Well, it was quite an event, as usual! Crowded, somewhat crazy and full of sparkles! Words don’t really do it justice, so here’s some photos:
Lines were 4-5 people deep and there was a lot of pushing and shoving, even amongst the normally very polite Japanese. I guess sparkles make everyone go a bit crazy!
TiNS, a cult favorite Japanese brand of polish. They were on a special sale for 700 yen (about 9USD) rather than the usual 1400 yen. I stocked up on few even though I’m supposed to be getting ready to move soon! I just can’t resist the glitter! In addition, Zoya, OPI, China Glaze, Jessica, Orly, Spa Ritual and a couple other brands were there. This year, the focus seemed to be pretty heavy on the gel nails and Minx- almost every booth was selling their own variations on those.
Nail competition. There were some gel competitions, and one thing intriguingly entitled “French Tip Relay.” I have no idea what that involves- I’m hoping one person slaps on the white, another runs over and brushes on the pink, and then still another comes by with topcoat. And I hope there’s a pit crew involved. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to check that one out.
Here’s what I painted on my nails. I went with a dragon theme, since 2012 is the year or the dragon. I think all of us in Japan are looking forward to a better year next year! I did a foil nail, some 3-D acrylic (the 2012 on the pinkie) using traditional New Years colors.
Here’s a closer look at the dragons. The base color is Zoya Ivanka, and the dragons are painted with Holbein Acryla and sealed with Seche Vite.
That’s more than enough about me, here’s some of the fabulous nails in the Nail Art Competition! The theme was “The Power of Nail.” I’m pretty sure that nobody (including the competitors) had any idea what that meant. The Power of Nail?! Luckily, the art was still exceptional, but the theme must have been tricky to work with since it doesn’t actually mean anything. The winners will be picked on 11/21. This is not my work, just to be clear. I do realize this type of art is not for everyone, but there’s no denying the talent of the artists.
I think these are Shiva…with nail supplies in hand? Sorry if this is offensive to any Hindus, it was just so odd I had to post it.
Gorgeous. Not sure how it relates to the theme, but with detail work that fine, who cares?
Bountiful acrylic flowers- these look simple but are really tricky to balance correctly. Each petal has to be identical or the whole flower is off.
Fantasy florals and butterflies with climbing vines. I love the background gradation and the monarch butterfly detail.
As usual, it’s been a pretty amazing event. The winners will be announced tomorrow, though I won’t be attending, I’ll try my best to find out which entry won. I also have quite a few more nails to show you, but all the photos need to be edited to take out the glare from their plastic boxes.
NeverTooMuchGlitter Nail Wonderland 
Love those nails on the bottom with the butterflies. I don’t think I could ever wear them, but still, they’re absolutely lovely!
The artistic detail is amazing, but I gotta wonder how people can do their bathroom business in these nails. I have seen people wearing them. Maybe they have a very personal butler? 😛
I love looking at all these beautiful little works of art. Are any of them made to be worn? I was wondering if in order to be entered into the contest, are the nails meant to be worn? That was all a mouthful. Did you get away from the Expo without buying any more glitter? I would be amazed it you did! You are adorable also.
Aw, thanks Lucy!
The nails are actually modelled by ladies in equally crazy costumes (think feather masks and giant hair sculptures), so they can indeed be word. Unfortunately that wasn’t in a public area and I couldn’t get photos.
And yes, I did pick up just a teeny bit of glitter. ::hangs head in shame.:: But I was pretty good and controlled myself (mostly!)
awww! The dragon is so cute! and I love the hindu godess holding the nail supplies.
They are pretty crazy, aren’t they? I hesitated to post it, since I didn’t want to offend any Hindus, but it was too funny not to.
I think your photo of you is great! Some real creations there – my gosh – one reminds me if nail tech on today’s standard were around when Marie Antoinette lived, she would wear these nails (the ones under Shiva)!!! Hope you have had a great time. Cannot wait to see some of the ‘to come’ things you got photos of to share. Hopefully many will be available in lines sold in the US.
Thank you- I’m usually very photo shy but I do come out every now and again! Great observation about Marie A- I bet she would have loved Swarovski crystals. Probably would have bankrupted France much sooner if they’d been around in her time!
I too hope that some Japanese companies will be expanding overseas but they often aren’t interested. I’m guessing it’s at least partly because their home audience is used to paying insanely high prices (ie., TiNS polish is lovely but retails for $16USD a bottle and still sells out regularly, since that’s just the price people will pay here.
I love the Japanese nail art pictures-it’s so surreal the amount of talent and imagination that is out there. Definitely the turqouise circular pattern with the mother of pearl inlay are my absolute fav
Yeah, the talent is really amazing- the nails are like little mini canvasses. I also loved that mother of pearl one, I can’t believe the detail work on it.
Was there good shopping from a lot of Japanese sellers? Or are there also other Asian/Euro/American vendors?
Yes, a lot of Japanese and international brands are represented, but the products are still quite expensive even though they are discounted for the show. You will not generally find good bargains, more of a chance to find the latest products. It is also 3000 yen to enter, about $40USD. But it’s quite an experience!