The top 24 semifinalists in NAILS Next Top Nail Artist contest sponsored by Gelish have been selected. In its first year, NAILS Next Top Nail Artist garnered entries from around the world. The high caliber of nail art submissions and video diaries put the pressure on our judges to select the cream of the crop for this reality show-inspired contest.

Judges took into consideration the quality and diversity of nail art techniques, photo and video quality, industry and social media involvement, as well as unique and passionate responses to a number of questions posed to the entrants.

According to NAILS associate publisher/editor Hannah Lee, “We spent countless hours going through each entry. We were so impressed by the materials everyone submitted and the quality of the nail art. We feel like we have a very strong group of 24 semifinalists. I can tell you this: it was not easy to get to this point, and it’s only going to get more difficult. We’d be happy with any of these semifinalists making it to the Top 12.”

NAILS Next Top Nail Artist 24 Semifinalists

1. Alecia Mounixay

2. Ashley Gregory

3. Britney Tokyo

4. Christian Mans

5. Danielle Lubin

6. Denise Escalante

7. Harold Sims

8. Hillary Fry

9. Jane Weiner

10. Jennifer Giovannetti

11. Jessica Vero

12. Julie Ventura

13. Lauren Wireman

14. Lexi Martone

15. Marilyn Garcia

16. Natalie Minerva

17. Olga Palylyk

18. Robyn Schwartz

19. Ryoko Garcia

20. Temeka Jackson

21. Tina Alberino

22. Truc "Max" Nguyen

23. Victoria Zegarelli

24. Winnie Huang

Ranging from the newly licensed to industry veterans, our 24 semifinalists will be narrowed down to a final 12 and announced in July at www.nexttopnailartist.com. The official contest begins the first week of September with weekly challenges through the fall. The final two contestants will be flown to ISSE Long Beach in 2014 to compete for the title of NAILS Next Top Nail Artist.

In addition to Gelish, sponsors include CND, Dashing Diva, Entity, Gel II, INM, It’s So Easy, Misa, NSI, OPI, and Orly.