Our award-winning educator, Suzy has writen today's blog post after she recently competed at Nailympia. Suzy shares her first hand experince below. 

What can I say about Nailympia? This competition is the world’s most precious one, especially when you reach division 3. This is the top level of the world’s competitors. If you are entering to this competition you must use the best products. Every single category is competed on the highest levels. 

Artistic colour glosses have beautiful colours, (the Hotzy is bright red and the Bride is white) can be use very thin layer so it is great for soak off gel category. The colour gloss gel top coat is fantastic, very shine and not yellowish at all.  

Choosing the technique and products is based on your preference in the salon nails category. I used the Artistic Rock Hard L&P system to sculpt the nails. The VIP Pink Concealer give a beautiful natural cover for the nail bed and it is easy to extend it if it’s necessary. I used VIP Artistic Bright White to create the free edge. This gives a natural look for the set of nails, not to bright. The liquid was just perfect to reach the correct setting time. 

We had two pink and white categories one for gel, one for l &p system on both I had to do one hand tip while the other hand sculpted. First I choose rock hard extensions natural tips. These tips are perfect. The sidewalls are straight the c curve should be 40%, easy to stick to the nail plate. 

For the gel category I used the new Putty collection. The colours are bright, smooth, consistent, no opal no bubbles. Can’t wish for better products. The application is very similar to the acrylic. The gel is stable, not runny. Need to make sure you apply a thin layer only because the pigments are on very high amount, and then cure it. The shaping liquid has a very nice smell, not like the monomer. Filing is very easy, almost no dust. This product is the future for the salon work.

For the L&P category I used my favourite system, Artistic Rock Hard. The variety of the powders’ colours gives flexibility to pick the best colour to make a perfect set, which is matching with the model’s skin colour.  I used VIP Bright White, Pink Concealer, Soft Pink and Clear. One of my favourite tools is the file and buffer. Even though the acrylic is the hardest product, with Artistic files I can file the shape easy buff it to the high shine. 

Competition is always helps to improve our ability to create a better set of nails. Always compare your work to yourself not others! We will be there next year, come and join us.