So last weekend I stumbled upon Wild Oleander in my neighborhood- a proper beauty parlor for the community, to be sure. The tropical retro furniture outside the joint serves as a sunny welcome, and I wandered in from the street wondering what the place actually was, and I soon saw others do the same when I came back for a manicure a few days later.
There is certain level of decorum one should follow when requesting anything custom anywhere. Don't expect magic, don't expect to know what you want, and definitely respect the time of others.
The salon has a couple of seasonal manicure designs on their menu, but upon hearing I could try requesting something, I knew exactly which kind of design I wanted to try. However, I don't think I had ever tried writing it down, less explain the damn thing. I was paired with Damisa, who patiently listened to me as I clumsily rattled off the design idea I wanted to try:
"ITHINKIWANNADOTHISHALFMOONRADIATINGINTHINLINESLIKEANETCHINGBUTIALSOWANNATRYCLEARNAILPOLISH??"
Finally, after this crazy redhead rattled off this thing she wanted to have on her fingers, Damisa suggested I bring up an image of what I wanted, and we'd go from there. I googled "Radiating lines, etching" into image search, found a thing, and we went to town.
After a coat of clear gel polish, I held my breath as Damisa took the skinniest brush she could find, and started to paint these glittery lines on my nails.
The resulting manicure is something I have always wanted: intricate, simple, pretty like jewelry. Thanks to the clear background, it has been growing out super nicely for a week now, and it feels great to look down at my hands every once in a while and admire someone's hard work, especially after they listened to my crazy ass.
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♥️✨
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