For the fifth Last Chance challenge of the season, Ewa Borkowska is in the unique position of competing against herself, and challenging herself to do her best work to earn the right to stay in the competition.

CND’s Jan Arnold will provide feedback on this look Ewa created.

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.

CND Last Chance #5: So Schiaparelli

CND’s Jan Arnold is all about designer style. One of Jan’s favorite designers of late is Schiaparelli, who is known for her surrealist-inspired clothing and accessories. For this week’s challenge, we ask that you create a 3-D nail tip inspired by Schiaparelli.

Here is her entry and essay:

This time my task was to dive in the world of fashion designers and avant-garde. A world that I may not be familiar with, but always looked upon with curiosity. For me, those clothes, made with sole purpose of showing designer’s craft, always were art very close to nails, that I love to make. A work of art made by Elsa Schiaparelli I chose as inspiration is named Haute Couture. First step was building shape of the nail using Plexi Gel. As always, result comes smoothly as hard, solid foundation that is easy to build. Then I painted it matte black, because most of the Elsa Schiaparelli designs take solid black as foundation for gold shapes, that sometimes defies laws of gravity. When my background was done, I built a 3-D ornament using mostly gold colors. Delicate structures aren’t easy to shape, but Kupa Acrylic powder is a product I’m familiar with. I like to use acrylic, because of it’s hardness and ability to make very thin elements. I then sticked gold foil to the still wet acrylic. I must say that 3-D elements is a thing I haven’t done in a while – and already forgot how much fun it is! I hope you will like it as much as I enjoyed doing this challenge.

And here is what Jan Arnold, Head Judge, had to say about Ewa’s work: 

Ewa, your nail this week left me feeling disappointed. Week after week, you’ve showed us extraordinary skill and talent through your artistry. This week, however, your nail art falls flat. This nail is not representative of Schiaparelli or haute couture. It lacks the imagination we know you are capable of. At this point in the competition, we need to see you pushing yourself as much as the competitors in the weekly competition. Had you been up against an opponent in the Last Chance Lab, I am not sure you would be moving on this week. Please challenge yourself by creating original, sophisticated artwork, whether you’re competing against someone or not.