nails & whales

Another post from the archives! Original manicure created December 12, 2014. 

I've gotta admit – the past few months weren't the most enjoyable. Stack a busy academic schedule on top of college applications and interviews, and you get a bunch of cranky seniors who want nothing more than to fast forward to the Promised Land: second semester. Around mid-December, everything was on full throttle. The final push for college apps. The last few weeks before first semester finals. Stress piled on stress, and the Promised Land seemed a little too far yet too close... Would I have enough time to raise my borderline grades? Would I ever finish all of these unwritten applications?

Well, as of February 16, 2015, I can say that I survived.

It was tough, though. And, of course, painting my nails helped me get away from it all for a few moments. Breathe out the toxicity of obsessing over academics and breathe in the toxicity of phthalate, formaldehyde resin, and toluene. A worthy trade! (No, I did not get high, nor did I try to.)

Let's backtrack a bit. Around December, I was sick of writing disingenuous essays that only touted academic achievements. My fervor for oceanography and neuroscience (which are indeed intact, but a little bland). My service club, Science For Youth. All that blasé stuff. I was tired of it. 

Screw it, I thought. Let's write about unorthodox things. Nail polish and embracing – not casting away! – the model minority stereotype and escape-the-room games. Hermetically sealed room mysteries. Stuff with a little more kick, a little more flavor. 

And that's exactly what I did. 

I loved it. 

Come mid-December, I had scheduled my first college interview. I then made a second executive decision: if I were to talk about nail polish in my essays, I would talk about it in real life. In my interviews. Why not? If you examine this manicure, you'll find that its color scheme may be reminiscent of another... Hence the title of this post. 

Wow, so sly.

(Nothing ended up happening. It was a fun first interview, though.) 

Since then, life's been good. We've reached the Promised Land at last, and things are just peachy. I've been uncharacteristically talkative on this post, oops. To the actual manicure!

The composition/balance of this design is a little off, what with the heavy index and middle fingers, blinged out ring finger, and the sparse pinky design. But, my nails are shiny, and the roses aren't too badly colored. (I'm relatively new to the roses scene, so they're rather hit or miss.) I'll take it.

Continue reading to see the process!

In retrospect, I totally should've numbered the images of this GIF, but the progression of the stages should be clear!