The 1st IQNails French Manicure Championships have gone down in history. The nail styling industry has never seen an event like it
Friday, 12 June 2026 will go down in the history of the IQNails brand as an exceptional day.
That day saw the 1st IQNails French Manicure Championships – an event created for nail technicians who prove every day that classics never go out of fashion, and that a perfectly executed French Manicure remains one of the greatest technical challenges in the industry.
Although participants and guests saw the final result during one day full of emotion, competition and moving moments, the truth is that the story of these championships began many months earlier.
An idea that matured over many months
The idea of organising the championships was born in the mind of Katarzyna Włodarczyk, CEO of the IQNails brand, quite some time ago.
From the start the premise was one – to create an event that would be not only a competition, but above all a celebration of professional nail styling and a place where talent, technique and precision would be appreciated at the highest level. And here Patrycja Borto stepped in, helping to organise the entire undertaking down to the smallest detail.
Behind the scenes there were dozens of phone calls, hundreds of messages, numerous organisational meetings and endless brainstorming. Every detail mattered. Creating the rules, choosing the jury, preparing the event schedule, selecting partners and sponsors, as well as developing the scoring criteria required many months of work.
How do you create an event that will be fair? How do you prepare a competition that lets both beginners and multiple champions showcase their skills? How do you make the contest a true test of professionalism? The answers to these questions led to the creation of the brand's first-ever IQNails French Manicure Championships. Today one thing can be said with confidence – it was worth it.
Why the French Manicure?
In the world of nail styling, the French Manicure is like the little black dress in fashion.
Timeless.
Elegant.
Loved by clients all over the world.
At the same time, it's one of the most demanding stylings to perform. A perfect smile line, ideal proportions, symmetry and cleanliness of execution mean that the French Manicure has for years been considered a real test of a nail technician's skills.
That's exactly why it was chosen as the theme of the first championships organised by IQNails.
The French Manicure starts much earlier than the white line
What set the 1st IQNails French Manicure Championships apart from many other industry competitions was the comprehensive approach to a nail technician's work.
As a manufacturer of professional bits for manicure and pedicure, the IQNails brand has for years emphasised that perfect styling doesn't start with applying the product, but with proper preparation of the nail plate and cuticles.
That's why the championship participants had to do more than just a perfect French Manicure.
Each of them had to prepare their model's hands herself, performing professional cuticle work using bits from the IQNails range. Only after this stage could they move on to the competition styling.
It was this element that made the championships exceptional. Not only the final result was judged, but the technician's entire work process – from preparing the cuticles, through working the nail plate, to the perfect execution of the French Manicure.
The jury paid attention to every detail: the cleanliness of the work around the nail folds, the aesthetics of the plate preparation, the work technique and the final styling result.
This approach perfectly reflects the IQNails philosophy – beautiful styling always starts with perfect foundations.
Three categories, one goal – perfection
Participants were divided into three categories:
Newcomers
A category aimed at technicians beginning their adventure with contests and championships.
Instructors
A category for educators and trainers who pass on their knowledge to successive generations of technicians every day.
Veterans
The most prestigious group, bringing together competitors with enormous contest experience and many years of achievements in the industry.
Regardless of category, the task was the same.
Each participant had to comprehensively prepare the competition styling – from professional cuticle work using IQNails bits, through preparing the nail plate, to executing a perfect French Manicure within a set time.
Sounds simple?
Only seemingly.
It's precisely in simplicity that every tiniest mistake is easiest to spot.
A jury that knows championships like few others
Judging the work was entrusted to experts whose experience commands enormous respect in the nail styling industry.
The jury consisted of:
Katarzyna Włodarczyk
CEO of the IQNails brand, originator and organiser of the championships.
Magdalena Żuk-Muratow
Multiple nail styling champion, esteemed educator and owner of an instructor school.
Justyna Rembiasz
Multiple champion, judge of international nail styling championships and a recognised industry educator.
The level of judging was extremely detailed.
Among the things taken into account were:
- cuticle preparation,
- the aesthetics of the nail plate,
- the smile line,
- the proportions of the styling,
- symmetry,
- precision of execution,
- technical cleanliness,
- the final result.
Partners and sponsors of the 1st IQNails French Manicure Championships
Organising an event of this scale wouldn't have been possible without the support of exceptional partners and sponsors.
Among them were:
- Akademia Kobiet Monika Lichota
- Katarzyna Tyrka
- VEZZI
- Krawat i Muszka
- eWoman
- Elite Business Club by Akademia Kobiet
- Justyna Rembiasz Nail Academy
- Magda Żuk Akademia Paznokcia
- Pink Princess Sylwia Dębska
- Kwiaciarnia Queens Land
- Szefowa Systemu Patrycja Borto
- Beauty Forum Magazine
We sincerely thank all the partners for their support and commitment to bringing this exceptional undertaking to life.
Results of the 1st IQNails French Manicure Championships
After many hours of competition came the moment everyone had been waiting for most. The announcement of the winners. Emotions reached their peak, because the level of the work presented was truly impressive.
🏆 NEWCOMERS category
It was here that technicians who dared to step out of their comfort zone and take on the challenge made their first competition steps. Each participant showed enormous commitment, precision and determination.
Winners:
🏆 INSTRUCTORS category
It was here that you could admire a true display of masterful skill. The level of the work presented was stunning from the first to the last styling.
It was by far the most evenly matched category of the entire championships. The point differences were minimal, and each participant presented a level worthy of the podium. The jury had an extremely difficult task, because the final classification came down to literally the smallest nuances.
Winners:
🏆 VETERANS category
It was here that competitors who know the secrets of the perfect French Manicure inside out, and who set quality standards in the nail styling industry every day, went head to head. The level of this category was absolutely exceptional. Every styling presented the highest class of execution, perfect technique and remarkable attention to the smallest details. It was a true battle of masters.
Winners:
More than a competition
The 1st IQNails French Manicure Championships were something much more than just a competition. They were a gathering of beauty-industry enthusiasts, a space for exchanging experiences, inspiration and building relationships. They were proof that the Polish nail styling industry is developing at an impressive pace, and that the skill level of homegrown technicians is constantly rising.
The event also showed how enormously important the foundations of a technician's work are – proper preparation of the nail plate, perfect work with the bits and attention to every detail of execution.
This is only the beginning
One thing is certain. The IQNails French Manicure Championships showed that the industry needed such an event. The enormous interest, the high level of the participants, the support of the partners and the emotions that accompanied the whole event mean that one thing is already clear – this was not the first and last edition.
At IQNails we have no doubt that further editions of the championships are only a matter of time. After the success of the first edition, the appetite is even greater. More participants. More emotion. An even higher level of competition. An even bigger scale of event.
