Ashton Harlan was named the Season 6 winner after completing 17 nail art masterpieces, garnering three weekly challenge wins. Harlan last competed in Season 5, where she came in fourth. Her back-to-back stints on NTNA make her win all the more deserved. She was joined in Orlando by her boyfriend, mom, and two fellow nail techs from her salon, Scratch Nail Spa in Las Vegas. 

Carly Snyr was named first runner-up and Nixxi Rose was named second runner-up. The Top 3 each completed a five-part finale sponsored by CND. Each contestant made designs with 40 nails honoring CND’s 40th anniversary that were voted on by the public to prior to Premiere Orlando. At the show, they arrived wearing their final sets of nails, representing the landmark launch of CND Shellac. The final sets of nails were explained in the CND classroom in front of hundreds of attendees. The Top 3 even had to display their nails on the CND classroom camera, giving attendees an up-close look at the final designs. These nails, combined with a live Q&A from head judge Jan Arnold, were the final deciding factor in determining the Season 6 winner. Season five champion Valerie Ducharme journeyed to Orlando to hand over the trophy. In an NTNA first, the custom trophy was sponsored by Swarovski and made of pure crystal.

Harlan hopes to use her title to continue teaching, and even tossed around the idea of doing a class with Snyr and Rose. Harlan’s win includes a trip to Los Angeles for a NAILS cover shoot, a trip to New York Fashion Week with CND, the position of guest editor with NAILS, the opportunity to judge next year’s competition, and $4,000 cash. NAILS, CND, En Vogue, EzFlow, Gel II, KUPA, LeChat, Mia Secret, NSI, Orly, Swarovski, Tammy Taylor, and Wildflowers congratulate Harlan on her win. 

Recap Season 6 here

In honor of SolarNail, Harlan created a literal twist on the pink-and-white. CND co-founder and style director Jan Arnold said that this set perfectly illustrated the flexibility of the nail invention.

Since CND’s first NYFW collaboration was with designer Cynthia Rowley and featured watercolor nails, Harlan opted to create dress forms with watercolor art. The flags pictured represent destinations she hopes to travel to.

Harlan created kaleidoscope-inspired shape-shifting nails using Brisa Gel to illustrate the theme Brisa and Beyond.

Inspired by the Nordstrom family story, Harlan created this puzzle piece mural, complete with a life-like handpainted Jan Arnold, that shows off her shading and portrait mastery.