Every year the photos get better and the selection process gets harder. Thank goodness it’s up to you, the reader, to make the final choice. And this year, top honors went to Ruth Deruddere of MiYoshi Nailstudio in Borsbeek, Belgium. Closer to home, first runner-up Sarah Petersen of Rolla, Mo., was named Editors’ Choice, but you’ll have to wait until next month to catch sight of her intriguing image. Second runner-up LaDawna Lawton of Lemoore, Calif., delighted with her cute pooch, and KaSundra Anderson of Conyers, Ga., mined darker material to claim the third runner-up spot.

A big thank you to all who entered and all who voted.

Winner: Ruth Deruddere, Miyoshi Nailstudio, Borsbeek, Belgium

“We chose this pose because the nails may look hard, but the model looks soft,” says cover tech Ruth Deruddere, who elected to use her sister as her model. The nail design, which took two hours to to complete, makes use of a water-marbling technique with Color Club polish. “I applied a new set with tips and built the nail with a soft pink gel,” says Deruddere. “After filing the C-curve and stress area, I used the water-marbling technique. Basically, you take a glass of water and drip nail polish in it. With a Vrush-Pen, I drew a design in these different colors of polish and dipped the nail in the water. Then I used striping tape and a lot of Swarovski rhinestones to finish the nails.”

At her salon, she works exclusively with gels and gel-polish. “We do French manicures and full-color nails, but mostly gel nails with lots of nail art and especially airbrush, a technique that is very popular in Belgium,” she says.

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