Kristen Taekman on the Beauty Secrets of the New York Housewives
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Any fan of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City is familiar with Kristen Taekman, the model turned mom of two whose sunny nature sometimes seems at odds with the unnecessary but unmissable drama created by her costars. Her experience in the fashion industry combined with the some entrepreneurial help from her Eboost founder husband Josh lead Kristen to her next adventure: launching a line of nail polishes.
Starting this month, Kristen's 12-hue line Pop of Color goes on sale exclusively at Ricky's ($8 per polish). Kristen visited our New York office recently to chat about breaking into the beauty business and which of her fellow housewives has the best manicures on cable TV.
POPSUGAR: Why nail polish?
Kristen Taekman: This is really exciting for me because I love beauty, I love makeup, and I've always loved nail polish. I really am that girl who would get a full manicure on a Monday and then have a polish change on a Thursday. Now, my daughter, who is 3, is just as obsessed as I am — she's getting manicures right alongside me.
PS: Let's talk about the names of these polishes. They seem pretty personal!
KT: There are a lot of hashtags I like to use on social media and stuff that I like to say — like "blue moon" for an Elvis song and "pajamas" since I'm almost always in pajamas taking a selfie for some reason. Cry Baby is my favorite color . . . I got the samples, came home, started unpacking them, and my son walks into the room. I was like, "I named the green one after you — 'Cash Money!'" Then of course my daughter comes in and goes, "Well, what color did you name after me?" I was really quick to go, "This one — 'Cry Baby!'"
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PS: Quick thinking! How did you pair up with Ricky’s?
KT: My husband sells [Eboost] at Ricky's and has a really great relationship with them; he's been working with them for years. My name came up about a year ago in a meeting, and [the Ricky’s team] said, “We should do something with Kristin!" Josh says, "Well . . . she loves nail polish.” So, Josh came home that night and was like, "What's for dinner? Do you want to do a nail polish line?" I said to him, “You know I don't cook so you're on your own about dinner. But, awesome about the nail polish line!"
PS: As someone who has loved manicures her whole life, do you look back and remember what your nails looked like at certain times?
KT: A hundred percent. At my wedding, I remember it was a french manicure.
PS: Are there any moments where you wish your nails had been done differently?
KT: Both times I had my babies, I had crazy pedicures. Sorry, world — TMI. I don't know if you have kids, but you look at your feet for many hours while you're pushing. Remember when the rhinestones were really in? [I had] a heart on my right toe. I will always have a vision of that.
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PS: That’s hilarious. Now, as RHONY’s resident nail expert, can you say — or will you say — which of your fellow housewives could benefit from a good manicure?
KT: I'm going to go with Carole [Radziwill] or Dorinda [Medley], the new girl.
PS: How come?
KT: Actually, I should first and foremost say Heather [Thomson] because she's always so busy! She's always like, “Don't look at my nails. I need a manicure.”
PS: You’ll have to send her some Pop of Color! Besides you, who else has really great nails on the show?
KT: I think Sonja [Morgan]. She’s just so beautiful! She has the most amazing skin, always glowing, despite everything.
PS: I love to hear that! Having launched Pop of Color, do now you feel bitten by the business bug?
KT: I think so! I would love to branch out into other things, like lip gloss. With Pop of Color, it's endless right?