• March 9, 2011
• NAILS Magazine

This morning, as I tore February off my calendar, I realized that the ISSE Midwest Chicago, Flat Nail Art Competition is only a few short weeks away. A red “X” marks the Saturday, March 26th, that

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• March 2, 2011
• NAILS Magazine

Hey lovely nail techs all over this wonderful world, I am Roxy Carrillo, cosmetologist and makeup artist. Recently I’ve become a Nubar educator and I have been going to shows and viewing more and more nail

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• February 24, 2011
• NAILS Magazine

Well, it is official, I have finally lost my mind. Not only have I decided to start competing again — after over a decade absence from any competition forum — but I have also decided to

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• February 18, 2011
• NAILS Magazine

I made it back from ISSE, and I can tell you that I will go to that show every year. Competition aside for a moment, the classes, demos and showroom (vendors) were amazing! 

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• January 27, 2011
• NAILS Magazine

Practice, practice, practice. I don’t believe I have never practiced nails so sternly than I have in the last week. Set after set I concentrated on every little detail; the smile line, the moons, the length,

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• January 13, 2011
• NAILS Magazine

My name is Classic and I am 31 school days away from graduating from my cosmetology school. My school is actually my third college I have attended, and while I’m in my late-20s it has only

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• December 30, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the manufacturers for their contribution to the betterment of the nail industry through competition sponsorship. If not for them, we would have a very hard time finding

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• December 20, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

While I was perusing my fellow bloggers’ sites looking for inspiration, I ran across a topic that I have wanted to blog about for some time now. It seams that Maggie of “Maggie Rants and Raves” stumbled

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• December 15, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means “circle” and it is usually a drawing or painting used for meditation practices and it has spiritual and ritual significance in several religions. I’m not trying to get all

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• December 9, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

I’ve been getting the question of “what’s next?” a lot lately. And the truth is that I have new ideas. I haven’t missed a single competition in the United States for five years. Plus, I added international

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• December 6, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

Some of you may already know that I’m giving up my post as “The Competition Insider” at the end of the year. It’s really been great to have this place here where I can share my

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• November 30, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

I’m surprised by some competitors. They think their nails are perfect just as they are (which may be the case for their customers) and that they should win a competition because they think that their nail

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• November 23, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

Have you ever submitted to a photo competition? I recently judged a competition, in which the competitors did the nails at home, took pictures of them and e-mailed them in. It was hard for me as

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• November 11, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

The 2011 competition schedule has just hit the internet and I must say I am quite surprised. There are some big change ups and new locations, and it looks like we have to say good-bye to

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• November 9, 2010
• NAILS Magazine

Wrangling models is always a chore. If you don’t have a model that you work with regularly, then you have to find one on the trade show floor or try to meet someone online and then

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