travel and is demure to the core. 

I chose OPI polish because A.) It has so many wonderful travel-inspired collections and B.) It's basically the only brand I know. Like I said: travel, not beauty, is my wheelhouse. Plus, the brand is so popular I know it will be easy for most readers to find. So mindful of me! Enjoy.

Mexico City Move-Mint

More understated than Gelato On My Mind, with more personality than I Cannoli Wear OPI, Mexico City Move-Mint is a super light sky blue polish with green undertones which matches beautifully with the sparkling blue waters of your vacation destination (SO mindful!) The ideal choice for the demure down south traveller who opts for freshly squeezed juice and local artisan tequila over blender drinks.

Tickle My France-y 

This deeper nude shade is the perfect dusty-mauve pink that works especially well on neutral-to-warm skin tones. Tickle My France-y is perfect for the minimalist, Francophile-obsessed traveller who cannot wait to sit at a cafe table, deliver a charming smile to the waiter, and daintily sip a cafe au lait, holding the bowl demurely with two perfectly groomed hands. 

Less Is Norse

So you need to seduce a Viking, carry out an art heist, and get to the airport in time to ask for an upgrade – nay, to make it think it was their idea to offer you one? Less is Norse is your shade. Its dark slate blue-with-grey hue is spectacularly understated yet pops all at the same time.

You've Got That Glas-Glow

This deep, sophisticated, moody polish can best be described as a muted, dusty purple. It’s perfect for the off-season loving traveller who knows that cooler weather is an opportunity to wear your favourite scarf, attend bookstore readings, and mindfully sip on a bespoke local single malt.

Just Lanai-ing Around

Fuschia? Salmon? Coral? SO gauche. You want Just Lanai-ing Around, a creamy plum-pink which has the faintest silver shimmer (cutesy!) It’s cheerful and fun while still being understated and restrained. It’s what demure girls wear when they travel with their brat summer besties.

Don't Bossa Nova Me Around

Do you travel with a tasteful capsule wardrobe, specifically chosen to mindfully coordinate with your carefully considered skin-tone season and body shape archetype? Would you rather die than be caught with tatty luggage, improperly-sized toiletry bottles, or disorganised documents, like a common peasant? Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around should be your go-to choice.This elegant full-coverage pink-grey-beige shade is more nude than Lisbon Wants Moor OPI and more understated than Peace of Mined.

​So demure. So mindful. 


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