National Nail Polish Day is a holiday that falls on June 1st and is dedicated to the many shades of nail polish that have been used over the last several thousand years. Nail polish is one of the oldest fashion trends for humans—originating in ancient China—and it’s likely to be one that’s around for a long time to come. So why not paint your nails on this day and celebrate this holiday in style?

The History of National Nail Polish Day

This holiday has been celebrated for the past few years, and internet rumor has it that it was founded by Essie—a business that has dubbed itself the USA’s nail salon expert and one that’s been in operation since 1981.

The History of Nail Polish

Nail polish goes all the way back to ancient China over 5,000 years ago and quickly appeared in other parts of the world at the same time. During the Zhou Dynasty in 600 B.C., the royal house used nail polish in shades of silver and gold. As the years progressed, however, these metallic polishes fell out of favor with the royal family and were replaced with red and black shades of nail polish.

In Egypt, members of the royal family and other aristocrats used henna on their nails to give them a reddish-brown color. The lower classes, however, painted their nails in paler colors that weren’t as showy as the nails of the upper classes.

Modern nail polishes, however, weren’t made until the turn of the 20th century. Makeup artist Michelle Menard decided that she wanted to create a glossy lacquer for the nails that would give them the same shine as the paint for cars did for automobiles of the time. During the 1920s, she perfected her formula, and her nail polish became popular among flappers. By 1932, she had perfected her formula and launched her cosmetic house, Revlon. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Another invention that most people are familiar with is acrylic nails. These nails were designed by dentist Frederick Slack in 1957. He broke a nail at work, and in his attempt to repair it, he used some aluminum foil and dental acrylic. What he realized after he made it is that the fake nail looked very real, so he collaborated with his brother to create the acrylic nail and then eventually patented it.

Observing National Nail Polish Day

Since this is National Nail Polish Day, it’s the perfect day to try out new nail polish colors or get that manicure you’ve been waiting to get for so long. And after you have gotten your nails done, don’t forget to snap a picture and post it to social media using the hashtag #NationalNailPolishDay.