When it comes to fashion, Rachel Zoe’s never afraid to color outside the lines.
Long before becoming a “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, she cemented her reputation as one of the world’s most instantly recognizable star stylists — in addition to honing her own vivid, print-filled personal style.
“[I was] constantly around people that were putting different messages out there into the world and balancing it with what they were going through and how they wanted to project themselves,” she told us.
“Fashion should be fun,” she added. “I think that’s the message that I’ve always tried to put out there; it should always be your form of self-expression.”
She’s brought that same philosophy into her new role as Essie’s Chief Color Director, drawing on her experiences curating colorful clothing — and her longtime love of the brand’s polishes, which she’s worn for everything from recent red carpets to her Sweet 16 and high school proms. (“I went to six proms,” she laughed.)
Below, nail summer style with Zoe’s favorite colors for seasonal manicures, plus pro tips for what to wear with each one.
“For me, summer dressing is just about maxi and midi dresses, caftans and lots of white,” Zoe said, nothing that the “no white after Labor Day” rule is “so long gone.”
“I’ve been wearing white year-round my whole life,” she added. “I never subscribed to that because then it’s like, OK, what, don’t wear black past winter?”
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“I think part of the reason I tend to leave my nails this really pretty blush-y pink is because you don’t have to think about your lip color,” she said. “I’m definitely very monochromatic or cohesive.”
To complete the look, Zoe’s love of “blush-y nudes” extends to the Merit and Mary Phillips lip products she’s “obsessed” with. (“If you opened my bag, you would probably find at least 15 different lip pencils and lip glosses,” she quipped.)
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“Going into summer, I love metallics. I love wearing a lot of my vintage gold dresses from the ’70s, and I’ll put those with a more nude- or gold-toned nail polish,” she said. “There’s something that Essie has called Set in Stones; it’s so fun to put over any color.”
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“A lot of my friends that wear sort of a brighter red nail tend to wear a lot of nautical looks. It’s that very kind of East Coast summer vibe.”
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