Design Sampler

Shellac & Gelish Design Sampler

Roses, leopard spots, and stripes -- oh my!  This was a fun way to try out each of these techniques.

Colors used:
Gelish - Sleek White
Gelish - You're Such a Sweet Tart
CND Shellac - Pretty Poison
CND Shellac - Rose Bud

All designs were created using a dotting tool, rather than a brush.

This tutorial was helpful in creating the roses:
http://i.imgur.com/lDRPZj4.jpg

Sephora Gelshine: Chestnuts About You

Sephora Gelshine "Chestnuts About You".

I decided to give the Sephora brand gel polish a try after hearing mixed reviews.  The color pictured to the right is Sephora Gelshine in "Chestnuts About You".

Based on this experience, I would say that Sephora's Gelshine wears exactly the same as CND Shellac - the manicure pictured has thus far lasted over 2 weeks (though the photo was taken immediately after the manicure).

I used CND Shellac Top and Base coat for this manicure, so unfortunately I cannot comment on the effectiveness of the Sephora Top and Base.

The color is gorgeous to boot!  It looks somewhat similar to CND's "Iced Cappuccino", but slightly more pink and a lot more sparkly.  The picture doesn't capture it, but it has a beautiful shimmer.

Sephora Gelshine is roughly the same price as CND Shellac (making it more expensive than Harmony Gelish, but superior in quality in my opinion).  I will definitely be trying other Sephora Gelshine colors in the future!

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.

Rock Royalty with Gold Glitter

Rock Royalty with gold glitter

This manicure has sort of a "reverse leopard print" on the middle and ring fingers (reverse because the darker color is on the inside of the spots).  Accent color is CND Shellac in Hotski To Tchotchke.

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.

Lechat Mood Color Changing Gel Polish: Angel's Breeze

Lechat Mood Gel Polish: Angel's Breeze

This polish is amazing!  The color seems to be constantly changing, and I find myself frequently checking out my nails to see what color they are.  

In warmer temperature they are a pale frosty pink, and in colder temperature they are a deep magenta.  The colors have just a hint of shimmer, which is much more noticeable when they are paler.

Lechat's Perfect Match Mood Color Changing Gel Polish is the same consistency as CND Shellac, cures in a UV lamp, and is no more expensive than other gel polishes. 

The only downside to this polish is that this particular color is very sheer, and it took 4 coats of color to get to the opacity I wanted.

Thermal color changing polish
Lechat Angel's Breeze

Here's the process I used for this mani:

1. Apply CND Shellac Base Coat and cure in lamp 10 seconds.
2. Apply 4 coats of Lechat Angel's Breeze and cure in lamp 120 seconds for each coat.
3. Apply CND Shellac Top coat and cure in lamp 120 seconds.
4. Wipe nails with Acetone to finish.