Every Week Is Fashion Week: Who Won and Who’s Packing Up Their Brushes

Congratulations to Lauren on your third win! You won this week’s CND Fashion Week challenge and the judges were impressed by your use of unconventional items — X-ray film, phone wires, and a grilled memory card? Come on. That’s just too cool. Many of our judges loved your C-3PO design the most and were really wowed by your creativity and execution.

Here are just a few more of the great comments you earned:

NAILS’ senior editor Beth: I loved that you took inspiration from the accessories and hair and didn’t limit yourself to the clothes. I love that you made a pattern and added a moving element to your first nail. I think an X-ray is such an incredible unconventional item — very smart! The second nail I thought had a great point of inspiration as well, but it was too safe for me. I do love that you extracted tinsel from a top, but I wish you had used the tinsel in a more unconventional way. The nail had a lot of nude space and the inspiration photos showed accessories drenched in tinsel and stars. I love the wire work on the third design. I would have liked to have seen the e-file work and the gel encapsulation in your video. Kudos to you for using a grill as part of your process! The dimension of that nail is phenomenal!

NAILS’ production manager Carla: These are fabulous designs that pay homage to The Blonds’ artistic point of view. I’m thrilled by the engineering you used to create The Eye, not to mention the clever and unusual use of X-ray paper! The C-3PO nail has great dimension and color that looks truly android but sculpted so that it’s runway-ready. The tinsel nail is just plain fun.

NAILS’ graphic designer Yuiko: Lauren has chosen some great unconventional material for her pieces. Seeing her methods was very interesting, especially where she found her material! Who knew that an X-ray would be used in these challenges? Her designs utilize the nail canvas very beautifully, especially in the first and third designs. The light reflection on the stars and crystals on the second nail adds a charming and fun touch to the design, but I think it could use even more tinsel to bring out the glam!

Read more comments about Lauren’s winning look in our Top 2 & Bottom 2 article.

Lauren will receive the following products from CND (a $400 value):

•  CND’s Fall 2013 Forbidden Collection: CND Shellac, VINYLUX and Additives
•  CND Shellac Top and Base Coat, VINYLUX Weekly Top Coat
•  CND Shellac UV Lamp
•  A chance to work alongside CND’s elite “A Team” in the CND Design Lab at Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2014 in February. PRICELESS!

 

The nail tech who is packing up her paintbrushes this week is…Julie Ventura. Julie, you kind of flew under the radar and came out strong right when you needed to most to cinch last week’s Pretty in Polish win. Congratulations for making it to the Top 4! Your video tutorials are top-notch and your ability to explain your techniques to other techs is definitely why you have such a loyal following! You make learning fun! You are always on-trend and forward-thinking with your designs. We know your career trajectory has only just begun and we can’t wait to see more from you (and work more with you!) in the coming years!

You can follow Julie online: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook,and Twitter.

 

Tune in later today to vote for the Week 10 challenge. Good luck to our Top 3: Buddy, Lauren, and Ryoko, who will all continue in the competition.