Make them claws sing

Over the summer I picked up a few new "things" that I totally love, and they're totally things that I need to take advantage of before I turn 30. Because I don't think anyone at a private school is going to take an application seriously when the kid's mother wears tube socks, Marlene Dietrich red lipstick, hoop earrings, and skirt-turned-sundresses to the interview. One of my favorite new things is highlighter-themed finger nails, and I am positively infatuated with manicuring myself in shades that are ready to make love to a black light. Along with the go-to staples of black, white, and red, here are my recommendations for turning people's eyes to your mitts before your mug:

BLUE
I was at Ricky's yesterday (looking for flip-flops after drunk brunch because my 4.5-inch pumps couldn't make it to the subway - DON'T JUDGE) and saw these wonders. The blue one is a perfectly meditative and tranquil, yet perfectly aggressive and happy color. Do you not just want to wear it and feel so knowledgeable about everything? Also, they're only $6, which makes good for the fact that they're virtually internet obscurity (writingablogishard).

GREEN
I feel as if people can go many ways with green - my preferred general color, if this is an interview. My favorite nail polish ever in the world period the end has always been LA GirlsFlare nail polish in Gleaming (looks a lot like this), which isn't really green so much as it just... something anyone would just want to LICK. It was an impulse purchase I made at Urban out of pure curiosity. Ricky's sells everything else that is considerably highlighty green, so I recommend hauling ass there to get your astroturf on. Right now I have something "subtle" on my toes, which is Sally Hansen's Green with Envy.

ORANGE
Orange is not a very AWESOME color, you know? It comes across looking like a ballsy alternative to red, and for those who are just trying to dip their feet into this whole philosophy, I think orange is a good introduction into the "bright" school of nails. The orange that I use is Sally Hansen's Sun Kissed.

PINK
Pink is a default color for nails. It's safe and easy and pretty for anyone! However, if you want to get stupid with your paws like me, then I recommend you get Punchy Pink from Essie, which is what I'm wearing now. I saw Brooke Hogan wearing a similar color a few months ago, and since she's the arbiter of good decisions I decided to follow suit. I think this color is fun, youthful, and completely, totally, Barbie Caribbean. Who doesn't want that?

PURPLE
Personally, purple doesn't work with my skin tone as a "fun" shade. It either comes out looking like a very wintry hue or something that is a sassy, cool-mom attempt at not-red (which I HATE). The purple pedi I had on my cross-country miraculously looked awesome, however, my own "purple," if you must know, is Essie's Footloose. It was my shot at a eye-popping purple, and it failed miserably. However, I feel like it would work on someone who isn't Irish. So reach for the stars, rich nonalcoholic world!

RED
Red, when faced with the question of getting neon, essentially ends up being orange. I remember my most favorite pedicure was one that I had about three years ago. The day after we took a boat out of Annapolis Harbor, and floating in the murky Chesapeake Bay, I could still see my electric toenails, painted in approximately this shade, wading four feet below me. The sun, the color, the smell of Maryland freshwater... bliss.

YELLOW
Yellow is the best. Just the bar none best. It's cheery and unassuming and has this frustratingly mysterious way of making you lighten the fuck up. It TOTALLY reminds me of my mother, even though she's the last woman you would see wearing yellow nail polish. Anyway. For something that's going to look like it was used in an 8th-grade US history text book, I recommend Essie's Funky Limelight. On a more muted side of yellow, as in something more apropos to a Crayola box, I point you toward Sally Hansen's Lightening.