By Viv Simmonds – Nail Awards Competition Co-Ordinator
WOW! How much fun did our Sydney International Spa & Beauty Expo Nail Award competitors have commencing the floor competitions with the Embedded Nail Art – themed Winter Wonderland? The competitors had two and a half hours to complete a full set of Sculptures or Tip and Overlays using colour and glitter acrylic or gel. We had stilettos with snowmen and glittered acrylic, snow-filled landscapes and more.
On Sunday, the competitors had two hours to complete one hand of Tip and Overlay and one hand of sculptures in French. Each hand is judged separately and then both are judged for the Combination event. We had novice, open and masters. Our competitors included some international guests from Japan and New Zealand, which was a welcome addition to our competition floor.
Following this event was the French Twist. In this event competitors are given one and a half hours to complete one hand. The other hand is pre-done prior to the competition commencement. The idea of this event is to create a set of nails using the French colours – pink, white and clear, to create a varied form of a French Nail.
The ‘cream of the crop’ was the amazing pieces of art that were presented on boards for the 3D and Flat Nail Art and in a clear box for the Fantasy. The level of work was outstanding in all three categories. Flat Nail Art was an ‘Open’ theme with designs varying from Asian culture to petite fairies. The detail was so intricate, the colours used brilliant; a pleasure to view each and every piece.
The 3D Art was also incredible with the level of imagination showcased. The theme for this event was also open and entries ranged from embossed style designs, to masks, to stunning exotic birds. The creativity and control of acrylic product was impressive to say the least. Pictured at right is Shannon Francis’ 1st Place 3D Art.
And finally, the Fantasy Boxed Art category themed ‘Rock n’ Roll’ was beyond our expectations; with Elvis rocking his way across nails, jukeboxes, KISS masks and more.
Once again, a special ‘thank you’ to our judging panel: industry icons and former competitors, Karen Murray, Debra Purtell, Mindy Hamilton and Amanda Niahrios. We were also blessed once again with Colin Baxter who is our ‘Tally King’. Assisting Colin on the weekend was Nikki Robinson.
We were also lucky enough to have some international celebrity artists who judged all of the art classes. A very special ‘thank you’ also to Tammy Warner – HRTE USA, Gina Silvestro – Gel Essentialz USA and Joseph Pham – OPI USA.
Not forgetting Reed Exhibitions for making this all possible and hosting the Nail Awards continuously in Melbourne and Sydney. Without their support we would not have the opportunity as nail artists to advance our skills, network and showcase our work.
Viv Simmonds is Director of Vivid Nail & Beaute and Nfu.Oh Australia.
For a full list of Nail Award winners, click here.