Rose Bud and Tumberline Violet

Shellac Rose Bud and Gelish Tumberline Violet.

This was a super simple, sweet looking manicure.  1 coat of Harmony Gelish in Tumberline Violet over 2 coats of CND Shellac Rose Bud.

Shellac Water Marble

Shellac Cocoa with water marble accent nail.

The trick to water marbling with gel nail polish is not to use it for the actual marbling!

For this manicure, I painted 2 coats of CND Shellac Cocoa over all nails, then wiped with acetone. After that I used regular nail polish for the marbling (ChloesNails.blogspot.com has a great photo tutorial on the water marbling process).  Dried the nail polish in the UV lamp for about 6 minutes -- this will probably vary depending on the polish used. After the nail polish dried, painted 2 coats of CND Shellac Top Coat over the regular polish.

Water Marbled Nail.

Since I have never had any luck water marbling with CND Shellac or Harmony Gelish gel nail polishes, this seems to be a great alternative.  Having Shellac color underneath the regular polish and Shellac Top Coat on top -- this manicure will wear just like any other gel nail manicure.

Dotted accents on nails are in Harmony Gelish Sleek White and Sweet Chocolate.

Valentine's Nails

Valentine's Nails using Shellac & Gelish.

Used a dotting tool to make the designs, then sponge painted the pink gradient at the tips.

Colors Used:

• Harmony Gelish Sleek White
• CND Shellac Rose Bud
• Harmony Gelish Queen of Hearts

White with Gold Glitter Fade

Gelish Sleek White with gold glitter fade

This is a very simple manicure but gives very striking results!  I used three different gold glitters in different hues and textures over Harmony Gelish Sleek White.  I've found that using multiple types of glitter gives much more depth to the look than using only a single type.

How to do it yourself:

1. Paint nails with CND Shellac base coat, cure in UV lamp 10 seconds.
2. Paint nails with 3 coats Harmony Gelish Sleek White (2 coats will be fine if you are using a darker color instead), cure in lamp 2 minutes for each coat.
3. Dip a small angled brush in CND Shellac Top Coat and then dip in very fine or ultra fine glitter of your choice. Brush on to nails starting at the tip making quick light strokes inward about 2/3 down the length of each nail.  Cure in lamp 2 minutes.
4. Repeat step 3 using your largest glitter, making sure that the glitter is sparse enough that you can still clearly see the first glitter.
5. Dip a small angled brush in CND Shellac Top Coat and then dip in fine or medium fine glitter of your choice. Keep this last glitter coat more towards the tip of the nail, going only about 1/3 down the length of each nail.  Cure in lamp 2 minutes.
6. Paint nails with CND Shellac Top Coat and cure in lamp 2 minutes.  
7. Wipe nails with pure acetone.

CND Shellac Cityscape and Rock Royalty.

CND Shellac Cityscape and Rock Royalty.

After applying CND Shellac Base Coat, painted 2 coats of Shellac in Cityscape over the entire nail.

Then used a small angled brush to paint the tips with Shellac in Rock Royalty (2 coats).

Finished off with a strip of holographic nail tape across each nail and 2 coats of Shellac Top Coat.

Pink "High Voltage" Tips

Gelish "You're So Sweet You're Giving Me
a Toothache" and "High Voltage".

Started off with CND Shellac Base Coat followed by 3 coats of Gelish in "You're So Sweet You're Giving Me a Toothache".

Then painted 2 coats of Gelish "High Voltage" on the tips with a narrow angled brush.

Finished off with pink nail tape at the base of the tip color on all except ring finger which has rhinestone accents instead.

Used 2 coats of CND Shellac Top Coat to really make sure the edges of the tape stayed down.

Hotski To Tchotchke and Rock Royalty

CND Shellac Hotski To Tchotchke over Rock Royalty.

Painted 2 coats of CND Shellac Rock Royalty over the entire nail, then sponge painted 2 coats of CND Shellac Hotski To Tchotchke on the tips.

Pink Gradient

Shellac Rosebud, Gelish You're So Sweet You're
Giving Me a Toothache,  Gelish Tumberline Violet.

Started off with 2 coats of Harmony Gelish in You're So Sweet You're Giving Me a Toothache. Then sponge painted two coats of CND Shellac Rosebud at the tips with the gradient toward the base of the nail.  Topped it off with one coat of Harmony Gelish in Tumberline Violet.

Holiday Nails

Gelish Queen of Hearts with gold glitter.

Unfortunately I waited over a week to take a picture of this one, so there is definitely some visible wear and growth in the photo!

The red is Harmony Gelish in Queen of Hearts and the green rogue nail is Harmony Gelish in Bronzed mixed with green glitter (3 coats).  Tipped each nail with CND Shellac Top Coat mixed with gold glitter.

CND Shellac Cocoa with glitter

CND Shellac Cocoa with silver glitter.

This is CND Shellac in Cocoa with silver glitter starting at the cuticle and faded outward.  Since this person broke a few nails since the last manicure, we wanted to try this as a way to detract attention from the length of the nail.

Gelish Queen of Hearts with Grand Jewels

Harmony Gelish Queen of Hearts with Grand Jewels.

Harmony Gelish Queen of Hearts is a great color for the holidays!

I used 1 layer of Gelish Grand Jewels on top to give a little bit of gold sparkle.  Rogue finger is 1 coat of CND Shellac Cocoa followed by 2 coats of Gelish Bronzed with gold glitter mixed in, and then 2 coats of CND Shellac Top Coat with red glitter mixed in for the red glitter fade effect.

Gelish Elegant Wish

Gelish Elegant Wish with Bronzed, gold glitter, and decals.

After applying CND Shellac base coat, applied 2 coats of Harmony Gelish Elegant Wish, and on top of that 1 coat of Harmony Gelish Bronzed.  Next, I used CND Shellac top coat and dipped the brush into gold craft glitter to paint the tips (using quick strokes away from the tip of the nail to create a slight fade effect).  I applied the decals next, and after that more CND Shellac top coat.

Gelish Bronzed

Gelish Bronzed over Shellac Cocoa. 

Harmony Gelish Bronzed is somewhat translucent, so I began by painting a single coat of CND Shellac in Cocoa over the nails (after the base coat). Then 2 coats of Bronzed, and added the leaf decals.  The red-brown accents are Harmony Gelish in Elegant Wish.

CND Shellac Asphalt with Cityscape Tips

CND Shellac Asphalt with Cityscape tips.

This was a little tricky to do on my own nails, but the color scheme is nice despite the imperfections.

I used 2 coats of CND Shellac in Asphalt over the entire nail, then 2 coats of Shellac in Cityscape for the tips.  The red line is "My Forbidden Love" by Harmony Gelish, painted on with a very fine brush.

Gelish Exhale with Glitter Fade Tips

Gelish Exhale plus silver glitter fade

Here's another example of a glitter fade.  Feathering the glitter out from the tips gave a striking appearance to this deep mauve color.  The manicure pictured was done using basic CND Shellac and Harmony Gelish supplies, and silver glitter that was purchased at my local craft store.

Supplies Used:

• CND Shellac Base Coat
• CND Schellac Top Coat
• Harmony Gelish color: Exhale
• Silver craft glitter (the finer the better)
• Acetone
• UV nail lamp

How to do it yourself:

1. Paint nails with one coat CND Shellac Base and cure in lamp for 10 seconds.
2. Paint nails with 2 coats Gelish Exhale and cure for 120 seconds after each coat.
3. Dip the CND Shellac Top Coat brush in the silver glitter and paint the tips of the nails with a thick layer of glitter.  Let tips sit for about a minute and then use the Top Coat brush to make quick brush strokes down the length of the nail to produce the fade.  Cure in lamp for 120 seconds. Wipe any remaining glitter from the brush before moving on to step 4.
4. Paint nails with one coat CND Shellac Top Coat and cure in lamp for 120 seconds.
5. Wipe nails with acetone to set.

CND Shellac Beau with Glitter Fade

CND Schellac in Beau plus silver craft glitter

A glitter fade looks nice on long or short nails, and is very simple to do!  The manicure pictured was done using basic CND Shellac supplies and silver glitter that was purchased at my local craft store.

Supplies Used:

• CND Shellac Base Coat
• CND Schellac Top Coat
• CND Shellac color: Beau
• Silver craft glitter (the finer the better)
• Acetone
• UV nail lamp

How to do it yourself:

1. Paint nails with one coat CND Shellac Base and cure in lamp for 10 seconds.
2. Paint nails with 2 coats CND Shellac Beau and cure for 120 seconds after each coat.
3. Dip the CND Shellac Top Coat brush in the silver glitter and paint the tips of the nails with a thick layer of glitter.  Let tips sit for about a minute and then use the Top Coat brush to make quick brush strokes down the length of the nail to produce the fade.  Cure in lamp for 120 seconds. Wipe any remaining glitter from the brush before moving on to step 5.
4. If you feel the coverage is not enough, you may repeat step 3. (The manicure pictured here took 2 coats of glitter.)
5. Paint nails with one coat CND Shellac Top Coat and cure in lamp for 120 seconds.
6. Wipe nails with acetone to set.