NORTH AMERICA'S Star Nail Artist: check out the 25 entries for challenge 1

COPIED

3 mins

NAIL COMPETITION

NORTH AMERICA'S Star Nail Artist

SEASON 2

Twenty-five nail creatives from the USA, Mexico & Canada turned their hands to fanciful, fashion-forward concepts for the first NASNA challenge. Check out the entries they submitted in their missions to scoop the top title

Created by the team behind Scratch and Nailympia Competitions, North America’s Star Nail Artist (NASNA) elevates the creativity and imaginations of nail pros, while celebrating talent and innovation. Season 2 presents six monthly nail art challenges, and contestants are required to create a nail design to suit each brief, with an accompanying Instagram Reel-style video, over a two-week period.

THE ENTRIES

October 1 was marked in the diary as the date the first challenge would be revealed – sponsored by nail art curator & industry icon, Jan Arnold. With $100 worth of Glitterbels products to use if they desired, contestants set to work sculpting and crafting five striking nails to suit Jan’s brief, in a bid to accumulate points and and progress to the second challenge.

The task: THE BLONDS – a legacy in avant-garde runway nails Create a show-stopping set of five nails on one hand: a runway finale-worthy masterpiece fit for a pop star, inspired by the legacy of design duo, THE BLONDS. sponsored by

Draw inspiration from THE BLONDS’ lifelong love affair with nails, their rise to fame and their unapologetic aesthetic that has helped shape fashion and beauty for over two decades.

The details Contestants could use fashion illustrations from THE BLONDS’ spring/summer 2026 runway show brief to spark creativity and ideas for colour and design, but were not permitted to replicate what was featured on the catwalk.

Long lengths were essential, with texture, dimension and drama encouraged. Styles could be created using any products or techniques desired, including gel, L&P acrylic, sculpting mediums, tools and embellishments.

The finished nail style must tell the story of THE BLONDS’ rise to fame. Their iconic partnership with Jan Arnold and their vision for the future required detailing, both in a video and short write-up.

Jan Arnold

In the brief, Jan Arnold wrote: “This is your chance to educate, inspire and dazzle. Your nails should be a tribute to THE BLONDS’ legacy, a celebration of collaboration and a vision of what’s next. Go all-out and create five nails that are extravagant, over-the-top and unforgettable.”

ABBIE NGUYEN

ANA VEGA

ANDREA SANTOS

APRIL LANG

ASHLEY BIASELLA

CATHY TORRES

AURA APONTE-FLORES

HIRSCH HUNTY

HOPE JUNG

ERIN PASCHKE

JACQUELINE MCCLEMENT

YULIIA KOVALCHUK

KLYSTA PESINA

LINA RACQUEL

MARIA QUESADA

MELISSA WHIFFEN

MICHELLE GONZALEZ

MICHELLE SOTO

PROVY-ANN MCCLELLEN

SHAYNA OSAZUWA

TAI JONES

KELSEY MCQUAY

SIERRA PAGAN

JESSICA VERO

Turn to page 86 to read competition advice from North America’s Star Nail Artist Season 1 champion, Anastasia Totty.

SHERIDAN MOORE

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The 25 submissions have been assessed and scored by a prestigious panel of industry judges. Those with the lowest scores have been required to complete an additional task to fight for their places in the contest. At the time of writing, their creations are being scored to determine who will be eliminated, and who will move to the next round.

THE JUDGING PANEL:

• Helena Biggs, editorial & partnerships director at Scratch

• Jan Arnold, nail art curator, industry icon & advocate

• Anastasia Totty, North America’s Star Nail Artist Season 1 champion

• Danny Haile, CEO & founder of Gelish

• Annabel Maginnis, co-founder at Glitterbels

• Giorgia Cappella, head of education & spa at The GelBottle Inc UK

• Alex Fox, Nailympia Competitions global director & editor-at-large

• Charli Jepson, head of education at Glitterbels

• Katy Pottle, educator & World’s Star Nail Artist champion 2023

• Guin Deadman, master educator at LECHAT Nail Care Products

• Kamila Borowiec, bespoke nail content creator & multi award-winning nail artist