"Heaven/Hell: tell me a more dramatic and embellished theme than that! When I saw the challenge I immediately had this cherubs idea, and since I tried out my sculpting skills recently, I thought it was perfect timing."
Photo courtesy of
Brigitta Fajt
"I had an amazing client a couple of years back and she was always so in awe of extremely long nails. The more bling the better. We made plans (for me to) make her an extremely long stiletto. Unfortunately life thought differently, so this is my little homage for her. She would have rocked this badass set."
Photo courtesy of
Brigitta Fajt
"These nails were designed for Wednesday Addams. Wednesday loves all things dark, whether it be color or subject matter. We associate her to all things spooky: skulls, spiders, death, etc."
Photo courtesy of
Britt Higgins
"I decorated these nails on XL stiletto tips and incorporated her signature Peter-Pan collar into the design. The nails were pierced 80 times total to create grommets for the laced feature. The tops and bottoms of the nails are entirely covered in crystals, a few charms, and Thing, the Addams Family friend. The charms and chains create an edgy vibe to this set, with the blood vial, skull, and keys."
Photo courtesy of
Britt Higgins
"This set is titled The Fire and Ice Dragons -Treasure Den. I made this set for Emilia Clarke who plays Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, The Dragon Queen, to be worn in her next G.O.T. movie! But I also made them for myself. I love the movie Lord of the Rings and I love dragons."
Photo courtesy of
Jacqueline McClement
"This set was created on XL full cover tips. I first added Mylar and glitter to the underside of the nail tip, then used gel and plastic wrap to create diamond texture. More glitter and glowing gel finished the underside. Then I used alcohol inks to create the icy and fire nails for three other white nails. I then generously added genuine Swarovski crystals. I wanted a real sense of riches, treasure, and mystery in this set. The 3D fire and ice dragons are hand sculpted using 3D sculpting gel.
The sculpted acrylic wings and dragons eye/crown have magnets built in so they are movable/removal by the wearer. The eye was created using Mylar and glitters encased within layers of gel. Then the eyelid sculpted using 3D sculpting gel. The surface scale texture was added using the soap bubble technique. For added fun, I used glow in the dark acrylic and gel paints throughout the creation."
Photo courtesy of
Jacqueline McClement
"Scrolling back in time where I started getting interested in nails, Lady Gaga was a frontrunner for extreme fashion and nail art. She’s all about being bold, so of course I had her in mind making this set. In one of her first hits Bad Romance, she’s covered in platinum/bling, and chains and diamonds are flowing in the air. I also got inspired by her disco ball outfit and many leopard outfits and created disco leopard ball embellishments out of black Swarovski and gel paint."
Photo courtesy of
Jenna Jupin
"I created my own embellishments out of nail products, trying to make it look like real jewelry. I did extend the nails on forms, because I wanted them to be very long, but I did it on 5 short press-on tips, so the nails are easy to take on and off. The thumb and pinkie nail is inspired by the Tiffany & Co. (Which Lady Gaga is an Ambassador for) charm bracelet and featured the iconic heart and classical letter charms N T N A and J E N N A. Lot’s of Swarovski.
One of the embellishments is inspired by Panthères de Cartier, because I’ve seen Lady Gaga wear it. I think the leopard is a great symbol of power. I used 3D gel and chrome polish for the body, black gel paint and black Swarovski as spots, green leaf-shaped crystals for eyes, lots of clear Swarovski, and caviar beads to finish it.
I didn’t decorate all the space of the nails, because I wanted to have the shape, expression and sharpness in focus."
Photo courtesy of
Jenna Jupin
"I chose to represent my biggest idol: Walt Disney! He has always inspired me and guided me through a lot of things in my life! 'If you can dream it, you can do it'. That’s how I roll, and this competition was for me a big dream!"
Photo courtesy of
Marie Henchoz
"Everything is hand-painted with gel paint. I chose to go with pearls to make this represent me because I’m a fan of everything that has to do with pearls.
I chose to represent the evolution of the Mickey drawing to show my evolution throughout the years! A lot if people didn’t believe in me and tried to turn me down, but I always continued to believe in myself and my passion! Walt Disney was (rejected) because he had different ideas, but he continued, no matter what, and created his own business. It’s super inspiring!"
Photo courtesy of
Marie Henchoz
"The set I have created is for my celebrity friend Kirsty Meakin. She's super glamorous and fashionable. She loves green nails, bling, and cool designs. Kirsty owns a green Mustang, loads of green shoes, and handbags. She's absolutely obsessed with everything green."
Photo courtesy of
Kamila Borowiec
"For this challenge I wanted to show a different side of me and create nails fit for a celebrity like Kirsty. I decided to go with a detailed 3D French with glitter, snake skin look, and sea shells to add more dimension to the design. The nails are created with polygel and gel polish. I decided to sculpt the nails instead of decorating nail tips to show you my sculpting skills in a different way. The look I created is luxurious, glamorous, and fashionable. The nails are also decorated with Swarovski crystals and chain. The shape is 'Gothic Almond'."
Photo courtesy of
Kamila Borowiec
"Heaven/Hell: tell me a more dramatic and embellished theme than that! When I saw the challenge I immediately had this cherubs idea, and since I tried out my sculpting skills recently, I thought it was perfect timing."
Photo courtesy of
Brigitta Fajt
"I had an amazing client a couple of years back and she was always so in awe of extremely long nails. The more bling the better. We made plans (for me to) make her an extremely long stiletto. Unfortunately life thought differently, so this is my little homage for her. She would have rocked this badass set."
Photo courtesy of
Brigitta Fajt
"These nails were designed for Wednesday Addams. Wednesday loves all things dark, whether it be color or subject matter. We associate her to all things spooky: skulls, spiders, death, etc."
Photo courtesy of
Britt Higgins
"I decorated these nails on XL stiletto tips and incorporated her signature Peter-Pan collar into the design. The nails were pierced 80 times total to create grommets for the laced feature. The tops and bottoms of the nails are entirely covered in crystals, a few charms, and Thing, the Addams Family friend. The charms and chains create an edgy vibe to this set, with the blood vial, skull, and keys."
Photo courtesy of
Britt Higgins
"This set is titled The Fire and Ice Dragons -Treasure Den. I made this set for Emilia Clarke who plays Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, The Dragon Queen, to be worn in her next G.O.T. movie! But I also made them for myself. I love the movie Lord of the Rings and I love dragons."
Photo courtesy of
Jacqueline McClement
"This set was created on XL full cover tips. I first added Mylar and glitter to the underside of the nail tip, then used gel and plastic wrap to create diamond texture. More glitter and glowing gel finished the underside. Then I used alcohol inks to create the icy and fire nails for three other white nails. I then generously added genuine Swarovski crystals. I wanted a real sense of riches, treasure, and mystery in this set. The 3D fire and ice dragons are hand sculpted using 3D sculpting gel.
The sculpted acrylic wings and dragons eye/crown have magnets built in so they are movable/removal by the wearer. The eye was created using Mylar and glitters encased within layers of gel. Then the eyelid sculpted using 3D sculpting gel. The surface scale texture was added using the soap bubble technique. For added fun, I used glow in the dark acrylic and gel paints throughout the creation."
Photo courtesy of
Jacqueline McClement
"Scrolling back in time where I started getting interested in nails, Lady Gaga was a frontrunner for extreme fashion and nail art. She’s all about being bold, so of course I had her in mind making this set. In one of her first hits Bad Romance, she’s covered in platinum/bling, and chains and diamonds are flowing in the air. I also got inspired by her disco ball outfit and many leopard outfits and created disco leopard ball embellishments out of black Swarovski and gel paint."
Photo courtesy of
Jenna Jupin
"I created my own embellishments out of nail products, trying to make it look like real jewelry. I did extend the nails on forms, because I wanted them to be very long, but I did it on 5 short press-on tips, so the nails are easy to take on and off. The thumb and pinkie nail is inspired by the Tiffany & Co. (Which Lady Gaga is an Ambassador for) charm bracelet and featured the iconic heart and classical letter charms N T N A and J E N N A. Lot’s of Swarovski.
One of the embellishments is inspired by Panthères de Cartier, because I’ve seen Lady Gaga wear it. I think the leopard is a great symbol of power. I used 3D gel and chrome polish for the body, black gel paint and black Swarovski as spots, green leaf-shaped crystals for eyes, lots of clear Swarovski, and caviar beads to finish it.
I didn’t decorate all the space of the nails, because I wanted to have the shape, expression and sharpness in focus."
Photo courtesy of
Jenna Jupin
"I chose to represent my biggest idol: Walt Disney! He has always inspired me and guided me through a lot of things in my life! 'If you can dream it, you can do it'. That’s how I roll, and this competition was for me a big dream!"
Photo courtesy of
Marie Henchoz
"Everything is hand-painted with gel paint. I chose to go with pearls to make this represent me because I’m a fan of everything that has to do with pearls.
I chose to represent the evolution of the Mickey drawing to show my evolution throughout the years! A lot if people didn’t believe in me and tried to turn me down, but I always continued to believe in myself and my passion! Walt Disney was (rejected) because he had different ideas, but he continued, no matter what, and created his own business. It’s super inspiring!"
Photo courtesy of
Marie Henchoz
"The set I have created is for my celebrity friend Kirsty Meakin. She's super glamorous and fashionable. She loves green nails, bling, and cool designs. Kirsty owns a green Mustang, loads of green shoes, and handbags. She's absolutely obsessed with everything green."
Photo courtesy of
Kamila Borowiec
"For this challenge I wanted to show a different side of me and create nails fit for a celebrity like Kirsty. I decided to go with a detailed 3D French with glitter, snake skin look, and sea shells to add more dimension to the design. The nails are created with polygel and gel polish. I decided to sculpt the nails instead of decorating nail tips to show you my sculpting skills in a different way. The look I created is luxurious, glamorous, and fashionable. The nails are also decorated with Swarovski crystals and chain. The shape is 'Gothic Almond'."
Photo courtesy of
Kamila Borowiec
We’re getting down to the wire with this season’s Next Top Nail Artist: Season 10. Six finalists are left as of this week, and although it’s bitter-sweet, we must eliminate another three at the end of the week to arrive at our Top 3.
Until then, please enjoy the work our six have come up with for this week’s extra-exciting challenge: Embellishments. We directed them to “go big or go home” creating a look especially for a celebrity, character, or favorite client, and they definitely delivered. Gems, chains, charms, and decorations of all kind are sure to make your eyes pop.
Flip through the slideshow above to see the finalist's entries!
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