Helena Biggs Editorial & partnerships director
Rebecca Hitchon Editor
Jess Wilkie Art editor
Jess Watts Multiplatform writer
Sun-sational surprises
Jess Watts embraced the new season with a trip to London for OPI’s Summer Launch Event. The day began with the reveal of three additions to the brand’s portfolio: summer nail colour collection, A Trip to the Bright Side; refillable GELevate™ Soft Gel Tips and four Chrome Effects Powders. OPI global brand ambassador & miniature sculpture specialist, Anouska Anastasia (@anouskaanastasia), rounded off the day with a Q&A and hands-on nail art session using the new products.
Jess with OPI global brand ambassador, Anouska Anastasia.
Judgement day for finalists
Finalists in the nine technical and artistic Scratch Stars Awards categories for 2026 descended upon Stockport ollege: eager to showcase their skills at the event’s practical judging day. Under the watchful eyes of 24 judges, this year’s cohort from across the UK and Ireland completed a one-hour nail task and were quizzed on various business scenarios to accumulate points. These points will determine who is crowned the winner of each category at The Scratch Stars Party in London on Sunday 5 July. Turn to page 24 to check out more photos from the day.
What we’re wearing...
Helena embraced this season’s butter yellow nail trend with a gel polish overlay atop builder gel enhancements, courtesy of Rebecca Ellis (@beckthenailteck).
The Dartford-based pro added black, white and gold glitter dots to elevate the look.
Nail community networking
Around 500 nail pros headed to Cranmore Park, Solihull, to enjoy a day of networking, shopping and learning at Niche Nail Network. The trade show-style event brought together brands and businesses to showcase their offerings to attendees, and welcomed speakers including Andreea Simona Ignat, Chantelle Johnson and Julie-Anne Larivière to the masterclass stage. Helena hosted the Scratch stand and enjoyed visits from subscribers and Scratch Stars Awards 2026 finalists, who expressed their excitement for the next big nail industry event: The Scratch Stars Party!
With Jouvan & Chantelle Johnson of Clawgasmic.
Education extravaganza
To enhance her knowledge of the L&P system, Jess Watts undertook a training session with Kym Moody, member of the HD Professional Nail Systems education team – Scratch Stars Ultimate Nail Team champions. Kym guided Jess through the fundamentals of prep, tip application and how to pick up beads, proving patient and insightful throughout. By the end of the day, Jess managed to produce some reverse French tip nails. Turn to page 42 to read this issue’s focus on the L&P system.
With Kym Moody.
Nails created by Jess.