We tallied your votes and nail tech Miki Nakano of Nail Salon Ciel in Tokyo took top honors this year with her oh-so-pretty puzzle image. Congratulations to Miki, and to runners-up Janina Lumous, Lenzi Brock, and Melanie McCulley. A giant thank you goes out to everyone who entered.

Meet the Winner

“I wanted to capture the unique effect of a water ripple as light hits its surface,” says nail tech Miki Nakano, who used Cal Gel to create the winning nails. “After creating a gradation using three colors, I placed a thin coat of white over the gradation. Then I randomly placed clear throughout the tip to create an illusion of the water’s surface before curing it. The total process took about two hours.” A tech of five years, Nakano used her own hand in the photo.

You Might Also Like:

Cover Tech 2013: Mining for Metals

Cover Tech 2012: An Eye for Beauty

Cover Tech 2011: Steppin' Out in Style