So many of you submitted wonderful looks for our Sally Hansen Nail Polish Competition! Our celeb judge TracyLee has reviewed all of the submissions and narrowed them down to the top twelve finalists!
Now it’s your turn to vote!
This year was all about colorful, textured, and definitely unconventional nails! TracyLee’s favorite spring nail trends encompass a variety of styles, patterns, and unlikely combinations. Enhance your opaques with bright aqua or tangerine designs, or try a new take on a French manicure with statement making reverse moons mani, in an unlikely color combination. Similarly, makeover that French
mani with pastel colored tips, and be sure to try the freshest neutral nudes as the backdrop to any nail look.
Neons are all the rage, especially when the coveted ombre hair trend recently made its debut on nails this season! We’re seeing dozens of neon color combos, especially when it comes to nail art. With so many colors to choose from, Spring 2012 is all about layering colors, textures, and patterns.
Participants were asked to submit a spring-inspired nail look they called their own. From neons, to glittered lacquers, with the season’s “more is more” nail philosophy, we really wanted them to ‘wow us’ with their own unique take on spring nails. Prticipants were allowed to enter their submission either through photo or video. Our nail expert TracyLee, (follow her on Twitter @LuxebyTracylee) chose the twelve finalists.
The Finalists:
Amoure T. Jones
This is what Amoure had to say about her nail look, “I adore spring colors and flowers so using these colors (coral and aqua blue) were a must. I took the aqua blue and swiped it on a diagonal giving me sort of a slanted French manicure. At the descending corner, I took a dotting tool and with the pinky-coral color placed four dots (2 on the top, 2 on the bottom) leaving enough space in the center of the dots for a rhinestone (about 1-2mm). Then I took some aqua blue rhinestones and placed one in the middle, four of them making a C formation from the flower like a stem. Used a top coat and let dry. It was super-simple and I love this mani because you can mix and match the colors, or put on as many flowers as you want. The possibilities are endless!“
Jen Stephens
This is what Jen had to say about her nail look, “This is a kind of old Victorian meets mod floral kind of print that I remember seeing on Keds tennis shoes, hats, overalls, bags, and lots of stuff. To create this look you’ll need a nail art brush, dotting tool, a base color (I chose yellow), flower color and darker highlight (I used purple) & a light and dark green for the leaves. To create the flowers, I clumsily applied the light purple in flowery-shaped blobs using my doting tool. I created the leaves by making tiny almond shapes by the buds. Then I went back and highlighted the flowers using the smaller end of the dotting tool and created a “C” pattern; highlighted the leaves with a tiny bit of lighter green in the center. These were the official colors that I used. Orly in Green Apple, Sinful Colors in Exotic Green, Sinful Colors in Amethyst, Essie Play Date & Sally Hansen Insta Dry in Lightening. I’ve seen this print in black with red flowers, a Betsey Johnson version with hot pink and yellow and the traditional Laura Ashley print with mint and light pink or peach.” Check out Jen’s blog here!
Chelsea Brown
This is what Chelsea had to say about her nail look, “I was semi-inspired by Arizona Green Tea cans — and I love cherry blossoms! Thank you!”
Christina
This is what Christina had to say about her nail look,”Hey! I am Christina. I always love French manicures, so when I saw these little flowers at the craft store I thought that would look cute to accent nails. They feel very spring-like to me! Thank you!”
Cathy Bui
This is what Cathy had to say about her nail look, “I was inspired by the famous Effie Trinket form Hunger Games. I know everyone has been doing her nails lately, but I think the colors were just perfect for spring. I added a twist of silver to my tips to make it different than Effie’s. I used Essie Nail Polish in Splash of Grenadine, TheBalm’s Silver Spoon Me and Konad Nail Polish in Gold.”
Kate
This is what Kate had to say about her look, “My watercolor manicure was inspired by pastels and light, airy spring and summer fabrics. Watercolor nails look gorgeous against the spring trends and can be done in various hues of one color or in a variety of colors. I painted all of my nails with Lumos Instant Impact Bottom Coat topped with two coats of Sally Hansen in Pure White. I applied Lumos High Speed Top Coat and waited for the polish to dry. I chose a series of colors that I wanted to watercolor with. My colors of choice were: PritiNYC in California Bluebell (a dark periwinkle), Essie in Barefoot in Blue (a light periwinkle), Diamond Cosmetics in Don’t Teal My Heart Away (a medium teal), Rimmel London in Sunset Orange (a bright, orange-y coral), and China Glaze in Champagne Bubbles (a warm, yellow gold). Starting with the first polish mentioned, I placed a few small drips of polish on a nail, one nail at a time. With a nail art (or small paint) brush that was dipped in nail polish remover, I smeared the polish around the nail. I continued this process with each color on every nail. When completed, I topped my nails with one last coat of Lumos High Speed Top Coat to set the polish.”
Leslie Baker
This is what Leslie had to say about her look, “Inspired by what else? M&Ms! I love nail art and have a blog dedicated
to it: www.Polishartaddiction.blogspot.com. Thanks for the great contest, and thanks for spending some time considering my entry!”
Marissa Clark
This is what Marissa had to say about her nail look, “This look was inspired by a vintage-looking dress. I used China Glaze – Electric Beat, Color Club – Blushing Rose and Kiss Nail Art Polishes to create this look”
Veronica McCreary
This is what Veronica had to say about her nail look, “SPLATTER NAILS! I posted about the Splatter Nails on my blog, www.thesavvyhousewife.com. Here is what I used to create my look: nail polish of your choice. I used four different colors (NYC in 238 Moma; Milani in 11A Silver Stilettos; Revlon Top Speed in 730 Royal and NYC in 294 Lexington Yellow) but you can use as many as you like. Base coat and top coat of your choice. I used Orly Bonder Rubberized Basecoat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat. Coffee straws cut in half. Q-tips and nail polish remover (not pictured) for clean up. After polishing my nails with the NYC polish in 294 Lexington Yellow, I dipped my coffee straw in the Revlon Top Speed polish in 730 Royal then blew it onto my nails. There is really no right or wrong way to do it. I did practice a few times by blowing the polish onto a piece a paper to make sure I didn’t make a huge mess. I did the same process for the other two polish colors and finally applied the Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Top Coat. I cleaned up using my Q-tips and nail polish remover.”
Donna Kiever
This is what Donna had to say about her nail look, “My nails were inspired by the galaxy! I used Sally Hansen in Black Heart, Mellow Yellow, Emerald Amethyst, Adorning Amethyst and Kiss Nail Art Polishes. Thank you!”
Alena Herwehe
This is what Alena had to say about her nail look, “It’s a new neon and glitterrific twist to a French manicure. My inspiration was a neon pink and grey maxi dress – I kept getting compliments on it and wanted to translate the trend to my nails. It’s fun for summer and embraces two of the “it” colors for summer: neon pink and anything that sparkles. It adds an element of pizazz to my otherwise all-black wardrobe and is a fun way to incorporate the hot pink trend. I used: Orly Bonder (base coat) Essie in Flirty Fucshia – I painted the whole nail, and then using a nail art brush and jar of acetone, I removed the lacquer from the tips only. I then filled it (just the tips only) with Stila in Chandelier. OPI Top Coat. Took about 15 minutes total.”
Sarah Waite
This is what Sarah had to say about her nail look, “This technique is deceptively easy! I started by painting on a base of white polish. The white base helps to make the sponged colors stand out, so it is an important step! After letting that dry, I took a triangle makeup wedge and tore it up into smaller pieces. Using the rougher torn edge, I gently sponged on small amounts of blue, green, pink, and purple, building the colors up slowly. I applied the colors randomly, until they had filled the whole nail. Then, I added the pattern on top by drawing it with more white polish and a dotting tool. If you don’t have a dotting tool, you can use the end of a sewing pin or the rubber tip of a bobby pin that has been bent open. Simple!” Visit her blog at ChalkboardNails.com.
The Prize:
A Luxe by Tracylee’s Favorite Sally Hansen Nail Swag Bag, filled with lots of her favorite products.
VOTE NOW:
Simply post a comment below telling us WHO you voted for (Please spell their names correctly). Judge each category separately, and choose the best from each. And don’t forget to post this contest on your Facebook and Twitter page so that your friends can vote too (voting closes at midnight, Wednesday, May 2nd EST). Find out who wins by giving us a LIKE on Facebook ..>>HERE!
************ ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS*******: Congratulations to Sarah Waite, Leslie Baker and Christina!! Congratulations ladies!
Thank you to our wonderful readers for voting, and a big thanks to Sally Hansen and Tracylee for making all of this possible! more nail inspiration, visit www.sallyhansen.com and www.luxebytracylee.com
– Yevgeniya Yelkina
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