mani monday

When we first heard that One Direction was getting a line of nail polishes, our collective mind was blown. Boy bands have long had their own fragrances--Justin Bieber's Girlfriend, anyone?--but polishes? For your fingers?! That we haven't heard of before.

If anything could convince us that it's a good idea, it's definitely this collection; not only are the colors bold and not run-of-the-mill (there's even a chartreuse in the line), but these names go along perfectly with One Direction's "what makes you beautiful" message. Each of the five colors is named for both a band member and an inspiring word, such as "Confident" and "True," all in honor of the British boy band's partnership with Office Depot to support anti-bullying education (they're also putting out a line of school supplies, all under the moniker 1D x OD, hitting stores on July 5).

It got us wondering: What all-time favorite boy bands missed out on this genius marketing opportunity, and if they were to pause their perfectly choreographed dances to help us out with our manis, what would their colors look like? We have a wish list:

The Band: New Kids on the Block

The Polish: Strawberry Step by Step, New Kids Blushin' on the Block

Why: When New Kids on the Block hit it big, we discovered all the potential we had to be fan girls to boy bands. If they had a nail polish line in pretty shades of pink, we could have picked a matching lip gloss in hopes of one day kissing Jordan Knight wearing both.

The Band: Boyz II Men

The Polish: End of the Royal Blue Road, Ceruleancooleyhighharmony

Why: Boyz II Men made plurals with a "z" a thing, of which we're forever grateful. What better way to get down with an all-time favorite R&B group than to sport some rhythm and blues (well, mostly blues) on your nails?

The Band: Backstreet Boys

The Polish: I Want it That Gray, Backstreet's Black, Alright

Why: Let's clarify which era of Backstreet Boys we're talking about here: right at the start of the new millennium when Black & Blue came out. It's pretty obvious that a winter collection of navy blues, dark grays, and other colors that say "I'm feeling moody" would fly off the shelves.

The Band:: N*Sync

The Polish: Just Got Paid... in Gold, It's Gonna Be Me-tallic

Why: Real talk--you knew every word to "Dirty Pop" and some sparkly metallic polish shades on your nails (obviously representing the "ice" around JT's neck that supposedly didn't matter) would go beautifully against the hairbrush microphone you were probably clutching when you first heard them.

The Band:: Hanson

The Polish: Mmmbop Mistletoe Red, Forrest in the Middle of Nowhere Green

Why: The Hanson Christmas album, Snowed In, is hands down the best thing to ever happen to the most wonderful time of the year. If it had come in our stocking along with matching red and green nail polish, we could have maybe forgiven our parents for leaving out the Tamagotchi.

The Band: Jackson 5

The Polish: ABCoral, Rockin' Robin's Egg Blue

Why: Jackson 5 represent the happy times of bell bottoms and some rather large afros. We would have happily rocked some light and happy nail colors to compliment all of the paisley surrounding us.

1D x OD notebook

1D x OD notebook

1D x OD nail polishes