Shellac French Manicure - Negligee

Shellac French Manicure with Rhinestones

The base of this French Manicure is CND Shellac in Negligee.  Negligee is similar to Beau, but has a more opalescent sheen to it, with more blue/purple hues as opposed to the pink hues in Beau.

The tips are Harmony Gelish in Sleek White.

Shellac French Manicure - Beau

Shellac French Manicure with Flowers.

This is just a typical French Manicure with a flowers added to the thumb and ring finger using a dotting tool and rhinestones.

The base for the French Manicure is CND Shellac Beau.  Beau has a very natural pink hue to it with just a hint of shimmer.

The tips are Harmony Gelish in Sleek White.

Snow Leopard Nails

Shellac Snow Leopard Manicure

This manicure is way easier than it looks.  The entire design is done freehand with a dotting tool.  The irregularity of leopard print makes this a very forgiving pattern -- any mistakes look like they are supposed to be there!

After applying and curing base coat, I started with 3 coats of Harmony Gelish in Sleek White.  Then used a large dotting tool to make the centers of the spots with CND Shellac in Cityscape.

After that, I used a smaller dotting tool to make the outer edges of the spots with CND Shellac in Asphalt.  To do this part, you simply make oblong marks on three sides along the edges of the center spots.  I added some tiny dots with the Shellac Asphalt as well.

The last step is to finish with a coat of CND Shellac Top Coat.

Hotski to Tchotchke with Glitter

Hotski to Tchotchke with Confetti Glitter.

This was a very simple manicure that was done for a peacock-themed wedding.

Used 3 coats of CND Shellac Hotski to Tchotchke, topped with purple and blue confetti glitter and CND Shellac Top Coat.

The ring finger is 3 coats of Harmony Gelish Sleek White topped with 1 coat of CND Shellac Negligee and multi-colored rhinestone accents set in CND Shellac Top Coat.

St. Patrick's Day Nails

Custom Gelish Avocado Green with Sleek White accents.

The Avocado Green color used in this manicure was a custom mixture of Gelish "You're Such a Sweet Tart", Shellac "Pretty Poison" and Gelish "Sweet Chocolate" in a ratio of 9:2:1.

Used striping tape and Gelish "Sleek White" (2 coats) on ring fingers and then dotted with custom color.

Finished up by dotting all other nails with Sleek White at the outside corners.

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.

Snowy Nails

Gelish "Up In The Blue" and "Sleek White".

This was my first attempt at sponge painting!  The blending is pretty rough, but I think that actually adds to the snowy effect.

Painted 2 coats of Harmony Gelish in Sleek White over entire nail, then used a sponge to make the gradient with Gelish "Up In The Blue".  I did 3 rounds of sponge painting on each nail to get enough coverage with the blue.

Gelish - Up In The Blue

Gelish Up In The Blue with Sleek White rogue finger.

Harmony Gelish Up In The Blue.  Rogue finger is Harmony Gelish Sleek White with spots in Up In The Blue and CND Shellac Cityscape. Used nail pens pictured below for the spots.