I’ve always been a bit lazy when it came to manicures, but it’s hard not to bite the fancy nail wave that is such a signature on Japanese women. Almost every Japanese woman I meet has amazing nails. When I glance at theirs and then at mine, I feel a little scruffy.

To remedy that, I decided to make an effort with my nails. I think of it as “accessorizing” without baubles.

I tend to frequent Seven Eleven convenient stores quite a bit — to buy magazines, or use their bathroom, or buy stationary, or an onigiri.

And like most multi-purpose chain conbinis, it also has a beauty section. Seven Eleven carries the budget Sekkisei range and DHC products, plus Parado nail polish.

I love the French nail polish because of its flat brush tip — great for creating designs on your nails. I’m far from being expert so I settled on a simple leaf design.

What also caught my eye was the mini nail polish remover.

Just stick your finger into the bottle, twist, and voila, your nails are clean.

This is what it looks on the inside — there is a grey flannel-like cloth that peeks out of an opening, which is soaked with remover.

I found that it worked well, except for leaving a few stubborn sparkles behind. I thought it was a bit tedious to keep twisting my fingers one by one, so I cleaned my other hand with regular nail polish remover just to compare.

And you know what I found? Regular nail polish remover (I used Sally Hansen) just couldn’t effectively remove such heavy sparkled polish, so in the end, I preferred the Parado one. The size is also perfect for when you are travelling as it’s so small and compact.

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