I was a little girl in 1983 when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on STS-7. My father is a former pilot who loves all things air and space, and after hours spent visiting the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum (“Dad, can we go see Dorothy’s ruby slippers yet?”) and watching documentaries on having the “Right Stuff,” it was not lost on my young mind that all of the heroes of the space program were men. Until Sally.
Close-Up of the Cosmos
I started this post prior to news of Sally Ride’s death on Monday at the age of 61. It was going to be full of Star Trek references. But since I will forever picture Sally Ride hovering weightless aboard Challenger with a look of sheer joy on her face, I thought it would be better if this post on space-inspired nail art was a tribute to her.
Sephora’s YouTube Channel has some great tutorials on nail art, and I tried their “Space Cadet” look. Sephora used colors from their Sephora by OPI line, but I happened to have similar colors in my collection.
Nails Inc. (Black Taxi); Sinful Colors (Gorgeous); Butter London (Lillibet's Jubilee); Deborah Lippman (I Love The Nightlife)
I used my Deborah Lippman 2-Second Nail Primer and Rehydrating Base Coat, then applied two coats of Nails Inc. Black Taxi as my night sky. I let it dry a bit, then one nail at a time, applied a few drops of Sinful Colors Gorgeous (a shimmery aqua) and Lillibet’s Jubilee (silvery purple) and made “S” shapes with a toothpick to create a swirling galaxy. It helps to spread the drops out as much as possible with the toothpick as you’re swirling, otherwise this layer can be thick and take longer to dry. I also recommend letting this layer dry for a few minutes longer than normal, otherwise the next step can cause some wrinkling.
To add twinkling stars, I used Deborah Lippman I Love The Nightlife glitter. I applied a coat over the swirls first, then applied a coat over the entire nail.
Swirling Galaxies
Godspeed, Sally Ride. Thank you for letting a generation of young women know that we could shoot for the stars. We are forever grateful.
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