I was so very excited about this challenge, because I instantly knew what I wanted to make. I wanted to create our solar system as I was very excited about Bio Seaweed Unity Gel Polish that cures in the sun. I started out researching the planets, their colors, and sizes. I wanted my design to be powered by solar power and to have light effects in the planets. I tried to show off and sculpt long clear stilettos directly on my model. But after sitting for many hours, my model got very ill and shaky, so I couldn’t finish my design entirely with the solar cell panels. I was afraid I would hit her cuticles, so I made the decision to just leave her moons visible and make it look like hands on top of our universe (instead of the planets on top of solar cell panels). All planets have light incorporated, to make the colors pop. 

Click here to view a video diary for these nails. 

I wanted to create a wearable design for a trendy street girl this week. Street art reminds me of my very first boyfriend back in school. He was a skater and painted graffiti. He and his best friend had nicknames and their own tags, which they illegally wrote everywhere they could get away with. He always had pastel colored Posca markers and a spray can in the back pocket of his baggy trousers. That’s why I used four nails on the right hand as a wall for me to throw my tags on and vandalize /continue on graffiti that was already there. On the left hand you’re seeing me and him whisper to each other and his friend thinking “oh really?” He died at a very young age, before he turned 30, so I made a flamingo skull on the thumbs in honor of him.

Street art is not just illegal or propaganda; it can also be used as decoration and commercials on buildings. The most beautiful street art I have ever seen is found in Chicago and belongs to The Flamingo Rum Club so that’s where I found some of my inspiration. Flamingos are so cute and special, and I like the fact that these pastel-colored animals take color from what they eat. I used a full pastel palette as well as dark grey and white.

Click here to see a tutorial for these nails.

Let me tell you an unconventional and true love story about the octopus. Octopuses are very picky when finding a mate, and when they fall in love, it always ends in death. When octopuses have sex, the male hands the sperm over to the female. The female octopus fertilizes herself with it. Shortly after, the male octopus slowly decomposes and dies. His heart is the last thing remaining. When the female octopus has laid around 400,000 eggs, she dies from starvation and exhaustion and all that is left is the next generation from their love.

Click here to watch a video diary for these nails. 

Black and white keys from a piano, also called sharp and flats, go hand in hand to create a perfect symphony. I played classical piano my whole childhood, so I just had to make these nails! I usually make realistic paintings, so I wanted to challenge myself this week by creating my own digital design. The French manicure part is inspired by the name LeChat which in French means “the cat.” Without black and white it would be impossible to create any tint, tone, or shade to any color. Without these keys it would be impossible to compose all the musical masterpieces then and now.

Click here to watch a video diary for these nails. 

I took inspiration from a Victorian cameo and the Victorian era with their beautiful keys and mirrors. What made me drawn to the Victorian period is the amount of handcraft and detail used to create everything back then, like the cameos were hand-carved out of shells, corals, or ivory. For me, couture means something extravagant, big, and outrageous, so I wanted to go all in on my Victorian design. From the side, the nails are keys. These keys open the doors of creativity and endless possibilities in life. In Danish the word for nails is “negle” and the word for key is “nøgle” so I thought that would be cool to make “nøgle negle.” From the top, the nails are picturing nail beds as real mirrors, looking like handheld vanity mirrors, to always have the possibility to check if your makeup is on-point. The cameo that is picturing myself is turned upside down for the wearer to enjoy it and symbolize to always face yourself. 

Click here to see a tutorial for these nails. 

We were asked to create a wearable flat design that complements one of the nail designs on the runway of Libertine SS18. I chose the tassel look, because it instantly caught my eyes. I was thinking “How cute are those little hula-dancers with hibiscus in their hair,” but with a closer look I noticed that it wasn’t at all cute, but psychedelic pills and death! That inspired me to do Hawaii skulls. At first I made very realistic hibiscus flowers, but then I realized that this was waaay too polished for the cool Libertine style, so I decided to start all over and create a more distressed, contrasting, funky, dark theme, but only using happy shades of Shellac. I felt that black was way too obvious for skulls. I made the thumbnails face together, symbolizing the last two standing in the competition. As an artist, I like things to be perfect, so I often redo my lines over and over again, but for this challenge I wanted to let my brush talk and make the flaws be the beauty of the design, while making the surface of the nails flat and shiny like glass.  I handcrafted the tassel chain bracelet ending in a spike ring for it to match the complete look.

Click here to see a video diary of Jenna’s nails.