Gels ’N Roses

Here to fill your appetite for instruction is Agnieszka Ciszweska, from Gubin, Poland. Ciszweska specializes in gels, and has created these rose petals to welcome you to the world of nail art. She has been doing nails for 11 years, and her techniques are a little advanced, but remember, all you need is a little patience (and practice) to make these roses your own.

Ciszweska started out as an esthetician, but over time nail enhancements became her passion. In 2004, she took a gel course and has been working with gels ever since. Ciszweska says of her work, “I like doing classic French enhancements but I also do a lot of nail art. My clients rarely have ideas about what designs they would like on their nails so I usually come up with individual designs for them.”

1. Prep the nails and apply primer, then apply a thin coat of bonding gel and cure for two minutes.

2. Apply one medium coat of natural coverage pink gel from the cuticles to the free edge, one nail at a time, and do not cure.

3. Using a sharpened orangewood stick, put a little dot of white gel on the uncured pink gel. This will be the center of the rose. Next pick up another drop of white gel and put another little dot, but this time string it in the air creating a petal.

4. To form the side roses, make another dot and then two small petals flowing from the side of the nail toward the middle. After completing each nail, cure it in the UV lamp. *Note: If the nails are bigger or the petals have turned out too thin, you can add more petals according to the area.

5. Place natural clear gel mixed with glitter just at the free edge and cure.

6. Apply a medium coat of natural clear gel from the stress area to the free edge and cure. Shape the nails as usual, then dust, clean with prep, apply gloss, cure two minutes and you’re done.