Carolyn Braden's "Red Carpet Manicure" Gel Polish

Ulta carries a gel polish line called Red Carpet Manicure. I love CND Shellac gel polish, so I thought I'd try out a new brand. They have many colors and glitter polishes too! I'll be experimenting tomorrow and will post the results.



Carolyn J. Braden
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Carolyn Braden says "Shellac by CND does not like the ocean."

After my recent vacation to Sanibel Island, I am needing to share this bit of information about CND Shellac vs. the ocean. They hate each other.

I swam in the ocean for quite a while on a Sunday and a Monday. By the end of the day on Monday, I saw the shellac actually separate from my nail tips and get sand stuck between the gel polish and my nail. Now I know the pros would claim that I must have done something wrong like not seal off the tips or something but I must say loudly, that's not true! I've been doing my own shellac for a while now and have learned all the little "rules" of using the polish. Currently being an art educator, my hands have been submerged in hand sanitizer, paint, clay, soapy water and many other art materials daily for two weeks at a time. My shellac never separated from my nails like it did when submersed in salt water for two days. It didn't happen to every nail but it was bad enough that I had to purchase some remover and orange sticks and take the polish off on day 3 of my vacation.

So, with this statement being said, I warn anyone wanting to get freshly shellac-ed before their ocean vacation. Maybe you'll have more luck than I, but seriously consider not getting a shellac manicure prior to a tropical vacation.

Carolyn Braden's Experimenting With CND Shellac Hot Pop Pink

This color matches my sunshine yellow colored toe polish. I used CND Shellac Hot Pop Pink and then regular polish for the designs. I always apply Shellac base coat, 4 coats of polish (instead of the recommended 2 coats.... 4 coats works best for me and my hardworking artist hands), and then the Shellac top coat. After using 99% alcohol to get the sticky remaining top coat off, I apply whatever designs I like and then repeat another Shellac top coat layer to the nails with the designs. I'm sure there are other ways of doing it but this routine works for me and does not chip.


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Carolyn Braden's CND Shellac French Manicure

Super easy to do! I just put 2 coats of Negligee (2 minute cure in between each coat of course), one coat of Cream Puff on the tips, and one more coat of Negligee. Don't forget the base and top coat! I used gold glitter (regular polish) along the white nail tip. These will work great for the wedding I'm in on Saturday!


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Carolyn Braden says "Sally Hansen Crackle Polish!"

Sally Hansen has surpassed OPI in crackle polish colors. I purchased a pink and a silver crackle.


I just ordered more CND Shellac colors to experiment with. I'm a bridesmaid in June (on my birthday so it'll be a fantastic party as well) and I need a french manicure. I'm going to do it with Shellac so I'll be sure to post the results.
I also ordered China Glaze "For Audrey." It's a Tiffany Blue color that I'm so excited for.

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Carolyn Braden's CND Shellac: Rock Royalty with Negligee

Try this: Do two thin layers of Rock Royalty and one layer of Negligee. It gives you a pretty lavender sparkle purple. In the sun it shimmers so pretty!



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Carolyn Braden Experimenting with CND Shellac Rock Royalty

Carolyn Braden Week Two of CND Shellac Rosebud!

Carolyn Braden Tried CND Shellac: Tips for a Do-It-Yourself Application

All the supplies for my CND Shellac experiment came in this week. 

 I applied it last night and here is the the verdict:

It rocks!

The only thing I now have to wait to write about is how long this manicure will last. It is supposed to last approximately 2 weeks, so I will write about that later. I will also write about the removal process when I do it.

Supplies you need if you are a do-it-yourself kind of person like me:


CND Shellac Base Coat
CND Shellac Top Coat
36 Watt, Ultraviolet Gel Curing Light
CND Shellac Color (I purchased Rose Bud and Red Baroness so far)
99% Isopropyl Alcohol (This was hard to find for me. I ended up finding it a Meier's, which a store like Super Target, but they are only in certain states. You can order it on-line if you can't find it in your town).
Vitamin E oil (I used Sally Hansen's)
Manicure tools and nail brush
Lint-free cotton pads (I purchased mine at Walgreen's)










Here's how I did it:


I gave myself a manicure. I soaked my hands in warm, soapy water for a few minutes and then used a nail scraping manicure tool to remove all the cuticle from each nail. I used cuticle scissors to cut away any hang nails. Basically, I made sure my nails were completely smooth and free of any bumps. 


I washed my hands with soap, scrubbed them with a nail brush and dried them completely.


I then applied a very thin layer of the CND base coat to one hand. I cured it in the UV light for 10 seconds. I repeated that on the other hand. 


Next, I applied one coat of the color to one hand. I used Rose Bud for my first try with the product. I cured for 2 minutes and repeated that on the other hand.


I applied a second coat of Rose Bud to each hand and cured my nails again for for 2 minutes each. 


Next, I applied the top coat. I noticed it was gel-like and kind of thick when applying. I did this to each hand and cured each hand for 2 minutes.


I then took a lint-free cotton pad soaked it a little with the 99% Isopropyl alcohol. I rubbed it gently over each nail to remove the gel-like layer that was left on my nails. Not being a trained professional, I thought it was weird to use alcohol because I thought it would remove the polish. I was wrong. It just takes off the gel and leaves a hard, polished nail surface behind. It turns out the top coat is what dries the nails after being cured. 


I then brushed the Vitamin E oil over my finger tips to condition the skin around my nails. The alcohol is drying, so the oil conditions the dried out skin. 


Troubleshooting:


I believe I put the top coat on too thick. I figured this out because I have a couple of tiny air bubbles on two of my nails. (I only notice the bubbles because I know they are there and I held my hand up to my face to thoroughly examine them when I finished).  I didn't realize the gel top coat was so thick as is. Next time I will apply a thinner layer, cure it, then do another coat and cure it again. The thick top coat helps the polish last longer. (Best for thin nails like mine).


Do not touch your nails after curing. Don't touch them between ANY layers of polish. I figured it may leave oil from my fingers on it and make it the rest of the polishes not cure correctly. I also realized (I accidentally touched one nail during the color application) the polish doesn't fully dry until the top coat is cured. 


Be sure to lay your hand completely flat when curing. I held my thumb nail up a little to make it flat so it would cure correctly.




I can't wait to try the other color. I purchased Red Baroness and Rose Bud because I wanted to try them separately, but I also think they may make a pretty pinkish color when I experiment with layering them.  


After all the reading I've done on the product, I think I will be able to use my Stripe Rite (polish with the tiny brushes) to decorate my nails still. I love putting a little flower, stripes, or some fancy design (sometimes sparkles too!) on my ring finger. I will try to do this at some point. One nail tech I saw on-line, took cosmetic glitter and sprinkled it on the nail after curing the second color coat. She then applied the top coat, cured it, and repeated applying the coat and curing 2 more times. That may be something cool to try.    Right now, there aren't very many colors but, I read that more colors are coming out in March 2011.

Supplies I purchased for the process.

Photo of my finished nails. My iPhone didn't quite capture the color correctly. The Rose Bud color I am wearing is actually a pretty pink. It's a soft color that suits my skin tone. It's a cream, not a shimmer. I took some better photos with my camera and I'll post them later.