How to Create a Fake Girlfriend on Instagram, in 8 Easy Steps

The stereotypical images of Instagram are so stereotypical, at this point, as to be cliches. A trio of glistening clouds presiding over a sun-drenched lake (#vacation). A poached egg, its innards oozing onto a plate (#brunch). A leaf carefully etched into the delicate milk-cloud of a latte (#caffeinefix). Friends. Family. Fun. Foam. Instagram is, at its best and at its worst, a place where you Live Your Best Life™ and then broadcast the living.

But what if your life isn't as best as it could be? What if there's something missing? What if, actually, there's someone missing?

The photographer Keisuki Jinushi has a solution to this problem -- in the form of a life hack that is less about the life, and more about the hack. The fix? Just invent a girlfriend! And then Instagram yourself on a date with ~~yourself~~ her!

To do this effectively, you'll need, at minimum: pancake makeup, a hair tie, a bottle of nail polish, and various props (preferably food items). You'll also need a highly developed sense of humor and/or gnawing loneliness and/or a finely honed appreciation of the absurd.

Got all that? Great. Then follow these easy steps. And you, too, will be on your way to Instagrammed bliss.

1. Apply makeup to the hand-skin. Preferably of a different color than your natural skin. Preferably onto your dominant hand.

2. Paint the fingernails of the dominant hand. Preferably pink. Allow to dry, approximately 15 minutes. Add a decorative hair tie to the wrist of the made-up, nail-painted hand.

3. Go to a coffee shop, a park, or another other place you might frequent with an actual girlfriend. If necessary, simply simulate that spot.

4. Use your dominant hand to mimic the gestures an actual girlfriend might make while seated across from you: squeezing your cheeks, feeding you treats, lovingly wiping errant condiments from your lips.