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Kirra Jamison Loves Japan - Ueba Esou Nail Polish

Written

by

Jenny Butler

Writer

Jenny Butler

21st of November 2011

Another day full of Japanese goodness with Kirra Jamison! Today we take a tour of the Ueba Esou Nail Polish headquarters and see some of the elements involved in creating this intriguing product. This is no ordinary nail polish, Ueba Esou is something very special!- Jenny

Lapis lazuli pictured above

Ok, so I never expected to be blogging about nail polish but here goes...Ueba Esou is a Kyoto based company that produces hand made paint in beautiful colours from natural pigments. Recently, using the same process that they use to make paint, Ueba Esou developed a unique kind of nail polish containing Gofun powder instead of solvent. What is Gofun? Gofun is a white pigment essentially made from crushed scallop shells that has been used for centuries in traditional Japanese painting.

Malachite pictured above

What makes Gofun Nail Polish different from conventional nail polish is that it is all natural, has no odor, dries almost instantly and is easily removed with alcohol, so no need for stinky acetone based nail polish remover. Best of all being natural Gofun is kind to both the body and the environment.

The ten stages of refining the Gofun powder.

All the Gofun is produced in house by these experienced artisans through a production method, which has been maintained for 270 years. While I was in Kyoto I visit the Ueba Esou headquarters to stock up and was able to take these pics during on an impromptu tour and history lesson. Such a cool experience...if you are nerdy about paint like me I'm sure you can relate.

Yep, the colours are awesome. This nail polish is stocked in Issey Miyake stores through out Japan but I'm yet to see it anywhere in Australia. Hello Kit Cosmetics? How bout it?

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