Nail Design
European Nail Cruise Is a Hit
Italian-based nail product company Nailevo completed its first-ever European Nail Cruise this past May. The luxurious MSC Musica sailed to some of the most romantic places in the Mediterranean Sea while top global nail experts taught everything from gels to acrylics to e-file techniques.
SpaRitual Offers Polished Tips to Celebrity Poker Players
Guests didn’t need to be dealt a good hand to keep their tips looking polished at the star-studded poker tournament Playing for Good at the home of Hank Azaria, because "The Simpsons" star’s backyard was transformed into a tranquil outdoor spa with mini-manicures provided by SpaRitual.
Easy Prints You Can Do At Home
Young Nails educator G. Elizondo has perfected using shrunken-down printed images that she embeds in nail art. The images are made on her printer by her daughter, and the quality is pretty good, making current pop culture nail art an easy feat.
Perfect Lines on Gels for Nail Art
Gina Silvestro, educator for Akzéntz, offers this advice on how to get clear and crisp lines on gel nail art. “I’ve been doing this for a few months now, and people can never figure out how I get such clean lines with gel art. When using gel for art and designs, it can be very difficult to achieve fine lines because if you brush gel art onto the tacky layer of gel it often spreads.
Kami Nail Art Foil Mixed Metals
Kami Nail Art Foils create the perfect "mixed metals" finish for any polish color. A smattering of Metallic Gold, Bronze, and Purple, for instance, over deep crimson gives hands a touch of elegance with the metallic foils casting plenty of light.
Behind the Scenes: A Long Overdue Appointment
Five years ago, Patricia Yankee was named NAILS' Nail Tech of the Year in 2005. Part of her prize included a trip to California to do the cover nails for NAILS Magazine. We never seemed to be able to settle on a date that worked for both of us. And all of a sudden, it was five years later and we were still trying to figure out a good time for her to come out. Thankfully, it all came together this past June.
The St. Petersburg Stiletto
Elena Maltseva is a nail artist from St. Petersburg, Russia, who educates all over the world. She is an expert in gels, acrylics, and hand-painting, and is especially good at combining all three together to make spectacular nail designs. Maltseva has chosen an acrylic design here that is simple, yet very expensive-looking and rather easy-to-complete.
Stunning Stilettos and More
Intricate floral stiletto nails won the NSI Free-hand Nail Art Competition, an online photo competition that invited nail techs from around the globe to use NSI acrylic or gel to create nail art designs. The entries were judged by Vicki Peters, Denise Wright, and Debbie Doerrlamm, who looked for difficulty of design, use of color, originality, overall enhancement design, and first impression (or the “wow” factor).
Trend Watch: Menswear for Women
Inspired by the polished looks of the opposite sex, women are donning softer versions of men’s staples like fitted blazers, pinstripes, and button-down shirts.
Portrait of a Winner
NAILS’ Self-Portrait Contest has taken an international turn this year—the winner is Sri Lanka-based K. Prasad Silva Rajapaksa. A nail technician at Salon Cheveux in Colombo, Rajapaksa wowed the judges with her detailed depiction of herself. Closer to home, Alice Norton, a tech at Sydney Albert SalonSpa in Princeton, N.J., took second place and Shamina J. Di Mauro of Advanced Images and Nail Center in Baldwin, N.Y., claimed third.
Creative Candy Corn
Nails by Michelle Kelcher, Tough as Nailz, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.
Orange-You-Glad
Nails by Carrie Sweeney, Goodrich, Mich.
Locket of Love
Nails by Cassie Kohr, Academy of Beauty by Patsy & Rob, Cottleville, Mo.
Terrific Tie-Dye
Nails by Cassie Fero, Eugene, Ore.
Cougar Town
Nails by Joanne Truitt, Boca Nail Depot, Boca Raton, Fla.
Uncle Sam I Am
Nails by Stephanie Saddler, Butta Fingers Nail Studio, Cleveland, Ohio.
Retail Boutique: Fashion Fixes
Every day, women are faced with inconvenient, on-the-go fashion incidents that — luckily — can be repaired with an impressive variety of quick-fix tools. From crooked bangs to broken buttons, solve problems in an instant with these easy solutions.