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SEARCHLearn how to do October's fun cover with Shellac.
CND education ambassador Shelena Robinson (left) flew down from Oregon to do these cool nails for our cover. She’s no stranger to working under pressure. You can usually find her backstage at Fashion Week in New York or at awards shows in Los Angeles.
Shelena Robinson has spent 13 of her 14 years as a nail tech working with CND. “I love being a nail professional,” she says. “I’ve had opportunities that many can only dream of and I feel very blessed to be in this industry. It’s exciting, creative, artistic, and it’s been a wonderful career path.”
As an educator, Shelena has had the opportunity to travel the world. She’s also worked New York Fashion Week for the last seven years as part of the team responsible for creating nail styles for the designers. “We make sure the models walk down the runway with the 10 most beautiful accessories a girl can have!” And she’s been able to provide celebrity services at both the Oscars and the Grammys.
In addition to her many responsibilities as an education ambassador for CND, the Crooked River, Ore.-based tech also still works with clients in the salon when she’s home. “My core objective is to help elevate our industry on every level we have available to us — from salon services, to education, to nail fashion — and to help make this a successful career path for others, inspiring them to reach for the stars!”
For this month’s cover, we asked Shelena to create a fun variation of the rain drop technique shown at CND’s Fashion Fusion event at the Premiere Show in Orlando. She showed us a bunch of cool designs, but we especially loved the contrast of this matte black nail with CND’s new Shellac Zillionaire.
Here’s how you can do these nails:
1. Prepare the nails for product application using the CND P.E.P. procedure. (You can watch the P.E.P. video spotlight at www.cnd.com. Just login as a pro to watch.)
2. Apply a thin coat of Shellac UV Base Coat to five nails at a time and cure for 10 seconds using the CND UV Lamp. Repeat on other hand.
3. Apply a thin layer of Shellac UV Color Coat in Black Pool to five nails and cure for two minutes in the CND UV Lamp. Repeat on other hand.
4. Apply a second layer of Shellac UV Color Coat in Black Pool to five fingers and cure for 2 minutes in the CND UV Lamp, repeat on other hand.
5. Apply a thin layer of Shellac UV Top Coat to five fingers and cure for two minutes in the CND UV Lamp. Repeat on other hand.
6. Remove the tacky layer with 99% isopropyl alcohol and remove the shine from the top coat using a 180-grit Boomerang Padded File to create a matte finish.
7. Apply the center hourglass design in Shellac UV Color Coat in Zillionaire to five fingers. Use a #6 gel oval brush and isopropyl alcohol to perfect the lines. Cure for two minutes in the CND UV Lamp. Repeat on other hand.
8. Seal the design portion of the nail with a thin coat of Shellac UV Top Coat and cure for two minutes. (Don’t apply top coat over the matte, or you’ll lose the finish.) Repeat on other hand. Remove the tacky layer using 99% isopropyl alcohol.
Click here to watch a video of how Shelena created these nails.
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