About a month ago, Julia Tartaglia, co-founder of the Scientista Foundation, contacted me to do a Scientista-inspired nail design which I was delighted to do. The Scientista Foundation was founded by Julia and her sister Christina and is the largest network for campus women in science, tech and engineering. It provides support for women in the form of visible role models, career advice and programs and encourages young women to embrace both femininity and brains in what may be a male-dominated career path.
I wish there was support like this when I was an undergrad because there were certainly times when I felt like I was “the only girl”. I felt like if I was a girl that did my nails and makeup, I had THAT much more to prove. One guy in my class even told me that if I really wanted good grades, I had to choose to either “study or be pretty”. Talk about an ultimatum huh?
So for today’s design, I decided to pay tribute to some of the most notable women in science and their discoveries! The Scientista colour is purple and their logo is two purple Xs which are actually two X chromosomes because that’s what makes us female!
Ada Lovelace: The first computer programmer in the 1800s who studied with English mathematician Charles Babbage and worked on Babbage’s “analytical machine”. I’ve used a computer to pay tribute to her contribution.
Marie Curie: Nobel prize winner and discoverer of Radium and Polonium. I chose Radium since this is the element people are more likely to identify with.
Barbara McClintock: She discovered transposable gene elements or genes that are able to “jump” between chromosomes. I chose the corn cob to as McClintock worked with MAIZE! Multi-coloured corn is the result of these jumping genes and that’s why my corn cob has all the different colours!
Rosalind Franklin: This woman was actually the one who discovered that DNA is a double helix and NOT Watson and Crick! She took x-ray diffraction images of DNA that revealed its true structure. These images were leaked to Watson and Crick by her own lab partner leading to Watson and Crick “making the discovery” instead! They even won a Nobel Prize in 1962 for the work on DNA, but she had died of ovarian cancer four years prior. I thought it was only fitting that I draw a double helix to honour her.
Believe it or not, this design took about 2 hours to come up with! The actual execution took about an hour and I am quite proud of my corn drawing skills. I should do it professionally. The actual colours I used to create the purple gradient are Lime Crime-Lavendairy, an unknown Color Club and of course China Glaze-Fairy Dust. The actual deigns were done with a small nail art brush and acrylic paint. The computer screen is one of my favourite pink glitters, China Glaze-Hello Gorgeous which I thought was the perfect colour to use for the occasion!
I hope you guys enjoyed this science-inspired nail art! They are a hard work, but I feel happiest when I do them and get to share them with you! And of course, support our Scientistas!
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