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"  I can&amp;#039;t remember a time when I got as many manicures as I did this past summer! First of all, I found the cleanest, most affordable nail shop within walking distance from my house. And then I was thrilled, and sometimes even overwhelmed, by the staggering array of new colors to try. And while summer has just ended, judging from the recent New York fashion shows, a polished nail is definitely the new &amp;quot;it&amp;quot; accessory. Kline &amp;amp;amp; Company, a worldwide consulting and research firm, recently reported that nail polish sales have been rising by more than 20%, thanks to bold new color choices and creative textures like Sally Hansen&amp;#039;s Crackle overcoat. But let&amp;#039;s face it, probably the most obvious and practical reason for the growth in nail polish, is it&amp;#039;s relatively low cost. In today&amp;#039;s economic climate, colorful, well-groomed nails are an affordable way to give yourself a lift. During the recession in the early 2000&amp;#039;s Leonard Lauder, chairman of the board of Estee Lauder coined the term &amp;quot;Lipstick Index&amp;quot; to describe the increase in sales of lipsticks during hard times. Well I propose that this time around we have the &amp;quot;Nail Polish Index&amp;quot;. And in fact this past Friday The New York Times reported that while consumers are cutting back on basics, the fun stuff is still selling and what&amp;#039;s more fun than a fresh new manicure in a shade like Opi&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;My Address is &amp;#039;Hollywood&amp;#039;&amp;quot;? I know that every time I look at my polished nails, I smile.  What about you? Have you been splurging on your nails? What&amp;#039;s your new favorite color? I&amp;#039;d love to know. Sign up for a tour of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute to learn how we test consumer products.  Are you curious about the new natural nail polishes? Read our buying tips on what to look for. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a24448/nail-polish-splurge/>