For Season 4’s sixth Last Chance Design Lab challenge sponsored by CND, Dana Cecil and Deanna White will battle it out one-on-one to see who has a chance of staying in the competition. CND’s Jan Arnold will select her favorite look Friday and you’ll find out who will remain for at least one more week.
All Last Chance challenges are done on a single nail tip. Contestants are also asked to describe their looks. There are no other elements to this battle.
Since Deanna packed her paintbrushes during the Northern Lights challenge, this week’s Last Chance challenge is loosely related.
Lights Out: Create a dark, gothic nail look.
Here are the looks they created:
Dana Cecil
When given the challenge of creating a Gothic nail, my thoughts first traveled back to the ’90s when I was dressing in black and decorating my notebooks with Gothic symbolism. Since then, the style has developed more of a Victorian edge that I really love. I couldn’t help but think along the lines of fashion and create a whimsical, but dark Gothic character who emulates this more contemporary Gothic style. After all these years, black is still my “go to” color, and I had so much fun creating this piece!
I began by using a large clear tip, and I enhanced it on the sides with acrylic. I also molded some clay into the shape of the parasol, then covered it in clear acrylic. I let it dry, removed the clay, and glued it onto the nail. I layered the nail with a gray gel-polish and began to paint my image. I added a grungy Gothic web for the background image. When I was finally happy with the design, I was able to go in with my electric file, using a small bit, and cut the acrylic back to the painted image, leaving the parasol and part of the Goth girl hanging off of the nail. Then came the fun part: decorating with all the goodies! As you can see, I added bead chain to the parasol to create a beautiful, Gothic Victorian look, then added Swarovski crystals in all the right places. The final touch was creating a black rose to place in our Gothic girl’s hair and spritzing some shimmer over the whole design.
Deanna White
I was feeling a bit glum after being eliminated, but the beautiful thing about being an artist is having an outlet to channel these feelings. I think that part of being creative means being sensitive. We are sensitive because we’re passionate about what we do. I let my thoughts and feelings be the inspiration for this challenge. I wanted to include a window because it would remind me that my journey isn’t over yet. There is still a window of opportunity here for me to take advantage of. I made it a stained glass window with a Gothic feeling. The cross is to keep faith and the candles are the light in the darkness to encourage me to keep trying. To be Goth is to see the beauty in the darkness; this is why I included the roses and chandelier. There is always something good that comes from darkness, whether we see it at that time or not. The raven is often thought to be associated with sadness, loss, and grief but in Greek mythology it is said to be good luck. This proves that everything is open to interpretation — and a little luck never hurt anyone! I hope you see the beauty in the darkness.
Congratulations to Deanna for winning the sixth Last Chance Design Lab Challenge! Deanna went up against Dana Cecil to create a dark, Gothic nail look. CND’s Jan Arnold chose the winner.
Jan said, “My vote goes to Deanna this week because of the excellent execution of the tiny and detailed Gothic scene…from the swinging chandelier, to the ominous raven and dripping candle. It actually reminds me of my dining room, filled with marvelous revelers ready to party! Keep the faith Deanna! You’re an amazing artist!”
This means Deanna will move on to compete against the next eliminated contestant. Find out Friday who that will be.