DieHard TryHards: Nail Art

By Sahas Goli, Sally Han, Ayushi Kashyap & Andria Luo Staff Writers

In this month’s DieHard TryHards, four Smokies will com pete against each other in a nail-biting challenge to create the best nail art design. Who will claw their way to the top?

After prom, I was left feeling empty without my 3-inch acrylics, so I decided to scour the Internet for the cheapest nail salons. Thus, I turned to my favorite app, Pinterest, to find nail art pictures that exuded the most clickety-clackety vibes! With over 600 pins on my nail inspo board, I’m sure to nail this challenge with inspiration from my continuous scrolling antics. Whatever design I decide to do from my multi-faceted inspiration board — chevron, blush, holographic — I’ve got it all down.

Forget breakups and hair dye. College apps and nail polish are the new “it” combo. With six whole months of experience painting my nails as an alternative to seeking therapy, I am confident that I will sweep this competition. Four years of doing fake calligraphy in my notebook margins have left me with unbeatable fine motor skills and attention to detail. From French tips to minuscule hearts to poorly blended gradients — you name it, I’ve probably attempted it. Life’s too short for boring nails, in my opinion, so I’m going all out for this competition.

Entering this competition with no nail skills to my name, the only thing I have going for me is my 16 years of lived experience with 10 nails on my hands. So, I’m kind of an expert on nails. On the other hand (or nail), my painting skills and experience with nail polish are limited to, well, nothing. With my wealth of inexperience, I’m not feeling too great about my chances. I’ll only be able to rely on my innate confidence to carry me to a hopefully-not-last place finish. I guess you could say I’m just hang(nail) ing onto hope by a thread.

Sally Ayushi Andria Sahas

Second Third First Third

It seems like my fabulous nails were too flashy for their own good. The precision of a toothpick was just not enough to bring out the intricacy of my design, resulting in second place. As for my second ring finger nail design, it was totally just my take on abstract nails (and definitely not because I got impatient and dropped it by accident). Next time, I’ll be back with more patience for the drying time and consider the materials that I’m working with.

Despite my lackluster performance, I still think I made some stellar nails. Tying for third is not last ... I think! It’s clear my trusty Pinterest board filled with exquisite nails has failed me. I’m disheartened to see the lack of acknowledgment for the 20 minutes I spent making my beautiful nails. Unfortunately, the polka-dot theme clearly did not nail it. Maybe, it’s a sign that I should stick to going to the salon to get my nails done. It might drain my wallet, but at least I won’t drain my energy!

What’s that weird scent, you ask?

Oh, it’s not just nail polish; that’s the smell of success. Seems like all the permanent damage I inflicted on my nails the past six months wasn’t for nothing after all. I would like to thank my parents for funding my nail polish obsession, my Instagram feed for keeping me updated on the latest nail art trends, and my friends for believing in me. This victory goes to all you guys too.

Well, I guess I technically wasn’t last. Just tied for third place. I’m not surprised, given that I never really had a talent for art and never touched artificial nails before. However, I did much better than I expected. It turns out that randomly swirling nail polish can make for some great marble and my randomly dripped polish made way better designs than I could have ever done myself. I guess true designs come from nature itself. Or perhaps the true nail art was the friends we made along the way. I’m coping, ok?