nails by chele bee

My best friend stayed with me this weekend and ended up coming into my work to get a mani/pedi and a haircut/color.  She recently adopted a cat, so I gave her a cat-themed manicure for the occasion! 

Base is OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, details in acrylic paint.

One of my favorite nail art clients came in the other day and requested a white tiger/zebra print manicure.  As we were getting ready to add the stripes, she asked to put one red stripe on each ring finger - it added just the right touch of uniqueness!

Colors are all Gelish - Sleek White, Stand Out, and Black Shadow.

OPI’s OZ The Great and Powerful collection came in today at work and I couldn’t resist posting a few swatch photos.  I left the swatch labels in for identification purposes - the only unlabeled color is Black Onyx, which isn’t part of the collection, but I needed a dark color to show the glitters’ true potential.

My favorite by far is Lights of Emerald City, though I’m disappointed that we didn’t get any shimmery greens or golds in this collection.

One of the massage therapists at work recently revealed to me that she’s interested in nail art, so we now have a standing appointment to have all sorts of no-chip fun on her nails.  She wanted to match her nails to a bright teal dress, but she also wanted nails that were going to go relatively well with her clothes for the next two weeks.  We ended up with green flames over black!

Colors are Gelish Black Shadow and Shellac Hotski to Tchotchke.  I’ve been having a lot of luck using Shellac colors for details on top of Gelish (with Gelish base and topcoat) - has anyone else done this?

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  I’ve been really busy since becoming a full-time nail tech at one salon instead of part-time at two salons, but I’ve been saving nail art photos throughout.  I have a little downtime this week, so expect to see more of me while I clear out my backlog!

This is my most recent Gelish manicure using Bella’s Vampire, Allure, and It’s a Lily.  It’s a little simple, but I love how the colors work together.

I wanted to try challenging myself because I’ve been in a bit of a nail art rut lately, so I pulled out my Japanese nail magazines and picked a design to modify for my tastes.  I love the cut-out elements!

Colors are all Gelish - Emerald Dust, You’re So Sweet You’re Giving Me a Toothache, and Inner Vixen.

I’m sure this has been all over everyone’s dash already, but this is just a heads up that the coupon code is already live!  I just picked up Aurora, Grace, and Sam for my three free colors, plus a new set of the Color Lock System and a 34oz of Smart Spa’s Sweet Citrus lotion.

I’ve been meaning to buy Aurora - I’ve used Blaze at work and loved it! - and Sam is a re-buy because I gifted my other (unused) bottle to a friend with the same name.  Grace and the Color Lock System are purchases to woo a client into switching locations with me.  I’ve been working at two spas within health clubs for a few months, but the club that gives me health, vision, and dental insurance has recently offered me full-time status, so I’m leaving the other club.  This client has been with me at the club I’m leaving for eight months, so I’m hoping she likes me enough to make the move.  

Special note goes to the Smart Spa lotion because it appears to be discontinued.  It’s the scent that turned me onto Smart Spa in the first place, and with my professional discount, the whole bottle is only $18 (instead of $36)!  If you’re a fan of Sweet Citrus as well, this is the time to snatch up what they have left in stock.

I put in a request at work to start stocking Gelish Vitagel, but since we already carry both Shellac and OPI Gel Color, I’m testing out how Shellac wears encapsulated in a Vitagel base coat and top coat.  The nail art isn’t anything special, but this is a test set, so I didn’t want to do something too complicated.  Most of my clients like a basic nail, anyway.

Colors are Shellac Rubble and Tinsel Toast.

Leopard and plaid nails for my non-festive Thanksgiving manicure.  I chose the colors originally to paint changing leaves on my fingers, but somehow this came out instead!  

Colors are all Gelish - Light Elegant, Just in Case Tomorrow Never Comes, and Black Shadow.