Palate Polish

Product review and Q&A with Ainsley Fox

I used Patale Polish for the first time several years ago after seeing maker Ainsley Fox’s table at a Holiday bazaar in Portland, Oregon. Her bottle design is clean and simple, and allows the rich colors to speak for themselves. I picked up each color, peaking at the different names on the bottom of the bottles. They were all named after food and drinks (hence the spelling of the name “palate” instead of “palette”). I’m a sucker for a good pun, and this one pays homage to the foodie-based Portland scene that Ainsley is often found in.

The first color I bought from Palate was Turmeric. I had seen it strongly represented on her instagram page and knew I wanted it. I hadn’t seen nail polish this color before. It’s one of those funky yellow/green/brown/I-don’t-know kind of colors that is both strange and beautiful to see on the hand. I fell in love. The shiny topcoat, Glaze, makes the polish glisten and adds a thickness to the nail that gives it a salon-finish look. My manicure lasted a week without chipping; which, as a mother of two young children, is no small feat. The color pay-off for these polishes is impressive. Often you can get away with just one coat of the color to reach full opacity on the nail. Palate also has a collection of glitters and toppers, one of the most popular being Cookies & Cream, a black and white confetti in a clear base that adds a fun speckled look atop any color. My favorite purchase from Palate Polish, though, has to be Jawbreaker. It is a milky white base with bright and varying-colored confetti that looks just like the surface of a jawbreaker candy. Looking at this polish with a thick and shiny topcoat makes my mouth water. 

If you’re looking for small, woman-owned business beauty brands to shop, or a nail polish brand that is free of toxic chemicals, Palate Polish is a good one. Ainsley offers a large assortment of colors, textures, toppers, and glitters, so you are sure to find at least one polish that suits your fancy. Also, if you’re tired of using harsh acetone nail polish removers, she offers a soy-based remover that works incredibly well and has great reviews.

Find her polishes online at palatepolish.com or, if you’re hoping to find Palate Polish in person, she’s stocked all around the United States and you can easily find your closest store on her stockists list.

–Laura Creamer, Beauty Editor

Q & A

Laura Creamer: I’m thrilled to finally get to interview you! I have been a fan of your polishes for years. Tell me, how did you get into nail polish?

Ainsley Fox: I started Palate Polish in 2014 when there wasn’t a health-conscious nail polish brand on the market…I combined my love of food and need for toxic-free nail polishes into one fun business.

Laura: How did you learn to make it? What is your process now?

Ainsley: At first I was mixing minerals and topcoats in my studio apartment kitchen. I have since created a formula that a chemist mixes and pours for me at a large facility on a bigger scale.

Laura: Portland is a city smitten with food, and I love how every one of your polishes is named after food products. How did you come up with that idea?

Ainsley: I’ve always been a foodie; I grew up with an aspiring chef parent. Years ago I ran a food blog documenting my travel for new foods, recipes, and other food related content.

Laura: Tell me about your other products and how you came up with them.

Ainsley: Our beloved Soy Nail Polish Remover only has four ingredients plus Vitamins A, C, and E. I love this stuff, my customers love this stuff, it has been dubbed “Magic™.” I’m also completely obsessed with our Bio Cellulose Kombucha Sheet Masks…compostable, they contour to your face like a second skin and leave your face smooth, plump, and deeply moisturized.

Laura: I’ve never tried soy-based nail polish remover! How did you learn about that?

Ainsley: Research. Everything is trial and error. I wanted a product that would not only work great, but didn’t have the harsh scents and drying effects like acetone and acetates.

Laura: How has it been building a small business in Portland? Was it difficult to break into the industry here?

Ainsley: I love Portland, it is the most community-driven city I have ever lived in and small businesses thrive here.

Laura: What are you most proud of about your business?

Ainsley: That she’s still alive and thriving. I owe it all to my amazing customers and clients.

Laura: What are your favorite Palate Polish products?

Ainsley: Cookies & Cream has to be my favorite polish I’ve ever made. It’s a chunky black and white glitter that I haven’t taken off in (approaching) two years.

Laura: Your polishes are 10-free. Can you expand on what that means for our readers who aren’t familiar?

Ainsley: 10-free polish excludes the toxic chemicals: Toluene, Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, Triphenyl Phosphate (TPHP), Xylene, Ethyl Tosylamide, Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and Parabens. Side effects vary from allergens to cancer. There is a breakdown of why each of these ingredients are bad for your body (and the environment) in the FAQ section of our website.

Laura: Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs in sustainable/natural beauty?

Ainsley: Do it! If you’re reading this and needed a sign, here it is. The connections and friends I’ve made over the last seven years make whatever this holds for me worthwhile and significant.

Laura: Are there any other brands or businesses in Portland who inspire you?

Ainsley: So many! I have met countless amazing woman-owned businesses in this town, there are too many to list. I love Crosby and Wildwood candles, clothing by Holly Stalder, Frond, Marty Jean, and Reifhaus, and leather bags by xobruno. The most incredible incense cones and apothecary by Velvetback. Soaps, lotions and perfumes by Blithe & Bonny. My business card and graphic designer Nguyet Bui. All of Marshall’s Haute Sauce hot sauces. Ceramic earrings by Side Hustle Designs and plant wizard/Reclamation shop owner Elizabeth Hsia.