Congratulations to Sarah Elmaz for winning the sixth challenge! The judges are ready to go to Sydney after seeing your near-perfect replica of this Australian city skyline.

Challenge 6, sponsored by Gel II, asked our Top 7 to take on famous skylines from around the world and translate them into nail art. They were allowed to use a combination of gel, acrylic, polish, gel-polish, and acrylic paint to make a 3-D cityscape. Additionally, contestants were asked to make a step-by-step tutorial and upload it to Nail Art Gallery.

This week’s guest judge was Rosie Johnson of Gel II. Permanent judges include CND’s Jan Arnold, NAILS NTNA season 2 winner Lavette Cephus, NAILS editor Erika Kotite, NAILS senior editor Beth Livesay, and the rest of the team at NAILS Magazine.

For the sixth challenge of NAILS’ Next Top Nail Artist, we look skyward. Inspired by sponsor Gell II’s Skyscraper Building Gel and Liquid & Powder nail enhancement systems, contestants are asked to think of their favorite city skyline and build it on 10 nail tips.  They are allowed to use a mixture of gel and acrylic, polish, gel-polish, and acrylic paints to make their 3-D cityscape come to life. A spare amount of embellishments such as rhinestones and studs can also be used.

We asked for step-by-step photos and text of their process, which will be uploaded to Nail Art Gallery. We’ve posted all of the entries on the Week 6 Challenge page.

Congratulations to Celina Ryden for winning the fifth challenge! The judges appreciate you sharing this personal journey and are impressed with how you showed unity in your art.

Challenge 5, sponsored by Bio Seaweed Gel, asked our Top 8 to show us what unity meant to them. They had to create their look using gel (no acrylic) sculpting, polish, gel-polish, and unconventional items on five nail tips. In addition, they had to make a video diary detailing their design.

This week’s guest judge was Hellen Luu of Bio Seaweed Gel. Permanent judges include CND’s Jan Arnold, NAILS NTNA season 2 winner Lavette Cephus, NAILS editor Erika Kotite, NAILS senior editor Beth Livesay, and the rest of the team at NAILS Magazine.

Unity is the food for thought in the fifth challenge of NAILS’ Next Top Nail Artist. It’s the corporate culture at Bio Seaweed Gel and the inspiration for the sponsor’s newest line called Unity All-in-One Colour Gel Polish. Contestants were asked to think about what unity meant to them, then translate their views onto a set of five nail tips. Embellishments were not allowed, but gel-polish, polish, and paint could be used.

To illustrate their thoughts and process, contestants were asked to publish a video diary for this challenge as well. We’ve posted all of the entries on the Week 5 Challenge page.

Congratulations to Torie Bastian for winning the fourth challenge! The judges were star struck by your Hollywood Hills nail art.

Challenge 4 sponsored by Orly tasked out Top 9 with painting a classic Hollywood landmark on five nails. The competitors also had to upload a video diary detailing their process and inspiration.

This week’s guest judge was LA legend, Jeff Pink, founder of Orly. Permanent judges include CND’s Jan Arnold, NAILS NTNA season 2 winner Lavette Cephus, NAILS editor Erika Kotite, NAILS senior editor Beth Livesay, and the rest of the team at NAILS Magazine.

The fourth challenge of NAILS’ Next Top Nail Artist season 3 is sponsored by Orly. Orly’s Made in L.A. campaign celebrates the brand’s Los Angeles roots. Like Orly, the film industry is also known for its L.A. origins. We asked contestants to choose a classic Hollywood landmark and translate it onto a single hand using only polish, gel-polish, and acrylic paints — no embellishments allowed. (Acrylics, gels, and tips were only allowed as the base of the nails to create a better canvas. But they were not to be included as part of their process.)

To show off the results, we asked our contestants to produce a video diary about the inspiration and design process behind these nails. We’ve posted all of the entries on the Week 4 Challenge page.

Congratulations to April Ryan for winning the third challenge of season three! You pushed your nails to the limit and the judges were in awe.