Using leather nail polish is a little like ordering a BLT at a vegan restaurant: definitely not the real thing but satisfying in its own special snowflake sort of way. And just like seitan bacon gets the smokey flavor pretty close to perfect but the mouthfeel a tad off, Nails Inc. Alexa Leather looks surprisingly like the real thing from a distance (shiny but not slick, textured but not rough), but feels suspiciously like sandpaper’s less abrasive sibling upon closer investigation. That's not to say it's bad—in fact, it makes a nice change from the matte black look. Not to mention, it's cruelty free!

—Emily Ferber

Photographed by Tom Newton.