So what are your favourite products? We’ve tallied the votes and are happy to announce the winners of the 2006 NAILS Readers’ Choice Awards. So many consumer beauty magazines and outside organizations give awards for favourite beauty products that we wanted to do some­thing in the professional nail care realm. And what could be a bigger honour than landing on the top five list voted for by the people who are actually using the products? (That’s you!)

This year we got double the responses we got last year. Ours are not “editor’s picks” or a “best of” roundup; they’re simply a fun look at what product you and your peers love right now.

We sent out nomination forms to every major product manufacturer in the nail industry. They nominated themselves (NAILS did not select the products for voting). We published the list of nominations in the August 2006 issue and sent readers online to vote for their favourite products. If your favourite products weren’t listed, you could write them in. Readers were not required to vote for every category.

Like in previous years, the votes for products were very close, so we are listing your top five favourites in each category. And the votes for favourite new product were so plentiful that we’re bringing you the top 15 favorite new products for 2006.

Acrylic System

1. Creative Nail Design: Retention+Liquid

2. OPI Products: Absolute Liquid & Powder Technology

3. EZ Flow Nail Systems: High Definition

4. Tammy Taylor Nails: Acrylic System

5. OPI: Competition 3000

Airbrushing System

1. Too Much Fun

Complete Airbrush System

1. 2. Safari Airbrush: Airbrush System

2. Del Laboratories: Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun

3. Badger Airbrush System

4. Aztek Airbrush System

Best Coat

1. Creative Nail Design: Stickey Base Coat

2. OPI Products: Natural Nail Base Coat

3. Orly International: Bonder

4. Nail Tek: Foundation

5. Seche: Seche Base

Brushes

1. OPI Products: Competition 3000 Edge Kolinsky Brush #7

2. Creative Nail Design: MasterSeries Pro Styler Brush

3. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Grand Artist 508

4. Tammy Taylor: Large Flat Custom Brush

5. Entity Beauty: Couture Sculpting Brush

Competition Products

1. OPI Products: Competition Formula 3000

2. Creative Nail Design: Moxie Fast Set Sculpting Liquid

3. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Competition Products

4. NSI: Attraction Competition Acrylic

5. Star: Flash Silica Acrylic

Computer System

1. Elite Software: Salon & Spa Management Software

2. Innovative Business Computer Solutions: The Spa Salon Manager

3. Mikal: Salon/Spa Management System (SMS)

4. Salon Iris

5. Harms Millenium

Cuticle Treatment

1. Creative Nail Design: SolarOil

2. OPI Products: Avoplex Nail and Cuticle Replenishing Oil

3. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Cuticle Love

4. ProLinc: Be Natural Cuticle Eliminator

5.(tie) Nail Tek: Renew Natural Cuticle Oil

  (tie) Cuccio Naturale: Apple Cuticle Remover

Design/Colored Acrylics

1. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Boogie Nights Kits

2. Creative Nail Design: Custom Blending Kit

3. OPI Products: Absolutefx Chromatones Precision Color Powders

4. NSI: Technailcolor

5. Star Nail International: Prismatix Glitter Powder

Disinfection/Sanitation

1. Creative Nail Design: ScrubFresh

2. OPI Products: Swiss Guard Antiseptic Handwash Gel

3. King Research: Barbicide Disinfectant

4. Isabel Cristina: Let’s Touch Disinfectant

5. Backscratchers Salon Systems: Germ Terminator Pro

Electric Files

1. Kupa: KP 3000

2. OPI Products: Professional Electric Nail Technician File

3. Medicool: Pro Power 30,000

4. Lasco Diamond Products: Micro Delux Nail Machine

5. Ultronics: Diamond Drill Bits

Files

1. Creative Nail Design: Girlfriend buffer

2. OPI Products: Brilliance Block and Long File

3. Backscratchers Salon Systems: SeptiFile Sanitizable File System

4. Flowery Beauty Products: D Files

5. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Pro Shine

Forms

1. Creative Nail Design: Performance Forms

2. OPI Products: Transform Reversible, Adhesive Nail Forms

3. Tammy Taylor: Gold Forms

4. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Perfect C Curve Forms

5. Entity Beauty: Sculpting Forms

Gel/Light System

1. Creative Nail Design: Brisa Gel System

2. OPI Products: MicroBond Gel Overlay & Sculpting System

3. IBD: French Extreme

4. LCN USA: Light Cured Resin System

5. Young Nails: Finish

Implements

1. OPI Products: Pusher Plus Multiuse Pusher

2. Mehaz: Triple Cut Tip Cutter

3. Tweezerman: V Cuticle Nipper

4. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Pro Pusher

5. Young Nails: Magic Wand

Lotion for Hands and Body

1. Creative Nail Design: Scentsations Hand and Body Lotions

2. OPI Products: Avojuice Skin Quenchers

3. Nail Tek: 7 Days to Beautiful Hands Advanced Hydrating Cr&me

4. Cuccio Naturale: Milk and Honey Butter Blend

5. Haken: Body Butter

Manicure System

1. Creative Nail Design: SpaManicure

2. OPI Products: Manicure By OPI

3. Cuccio Naturale: Hand, Nail & Foot Care Kit

4. Art of Beauty: Q-tica System

5. Nail Tek: 7 Days to Beautiful Hands System

Nail/Art/Decals/ Accessories

1. OPI Products: Competition 3000 Designer Brush

2. EZ Nails: That’s It? Instant Nail Art

3. ProLinc: Nail Styles 3D Nail Appliques

4. It’s So Easy: Picker Upper

5.All Season Nails: Nail Art Brush Set

Nail Jewelry

1. Snails Italian Jewelry: Nail Jewelry

2. Lava International: Jewlery Decals

3. Nubar: TowTwinx

4. Dina’s Nail Art: Nail Jewelry

5. It’s So Easy: Toerings

Odorless System

1. OPI Products: Clarité by OPI

2. Nail Tek: Natural Alternative

3. Star. Acrygel

4. NSI: SPA

5. Kupa: Odorless Acrylic System

Paraffin & Accessories

1. Gena

Ultimate Spa Paraffin Bath

1. GiGi: Paraffin Bath

2. Clean + Easy: Paraffin Spa

3. Cuccio Naturale: Grapeseed Hand Anti-Oxidant Oil

4. Depileve Hair Removal Co.: Professional Warmer

Pedicure Equipment

1. European Touch: Platino Spa

2. Belava: Pedicure Tub and Disposable Liners

3. Helen of Troy: Ultimate Footbath (model 61360)

4. SalonTech: Impulse

5. J&A USA: Petra 700 Pipeless Sanijet Pedicure Chair

Pedicure Product/System

1. Creative Nail Design: SpaPedicure

2. OPI Products: Pedicure by OPI

3. ProLinc: Be Natural Callus Eliminator

4. Cuccio Naturale: Milk and Honey Sea Salts

5. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Spa Elements

Polish Dryer

1. OPI Products: Drip DryLacquer Drying Drops

2. Creative Nail Design: Solar Speed Spray

3. China Glaze: Fast Freeze Quick Dry

4. Nail Tek: 10-Speed

5. Essie Cosmetics: Quick-e

Polish/Nail Color

1.OPI Products: Nail Lacquer

1. Essie Cosmetics: Nail Polish

2. China Glaze: Nail Polish

3. Creative Nail Design: Nail Enamel

4. Orly: Nail Lacquer

Salon Furniture

1. Takara Belmont: Bella Manicure Table

2. Veeco Manufacturing: Delta Manicure Table

3. Backscratchers Salon Systems: Salon Vac

4. China Glaze: 480 Permanent Rack

5. Buff & Go Inc.: Buff & Go Portable Workstation

Strengthener/Treatment

1. Nail Tek: Nail Tek Strengtheners

2. OPI Products: Nail Envy

3. Naitiques: Formula 2 – Nail Protein

4. Creative Nail Design: Toughen Up

5. China Glaze: Nail Strengthener & Growth Formula

Tips

1. Creative Nail Design: Velocity Tips

2. OPI Products: Structure Nail Tips

3. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Perfection Tips

4. Young Nails: Style Tips

5. Star Nail: Deep Smile Well-Less Tips

Top Coat

1. OPI Products: RapiDry Top Coat

2. Seche: Seche Vite

3. Creative Nail Design: Super Shiney

4. INM: Out The Door Top Coat

5. Almeli: Poshe Super Fast Drying Topcoat

Ventilation System/ Equipment

1. Modern Solutions: The One That Works Air Purifier

2. AIR Systems: Extract-All Model S031 Air Purifications System

3. Edsyn Inc: Fuminator

4. WTAC: Work Top Air Cleaner

5. Alpine: Air Purification System

Wrap System

1. Backscratchers Salon Systems: Glass Glaze Fiberglass & Silk Wrap System

2. OPI Products: Micro Wrap

3. EZ Flow Nail Systems: Fiberglass

4. Star: Ultimate Fiberware

5. All Season Nails: Brush-on Fiberglass Nails