And coming into the next 30ish entries…

35. I am not sure what is going on here. The middle part reminds me of a striped Laffy Taffy I once accidentally left in the car in summertime. Luckily no one sat on it. I don’t even like Laffy Taffy. Wait, I feel a haiku coming on.

Oh Laffy Taffy

I forgot all about you

You got your revenge

36. A pretty combo of a castle at sunset and some flowers on the bottom. I think I would have preferred the top half being expanded. But I’m on an anti-flower campaign, so maybe that’s just me.

37. Kind of India vibes going on, but I think the orange is more coralish than mandarinish. Pretty work but needs a little something else.

38. Goldfish everywhere! These even feature the same wire around the nails…were people copying off each other? Is it the hive mind at work? We may never know…

39. Some geometry and a bird. I may be missing the theme here, but at least there’s some orange going on.

40. These dogs faces are cracking me up and I don’t know why. The one in the middle kind of looks like a Wookie dog. Perhaps these animals are a three way hybrid of cats, dogs and Wookies. A cute entry no matter what the critters are, though.

41. Serene autumn scene featuring…mostly yellow leaves. Nice layout and idea but needs more orange.

42. This one is like a whole Mardi Gras parade on five nails. Whoa! Not getting an orange vibe but it doesn’t matter because my eyes are dazzled by this many rhinestones in one place. Very nice work that shows how nails can be mini sculptural works of art.

43. I like the colors but the abstract work obscures the bride and…no orange.

44. I’m a big fan of ombre, so these appeal. Gorgeously detailed cormorant, some orange maple leaves, and a teeny bridge. I am a bit overdosed on Traditional Japan, but these have a good pop of orange color.

45. Fantastic entry here, the amber looks like kirikko cut glass and the 3D work is top notch. These are not as complex as some other entries, but have great balance, color combination, and all around very neat work that stands out from the crowd.

46. Butterflies. Flowers. Sickly orange.

47. An interesting entry, clear flowers encapsulated. I’m getting potpurri vibes from this…or maybe it was a soap dispenser I’m thinking of? I like things encased in resin, even if they are flowers, so this one caught my eye.

48. The first year of the Reiwa era started as the new emperor took the throne earlier this year, so that’s what the kanji says. It’s a big deal in Japan to start a new era and it seems this New Year will be especially festive. With these nails, you’d be all set to party, but give us a little more juicy orange, willya?

49. Zoom in on this and look at the detail work. The outline of tiny squares that make up the circle outline of these nails is amazingly well done. Someone has an extremely steady hand. The detail work is one of the best I’ve seen in this competition.

50. This one says, “Retro Drops,” and it is indeed retro. I like it because the color scheme really does give me mandarin orange vibes, plus it lives up to its own tiny sign. It seems like there should be a groovy mushroom in here somewhere.

51. Goldfish, this time on a clear/whitish base. I do prefer the darker base but these have a nice summery feeling to them. There’s a pop of orange with the flowers and mountain, too.

52. I see yellow and brown barely any orange. This is a person who either delights in breaking the rules or didn’t get the theme.

53. These nails have their own doors. I wish they swung back and forth like saloon doors in the old cartoons, but they appear stationary. Probably too much going on here but I do like my nails to have doors.

54. Something a little different, a jolly yet slightly pensive looking sun and some orange yellow gradations.

55. All hail Emperor Orangehead! That part’s a bit odd, but the kimono work is exquisite. The details, the folds…a real work of art. I hope there will be no clashes between Emperor Orangehead and his various fruity nemeses. It’d be a shame to ruin that kimono.

56. This reminds me of another entry we saw earlier, with the bold black lines over a vaguely tie-dyed base. Hive mind again? Are the artists all friends?

57. I don’t know if it was intended, but these look downright threatening. Killer Dragonflies are coming to your town! Well rendered, but the background just gives me an ominous feeling. Perfect for Halloween!

58. Did anyone have a grandma who had a little cloisonne jewelry box that sat on a lace doily? This is the nail version of that. Whoever wears these also has on ruffly underwear. Very skillful work, plus a cute fox as a bonus.

59. I’m going to forgive the flowers, the detail work is so good. The fish looks a bit mutated, but those flowers. Fabulous. Please do something else next time for us and show us your skills.

60. An uncluttered view of Mt. Fuji, a bit simple but a good layout and solid color choices.

61. Amber cut glass pattern with a somewhat superflous clear bloobala and lonely rhinestone, but I like the the white geometric details against the amber.

62. Another entry with doors. That lattice work is very well done but I think it obscures too much of the nails.

63. Hmm, got a case of the randoms. Cute chonky unicorn, baby bottle, heart, key…?

64. These fish are crazy. The angle and perspective of the shadows are wonderfully done, plus the little rocks, lily pads and translucent base underneath are perfection.

65. Jewels galore! The expression is a bit hard to place but the stones are just right.

66. I’ve been a bit down on Traditional Japan themes, but this one is exquisite. These are true miniature paintings done on nails instead of canvas. Probably the best detail work in the show so far. I don’t even mind that they sort of missed the orange boat here.

For all you 12 people out there reading this, thank you! It feels good to be blogging again, at least for now. I just don’t have as much fun writing Instagram captions, and I’m perpetually frustrated by the platform itself. I just don’t like it. I’ve tried but I just can’t get anywhere with it, but instead of being frustrated, I’m just going to use it how I want to instead of worrying about Content and Likes and Engagement and all that. That took all the fun out of it and nails should be fun, right?