Baby, It’s Cold Outside

I love this nail design that I did to embrace the cool colors or winter. It is a perfect design for anyone to do. You don’t need to have any skill in nail art, you don’t need to own nail stamps, you don’t even need to use scotch tape. All you need to know is how to paint polish, yet it looks much fancier than just doing that. Note: I will be providing instructions on how to achieve this look with plain polish, along with Shellac.

Step 1: Prep Your Nails

Shape your nails. I use a very gentle nail file (220 or 240 grit) to just buff off the shine on the nails. Don’t file, just remove the shine. The natural shine on the nails, also known as natural oils, is what can cause your polish to lift or chip.

Step 2: Apply pH Balancer

Apply a pH balancer to dry out the nail to get it to the perfect pH level. This helps the polish to adhere and stick to the nail better. If you don’t have a pH balancer you can use vinegar. Note: I saw this tip on Pinterest and tried it out. It works well.

Step 3: Base Coat

Apply a layer of base coat, not top coat. Base coat has a property in it to help it act as a binder. It binds to the nail and then polish binds to the base coat.

Shellac: Apply base coat and cure in CND light for 10 seconds.

Step 4: Paint White Nails

Paint 2 coats of white polish to all your nails, except your ringer finger.

Shellac: Apply one coat white polish. Cure 2 minutes in the CND light. Apply second coat of white polish. Cure again for 2 minutes in the CND light.

Step 5: Do Glitter Ring Finger

Do your ring finger as a turquoise glitter nail. I used Martha Stewart craft glitter. For step-by-step instructions on how to achieve that look visit my Glitter Toes tutorial.

Step 6: Apply Top Coat and Jewels

Apply a health top coat to all the nails. While top coat is very wet, apply a turquoise jewel to all the white nails by gently pushing the jewel into the top coat. This will create the jewel to be sealed into the top coat layer.

Shellac: Apply top coat and jewel. Cure in the CND light for 2 minutes.

The best way to pick up the little jewel is to use a toothpick. You touch the toothpick to a damp cloth and then to the top of the jewel. Place on to the nail.

Step 7: Allow to dry, Wash, and Apply Cuticle Oil

Allow your polish to dry completely. Wash off the excess glitter from your hand under the sink faucet. Then apply a cuticle oil just around your nails on the cuticle and rub into the skin. A cuticle oil helps condition your skin around the nails to prevent hangnails, which can occur after your nails have been done. If once dry, you have a sharp glitter edge just use a gentle grit nail file to file the end. This will smooth the edge, but make sure the nails are COMPLETELY dry.

Shellac: Remove sticky residue on top of nails with a little polish remover. Wash nails and apply cuticle oil.

Note: Gel polish needs to be removed after 2-3 weeks, check out Gel Polish Removal for the quickest, easiest and best way to remove gels.