Game Changer: Who Won and Who’s Packing Up Their Brushes

For Week 9 of NTNA, the theme was “Game Changer,” and only CND Shellac was used in the creation of the final looks.

And the winner is…Stephanie Loesch!

Head judge Jan Arnold said: “YOU are so beautifully visionary and ambitious!! Love the message, the camera angles and the all the effective techniques and pro tips. As usual, you took us into your intelligent world, filled with magic, imagination, artistry, and dimension. I felt the pian of the destruction of the natural resource, but at the same time, I was inspired by the natural beauty and wonder we must protect. The texture of the turtle shell is so well done…so tiny…we can’t forget this tiny canvas and how every line and detail matters for final impact. The JELLY FISH are perfectly done, luminous, weightless and wonderous. And p.s. bravo for using the pearl topcoat to add translucency. The use of soapy bubbles contributed to the ocean effect. You kick it high…SAVE THE OCEAN! I’m with you. Xoxo”

Judge and Producer Beth Livesay said: “Very clear messaging and as usual, you surprised me this week! The water painting is beautiful! I love the Shellac water spots, cool technique! The bristle brush and plastic are cool ways to add texture. Your jelly fish are gorgeous! The soap bubble technique was a nice addition to the coral. The sea anemone is so cool!!! Who would have thought, you made it look so easy! The curved shell is also genius. I have to say, you are quite resourceful when it comes to nail art. I think you figured out a way to stay within the guidelines and still push the art –congratulations to you Stephanie on coming so far and growing so much!

I don’t know that you needed to spell out the wording of your message –maybe it could have been written in sand? I know the point was to make this scene look messy, but I think in some places the art could have been neater (the sea floor for example).”

Judge and Game Master Winnie Huang said: “Wow, Steph, you really pushed hard this week! Congratulations on another job well done. You are always so extra with your intro to your video and I’m totally here for it. Love your messaging and it’s coming through very clearly what you’re trying to convey. I do appreciate all the different textures you incorporated using Shellac, and you offered many cool tips and teaching moments in your video. I would have liked to see more refinement in your 3D objects (ie. the corals, and shells)..Be mindful when you mix marbled looks with too many other elements together. It risks looking a little muddled and chaotic. I loved the used of bubbles to create that texture we all love, and it’s so relevant! Overall, this piece is a job WELL DONE!”

Judge and Season 7 Champion Giselle Caballero: “Every week I look forward to your presentation, always so clever and I love that you do it in a very entertaining way. Your inspiration is truly something that we all need to be aware of and I love that you brought awareness to it, especially with all the climate challenges and changes that we are facing these days. I enjoyed very much the fact that you went with a non traditional placement for your tips and that your submission had so much depth and dimension. Great job on using shellac in so many ways, I definitely think that the techniques that you used were spot on for your design, if anything I would keep in mind that with so many different elements added, it gets a bit busy at times and some of the intricate details get a bit lost, so keep your line work crisp, especially on the smaller elements and keep in mind sometimes editing yourself to keep the focus on the most memorable parts will help your designs stand out even more. “

Guest Judge Valérie Ducharme said: “I love your artwork, the dimension, the color you choose. Otherwise I feel that we cannot see clearly in a second what is it. Is a little bit confusing and overwhelming. I love your different techniques with using just  Shellac. You give us a lot of good tips and your voice is perfect. We see all your small detail in your video and your attention of it. You know how to make nails come alive, and I love all your elements, just make sure the dimension of it, for example the plastic bag should be bigger than the wine glass bottle. Or the fish would not be the same size of your turtle. Think dimension in graphic background, mid ground, and fore ground. And pay attention to your composition balance.”

Guest Judge Lauren Wireman said: “This is going to sound harsh, but this theme is super played out. I feel like there’s a lot she could have done to further push the level of this design. The plastic laying over the sand color shellac to give it texture was a cool idea, but it made the whole thing look even more like slightly melted plastic. If I was on a desert island and only had Shellac and a file, I would have literally filed Shellac into a pile of dust and used the dust to sugar that sand color wet shellac to matte it out (and make it look like real sand).”

There is also an elimination this week. Jessica Warzyniak has been eliminated but as we all know, that doesn’t mean we say good-bye just yet, because Jessica will be going up against Silvia Gago López in the Last Chance Challenge to see who will be one of the final three.

Watch this space!