We can hardly believe it’s been eight years since we launched the first-ever NAILS Readers’ Choice Awards. Allowing YOU to choose YOUR favorite products by category has always made sense to us. I mean, who better to choose the best professional nail care products than those of you who use them on a regular basis?

For a professional nail product manufacturer, making it on the top five list is a very validating moment in the spotlight. Ours are not “editor’s picks” or a “best of” roundup; they’re simply a snapshot in time telling us the products you and your peers love at this moment.

So what are your favorite products? We’ve tallied the votes and are happy to announce the winners of the 2011 NAILS Readers’ Choice Awards. (The votes for products were very close, so we are listing your top five favorites in each category. We’re also highlighting the top 20 favorite new products for 2011.)

And since we have some history behind our awards, log on to www.nailsmag.com/RCA to take a look at our new online feature that shows what products are consistently on the list from year to year and who has broken into the club of finalists. You’ll notice we’ve modified our categories a bit this year to reflect industry trends (we added a gel-polish category, for instance).

Now for the small print: 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). In August and September, we sent readers online to vote for their favorite ­products. If your favorite products weren’t listed, you could write them in. Readers were not required to vote for every category.

If you have any comments or would like to see additional categories in the future, please let us know. You can e-mail Hannah.Lee@bobit.com.

FAVORITE ACRYLIC (TRADITIONAL) SYSTEM

1. CND: Retention+ Sculpting Liquid and Perfect Color Powders

2. Young Nails: Acrylic System

3. OPI Products: Absolute Liquid & Powder Technology

4. NSI: Attraction Acrylic System

5. Hand & Nail Harmony: Acrylic System

FAVORITE ACRYLIC (COLOR) SYSTEM

1. Young Nails: Colored Acrylic

2. CND: Perfect Color Powder Collection

3. OPI Products: AbsoluteFX Color Powders

4. EZ Flow: Boogie Nights Confetti Acrylic Collection

5. NSI: Technailcolor Colored Acrylic

FAVORITE BASE COAT

1. CND: Stickey Base Coat

2. OPI Products: Natural Nail Base Coat

3. Seche: Seche Clear

4. Orly International: Bonder

5. China Glaze: Ridge Filler Base Coat

FAVORITE BRUSHES (FOR ENHANCEMENTS)

1. OPI Products: Artist Series Brushes

2. CND: ProSeries Enhancement Brushes

3. Young Nails: Finesse Sculptor Brush

4. NSI: Royal Precision Brush #8

5. Entity Beauty: Pink Studio Sculpting Brush

FAVORITE CUTICLE TREATMENT

1. CND: SolarOil

2. Young Nails: Rose Cuticle Oil

3. OPI Products: Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go

4. NSI: Nurture Oil

5. Hand & Nail Harmony: Nourish by Harmony

FAVORITE DISINFECTION (IMPLEMENTS) PRODUCT

1. OPI Products: Spa Complete

2. King Research: Barbicide

3. Ultronics: Ultracare Disinfectant

4. Backscratchers Salon Systems: Cavacide Salon Disinfectant

5. Isabel Cristina: Let’s Touch “The Only No Rust” Disinfectant

FAVORITE DRILL OR ELECTRIC FILE

1. Kupa: UP-2-G

2. Young Nails: YN-99 Electric File

3. Medicool: Pro Power 20K Rechargeable Filing System

4. OPI Products: Professional Electric Nail Technician File

5. The Nail Superstore: SuperSonic3

FAVORITE FILES

1. Young Nails: 150/150 Zebra Files

2. OPI Products: Professional Files

3. NSI: Endurance Nail Files

4. CND: Girlfriend Buffer

5. Entity Beauty: Shiner

FAVORITE GEL (TRADITIONAL) SYSTEM

1. CND: Brisa Gel System

2. Young Nails: Synergy Gel System

3. OPI Products: Axxium Gel System

4. NSI: Balance UV Gel System

5. Hand & Nail Harmony: Gelish Hard Gel

FAVORITE GEL (SOAK-OFF) SYSTEM

1. OPI Products: Axxium Soak-off Gel Lacquers

2. Young Nails: ManiQ Soak Off Gel

3. NSI: Illusion Soak-Off Gel System

4. ibd: Soak-Off Gel System

5. EZ Flow: Gel It! Alternative Soak-Off System

FAVORITE GEL (COLOR) SYSTEM

1. Young Nails: Kaleidoscope Gel

2. CND: Brisa Color Gels

3. NSI: Balance UV Color Gels

4. Light Elegance: Gel Polishes

5. ibd: Color Gels

FAVORITE IMPLEMENT OR TOOL

1. OPI Products: Titanium Tooling System

2. Young Nails: Magic Wand

3. Tweezerman Professional: Cobalt Stainless Steel Cuticle Nipper

4. Mehaz Professional: #777 Cuticle Nipper

5. EZ Flow: Pro Pusher

FAVORITE LOTION FOR HANDS AND BODY

1. CND: Scentsations

2. OPI Products: Avojuice Skin Quenchers Lotion

3. Young Nails: Lomasi Lotions

4. Cuccio Naturalé: Lemongrass & Lavendar Body Butter

5. NSI: Nurture Lotion

FAVORITE MANICURE SYSTEM

1. CND: Almond SpaManicure

2. OPI Products: Avoplex Moisture Replenishing System

3. Entity Beauty: Nanovive Skin Revival System

4. Tammy Taylor: Peach Manicure Products

5. Essie Cosmetics: Ejuvenate

FAVORITE NAIL ART/DECALS/ACCESSORIES

1. Young Nails: Glitter Collections

2. OPI Products: Designer Brush

3. Cina Nail Creations: Cina Nail Art Pens

4. NSI: Glitter Kit

5. It’s So Easy: Stripe Rite

FAVORITE NAIL PREP PRODUCTS

1. CND: ScrubFresh

2. Young Nails: Protein Bond

3. OPI Products: Bond-Aid PH Balancing Agent

4. NSI: Nailpure Plus

5. Hand & Nail Harmony: Pro Bond

FAVORITE PEDICURE EQUIPMENT

1. Belava: Pedicure Tub with Disposable Liners and Heater/Massager Unit

2. Footsie Bath of Beverly Hills: Footsiebath & Footsiebath Ez Access Tray

3. European Touch: Rinato Spa

4. Medicool: PediNova Professional Electric Pedicure File

5. Thermal Spa: Nail Dryer

FAVORITE PEDICURE PRODUCT OR SYSTEM

1. OPI Products: Manicure/Pedicure by OPI

2. CND: Marine SpaPedicure

3. Young Nails: Lomasi Line

4. Entity Beauty: RainForest Body Couture

5. Cuccio Naturalé: Pomegranate & Fig Signature Service Kit

FAVORITE PEDICURE TOOL

1. OPI Products: Disinfectable Foot File with Disposable Grit Strips

2. Mehaz Professional: Two-Sided Curette

3. Tweezerman Professional: Pedicure Plus

4. Cuccio Naturalé: Metal Foot File

5. Flowery Professional: Swedish Clover Fot Fil

FAVORITE POLISH DRYING PRODUCT

1. OPI Products: Drip Dry Lacquer Drying Drops

2. CND: Solar Speed Spray

3. China Glaze: Fast Freeze Quick Dry

4. NSI: Airshield

5. Jessica Cosmetics: Jessica Quick Dry

FAVORITE POLISH (TRADITIONAL)

1. OPI Products: Nail Lacquer

2. China Glaze: Polish

3. CND: Colour & Effects

4. Essie Cosmetics: Nail Polishes

5. Zoya and Qtica: Zoya Nail Polish

FAVORITE POLISH (GEL-POLISH OR UV-CURED POLISH)

1. CND: Shellac

2. Hand & Nail Harmony: Gelish

3. Young Nails: ManiQ Color

4. NSI: Polish Pro

5. Jessica Cosmetics: GELeration

FAVORITE STRENGTHENER OR TREATMENT

1. OPI Products: Nail Envy

2. Nail Tek: Nail Tek/Hydration Therapy Strengtheners

3. CND: Toughen Up

4. China Glaze: Nail Strengthener & Growth Formula

5. Nailtiques: Formula 2

FAVORITE TIP

1. CND: Velocity Tips

2. OPI Products: Structure Tips

3. Young Nails: Style Tips

4. NSI: Elation Nail Tips

5. Entity Beauty: Salon Style Tips

FAVORITE TOP COAT

1. Seche: Seche Vite

2. OPI Products: Rapid Dry Top Coat

3. CND: Super Shiney Top Coat

4. Young Nails: Y-UV Top Coat

5. NSI: Glaze ‘N Go

FAVORITE VENTILATION SYSTEM

1. Air Impurities Removal Systems: Salon Pure Air

2. Medicool: Mani-Vac by Medicool

3. Valentino: Beauty Pure

4. Farouk Systems: CHI Ionic Manicure Lamp

5. Aerovex Systems: “The One That Works” Salon Air Purifier

FAVORITE WRAP SYSTEM

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

2. EZ Flow: Professional Fiberglass System

3. Nubar: Infinity Silk Wrap

4. Soft Touch: Dispense-A-Wrap

5. ASP: Aspire Wrap Kit

TOP 20 FAVORITE NEW PRODUCTS

1. OPI: Shatter by OPI

2. Young Nails: ManiQ Color Gel Polish

3. Hand & Nail Harmony: Gelish Hard Gel            

4. NSI: Polish Pro Light-Cured Nail Polish

5. CND: Retention+ Powders

6. Entity Beauty: Entity One Color Couture Gel Enamel  

7. LCN USA: LCN Magnetic Nail Polish

8. Famous Names: Lumos Topcoat

9. Cuccio Naturalé: Lavender & Chamomile Lyte               

10. BioSculpture USA: Salon Size Vitamin Dose

11. GiGi: Super Fruit Wax

12. Tammy Taylor: Miracle Manicure Base Coat 

13. EZ Flow: Gelez          

14. Soft Landings: Soft Landings Towels

15. Valentino Beauty Pure: Valentino Beauty Pure

16. ibd: Gelac

17. Light Elegance: P2 Gel Polish              

18. Nubar: Gelicure

19. Kupa: Upower 2-G

20. Orly International: GelFX   

Related Articles:

NAILS Readers’ Choice Awards 2010

NAILS Readers’ Choice Awards 2009

NAILS Readers’ Choice Awards 2008