We gave 10 innovative nails techs a hodge-podge of items and instructed them to create five nail tips using only the items in their box full of goodies. As you can see, each tech has a specialty, and all came away with different creations using exactly the same materials.

The fun of the Food Network’s “Iron Chef” isn’t necessarily seeing who the winner is; the show’s real success comes because everyone enjoys seeing experts at the top of their game using their creative juices to produce an amazing feast. Taking that same idea, we gave 10 techs a box of supplies to see what their out-there thinking could produce. Their instructions were simple: Use the tips and at least some of the acrylics. Then use seven of the other 10 items to create five nail tips.

The iron techs were supplied with 10 tips from Nailite; CND’s Retention Starter Kit (with a clear acrylic added for this project); polish from OPI, Essie, and Orly; three metallic stripers from It’s So Easy; two sets of nail decals from Cina; and two packs of Imagination Art Supplies from Young Nails. All of these were packaged in a ruby polyprop purse from Action Bag Company. As soon as they received their kits, our techs were eager to get started!