Estelle Levinson

SET FOR SUCCESS. Sophomore nail artists Rania Khan and Mercury Romero pose with their custom nail sets. They’ve navigated the ins and outs of running their business, Shimmr, over the past few months, and have a loyal following.

The rough swipes of a nail file, the delicate application of the first coat of color, the swipe of an airbrush, the careful placement of gems, the curl of a brushstroke, the calculated curing of the polish. The process of doing nails is remarkably lengthy, but sophomores Rania Khan and Mercury Romero repeat it all the time, and with ease. 

The result is remarkable: gorgeous and unique sets of nails, complete with vibrant hues and eye-catching designs, sparkling gems and intricate butterflies, and always with a sleek finish.

Though time is essential to this process, the most fundamental part of doing nails is skill — something Rania and Mercury have mastered. They’ve taken that skill and poured into their  business, Shimmr Nails.

Since they began Shimmr Nails a few months ago, Rania and Mercury have navigated the ins and outs of running a business. Through their immense talent and remarkable artistry, their business has led them to build connections across the Lab community, a result they never anticipated when they began doing each other’s nails.  

Now, they have mastered the doing nails as Shimmr, a name with an intentional misspelling to showcase their initials, M and R, side by side, a testament to their partnership and impeccable art. 

“At the beginning, we did a lot of practicing on one another. We had a fake hand that we worked with, and we watched a bunch of tutorials,” Rania said. “And then our friends at the start really helped us. They put their trust in us when we were just beginning as a business. They were definitely not our best sets, but we couldn’t have gotten to where we are today without those first few clients.”

Mercury loved getting her nails done, but was tired of spending around $80 on each set. Taking matters into her own hands, she bought a bunch of nail supplies and began to teach herself with social media tutorials how to do nail design.

“When I got nails done, I realized how much money it was for each set,” Mercury said. “I realized that other people were probably dealing with the same thing, especially when you’re in high school, so I just wanted to make it something affordable and fun for people.”

Ninth grader Salma El Bissati appreciated this when she got her nails done by the pair. 

“My nails were extremely affordable compared to other salons with Gel-X,” Salma said, referring to a type of soft gel nail extension. 

Rania and Mercury do nails at Mercury’s house, and Salma enjoyed the relaxed environment. 

“Being done by teenagers like me, they were able to understand what I wanted. It was just like hanging out with friends. We were laughing and having fun the whole time,” Salma said.

“At the beginning, we were really awkward when we would be with these clients, if they weren’t our really close friends,” Rania said. “I think that’s definitely something that the business has taught us, because you have to sit there for two hours with somebody you’ve maybe never talked to in high school before.”

They created an Instagram account, @shimmrnails, to publicize their work, and their client pool expanded. The account now has almost 200 followers and multiple posts featuring the stunning sets. 

Junior Elsa Podszus loved her experience with Shimmr Nails and has gotten multiple sets, because of the comfortable and convenient environment. 

Elsa said, “Normally, I feel like I need to be super polite and quiet in a nail salon, but I was able to just talk and enjoy my experience.”

Over the summer, Rania and Mercury had their first experience doing nails for older students and recent Lab graduates, many of whom wanted special nails to coordinate with their Lollapalooza and homecoming outfits. They enjoyed hearing advice from their older clients, especially before their sophomore year. 

As they look toward the future, the pair hopes to book more clients for events such as Spring Fling and continue doing what they love as they build friendships across the community. 

“It’s just super cool to be able to see someone like upperclassmen in the hallways whose nails I’ve done, be able to see that set and say hi,” Mercury said.

Together they repeat that time-consuming process again and again. To see proof of their effort and talent, one only has to glance at the hands of countless members of the Lab community.