AJ Nails Collection - UK indie feature

The very first thing that struck me about this brand is how much more the owner, Ashleigh Johnson, says about Beauty Without Bunnies than she does about herself on her website, which led me to believe this is particularly important to her. AJ Nails Collection is a cruelty-free and vegan brand, which seems pretty common amongst indies, and as convenient as I find mainstream brands, I do love knowing that when I purchase an indie I am supporting conscious products. Ashleigh is a vegetarian ‘on the way to vegan’, and before starting up AJ Nails Collection she did a lot of research into the ingredients and practices used by mainstream brands, which she says she found heart-breaking.

I’ve only ordered one product so far, a fabulous mini neon pink called Pink Martini, but it came with a full sized bottle of an ‘oopsie’ as a gift, which seemed very generous considering my conservative purchase. Ashleigh places huge importance on customer service, which was very clear in the way she interacted with me, initially as a customer and then as a blogger asking slightly stalker-like questions.

Ashleigh has a master’s degree in youth justice, community safety and applied criminology, which I think is not only phenomenally cool but also an area where we could use amazing, driven people in the current world climate. She is currently launching a new brand called Ashleigh J Cosmetics, and I can’t wait to see what comes out!

Back onto nail polish for just a minute. Pink Martini, which is my favourite neon so far as it needed no white base coat and only two coats to reach eye-burning intensity, has already been used for (lazy) nail art, as pictured on the cover of this blog post. Oopsie 29 (a creamy, warm pink with the faintest shimmer) will find its way into another project soon.

This is definitely a brand I will buy from again, and if you’re a supporter of Black Lives Matter, you’ll be pleased to know AJ Nails Collection and Ashleigh J Cosmetics are black-owned brands.

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