The trend of wearing press-on nails is popular among high school students. Artificial nails are one of the most fashionable accessories to customize your prom outfit, birthday party dress, or to just feel good. Tapping into this trend, Mia Cadenillas (‘28) and Claudia Patino (‘26) have developed a talent and enthusiasm for nail art.

Cadenillas (left) and Patino (right).

     Last fall, when Cadenillas tried creating the nail set she received from her mom’s friend and disliked it, she ended up throwing it away. But when her mom bought her a simpler, gel polish kit, Cadenillas became invested in starting from scratch and creating her own press-on designs.

     “At the start, I said I hated it, but then I learned that I had quite the talent for it, so I kept continuing,” she said.

  Patino was always interested in nail art and designed artificial nails for fun. “I started making flimsy press-ons and slowly went into doing acrylic on myself and my family,” she said. Acrylic nails are created by combining liquid monomer with power polymer and take hours of work to apply.

  She decided to try different styles for her nail creations, but she initially felt discouraged. “It was hard and comparison was the thief of joy when it came to my work.”

     Patino’s nail set creations range from minimalist to maximalist styles. She’s made almond shaped press-ons with graceful little flowers, but also extravagant flare-shaped cute monkey-themed ones to match a specific occasion.

   Cassandra Dans (‘28), a friend of Cadenillas, said of a nail set Cadenillas made, “I asked her for a set that was a stained glass kind of pattern. It was really intricate, but she was able to still do it and make it look how I envisioned it.”

          Cadenillas would like to continue to pursue her talent in the future because of the satisfaction she gets from the work. “I feel like nails are something very important to people, because nails are something that gives people confidence despite seeming like something so minimal. It does wonders to people.”

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CLAUDIA PATINO (’26) AND MIA CADENILLAS (’28)