Easy (and Spooky!) as 1-2-3: The Top 2 & The Bottom 2

Challenge 7, sponsored by It’s So Easy, asked our Top 6 to create a Halloween-themed nail design using ONLY THREE STROKES. Sometimes easy isn’t as easy as it sounds. But our contestants really wowed us with their ingenuity.

This week’s guest judge was It’s So Easy’s Jill McMurray. Permanent judges included Gelish’s Danny Haile and the staff at NAILS Magazine.

In no particular order, the top 2 are:

WINNIE HUANG

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:

It’s So Easy’s Jill: Winnie’s is my favorite design this week just for the depth that she was able to achieve. Great technique with the paint. You can’t tell that she did this whole design in only three strokes. Using one stroke to do the gradient sky was risky since it only left two steps to complete everything else. Great job!

Gelish’s Danny: Good execution to create dimension with a fan brush in one stroke.

NAILS’ production manager Carla: Love the deep gradient colors as the backdrop to the witchy silhouette. The shape of the nail gives the design a slightly distorted, fish-eye quality. As always, FUN video!

NAILS’ assistant editor Brittni: I’m very impressed with Winnie’s out-of-the-box thinking, using the fan brush to create the ombre background in one stroke! She demonstrates very creative and well-explained techniques and keeps her video engaging all the way through. That maniacal laughter at the end made me jump!

NAILS’ editor Hannah: You are hysterical. Love your silly video. Your gradient background is stellar.

NAILS’ senior editor Beth: Winnie, you are so entertaining and have such great energy. Your videos are definitely a treat! Your design was ambitious because you rely solely on the final stroke to create the focus of your art. I was so impressed by your ability to pull it off! I think the ombre background was a great choice too, making this nail so hip and modern. Wicked cool!

RYOKO GARCIA

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:

It’s So Easy’s Jill: Ryoko was among my top choices this week. Amazing technique with the paint. This was a difficult design with a lot of detail. I liked the addition of the blood also.

Gelish’s Danny: Your video was mind blowing! Great job!

NAILS’ graphic designer Kim: It’s insane how much Ryoko was able to accomplish with just one stroke! A little unevenness aside, amazing!

NAILS’ graphic designer Yuiko: Ryoko’s design proves that you can create a masterpiece with only a few strokes! Her coordination and use of space on the nails are incredible. Watching her create this piece of art was incredibly interesting, and I found myself nervous every time she steadily moved that brush. The look definitely has that spooky yet fun feel — that drip of blood just comes to life!

NAILS senior editor Beth: I totally understand that this challenge was hard for you because you are a master of detail, but boy did you not make it look challenging at all. I am wowed by the detail you were still able to include and the amount of work you were able to do with just the first stroke. Your strategy here was so smart! I also really liked that you picked a skull, because they can be very simplified, but you didn’t settle for that. I like that your design works for Halloween and also could work for Dia de los Muertos and the punk trend. Great work!

NAILS’ managing editor Sree: Ryoko really made that first brush stroke count! I appreciate that this challenge was especially hard for a perfectionist like Ryoko, and this skull brings her nail art to a level that other artists of all levels can aspire to.

 

The following techs can breathe again. They are in the middle of this week’s pack and are safe. Congratulations to:

JULIE VENTURA

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:

It’s So Easy’s Jill: I was impressed with Julie’s work. I like the unique color choice as the background. The video really showed her great brush skills. It was not the brush I would expect to be used and the witch turned out very clean. Simple but effective technique to get the mottled look on the moon.

Gelish’s Danny: Good use of water and paint to create texture on a “simple-not-so-simple” design.

NAILS’ art director Danielle: I liked the color you chose for your base and the way you created the moon.  I think your design is really good.  I love the detail of your witch, but not sure it would be easy for the average person to recreate this. It was as easy as 1-2-3 to pick your nail design as the one I loved this week.

NAILS’ production manager Carla: This design definitely has the Halloween spirit but it may be just a bit to dreamy and subtle. If it was an accent nail, I would want something about the design to pop.

NAILS’ group publisher Cyndy: True mastery of the brush and paint. Julie really understands her tools. Any tech who watches this will learn more than just Halloween techniques (and her voiceover was fantastic). Are you kidding me with that witch? In ONE stroke?!?!?!? Awesome.

NAILS’ senior editor Beth: I am in awe of you using that brush to create the detailed outline of the witch! I watched you do it and I still don’t believe it. This competition is about pushing yourself and inventing new techniques with the tools of the trade and your methods for creating this nail art prove that you can deliver on that. It may have taken you 100 tries but you not only figured it out, you executed it well. You may have not been able to create a ton of details on the face, but your execution of the silhouette more than made up for it. Well done Julie!

BUDDY SIMS

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:

It’s So Easy’s Jill: I really like the different use of color. The yellow really adds a nice punch to the design, a little twist on Halloween. I appreciate all the detail on the tree also.

NAILS’ senior editor Beth: I think you need a TV show Buddy. I love that you dressed up and had fun with the Halloween theme in your video. I wish you had belted out some Prince tunes while working on your nail art! I think your design was very impressive and elaborate for just three strokes. I agree with you on using the yellow, it gave such a nice vibrancy to the nail and it was a non-traditional Halloween choice. Bravo!

NAILS’ assistant editor Brittni: Buddy’s video is really fun — I appreciate his spirit and dedication to the holiday as well as the challenge! Considering the limited number of strokes allowed, this nail design is pretty detailed and captures the essence of Halloween. Incorporating yellow made it look almost like a graveyard sunrise…spooky!

NAILS’ managing editor Sree: Buddy stuck to the rules and made a worthy effort. But I just don’t feel his design this week has the “wow” factor.

NAILS’ graphic designer Kim: I love Buddy’s color palette. The bright yellow background creates a high contrast with the silhouettes in the graveyard. Solid design.

NAILS’ group publisher Cyndy: Spooky good! Loved this challenge and loved how Buddy got into the spirit of it. What I like about the design is that it’s wearable for the days after Halloween. Great color combination, excellent brush technique.

 

Unfortunately, there always has to be a bottom group. The bottom 2, in no particular order, are:

LEXI MARTONE

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:

It’s So Easy’s Jill: Good use of color. I appreciate her trying to do something different with the abstract art but it doesn’t scream Halloween to me.

Gelish’s Danny: Great Halloween colors! Great Halloween abstract!

NAILS’ senior editor Beth: One of your greatest strengths in this competition has been your risk-taking, however this week I don’t feel that it paid off. While I appreciate your risk with the abstract print and the challenge the rules posed for you, I don’t necessarily get Halloween from this design. Judging from some of your past looks (the black swan and the Hocus Pocus spellbook) I expected the Halloween challenge to be your challenge. I like your Tim Burton tree reference and I think you should have made that more obvious.

NAILS graphic designer Kim: I like Lexi’s abstract interpretation of Halloween, wearable with any costume. However, I’m so used to her amazing bold and clean lines that the unevenness of the white and orange polish is not something I would expect in her design.

NAILS’ managing editor Sree: With her iconic dark sensibilities, I expected Lexi to shine this week, but I’m not a fan of this abstract design. I wouldn’t have gotten “Halloween” from it at a casual glance.

NAILS’ assistant editor Brittni: Lexi mentions straying from her usual intricate design work for this challenge, but I wish she found a way to incorporate her signature style! This nail didn’t scream Halloween to me, although it is pretty cool. I’d love to see her do a less abstract Tim Burton trees-inspired design.

LAUREN WIREMAN

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:

It’s So Easy’s Jill: I must admit that I was disappointed with Lauren’s design this week. I was expecting so much more based on her past performance. I think she played it safe and could have been more creative.

NAILS’ senior editor Beth: Your design was the easiest to create, which I felt really fit with the message behind It’s So Easy. Although this design is simple, it is still creepy. The eye seems to be a popular image right now, I have seen it on other nail art and on jewelry, so this is very on trend. While black and white are always in style I think color is a way in which you could have pushed this a bit more. Glow in the dark paint for the eyes, or maybe even a ghastly yellow or green would have been nice to see.

NAILS’ production manager Carla: This design falls on the “easy” side of nail art but it’s a fun use of negative space for Halloween.

NAILS’ managing editor Sree: I like that this design is simple and wearable, but I feel like Lauren wasted her third stroke. The eyes were great after two strokes; she could have done something special with the third.

NAILS’ assistant Brittni: Lauren has great video presence and communicates every step of her design clearly. This is a great quality to possess naturally. I’d personally wear her Halloween nail design (super cute!) but overall it’s very simple comparatively.

NAILS’ graphic designer Yuiko: The eyes definitely pop with the dark background, but it seems to be missing that WOW factor. Perhaps a play with other colors or different styled-strokes could help.

 

Check back tomorrow to find out who won this week’s challenge and who’ll be packing up their paintbrushes.