Nebraska Nails

If you live in the Nebraska and are into sports, you've definitely heard of Husker Football.  And, it's Husker season now!  To gear up, I've been getting my scarlet and cream ready!   For this look, I actually used gel polish, which I haven't had a whole lot of experience with.  I love the fact that it lasts, but I'm still investigating the best removal process.  I'm not a licensed nail technician, and my nails are definitely not perfect (Ugh! I'm a huge perfectionist!).

So here's what I did...

• First, make sure you've completely cleaned your nail.  You'll want your nail free of polish, oils, and lint.  Make sure you also push back your cuticles.  To clean the nail, you might use something like CND Scrub Fresh.
• Then, I put my CND Shallac base coat.  I put my nails under my CND lamp for 10 seconds.
• Next, I used a regular polish (did I tell you this was an experiment?!) to paint my nails red.  
• I used a white gel polish to paint my accent nails white.  I put my nails under the lamp again for 180 seconds.   
• After this, I began with the nail art.  I used a dotting tool to create the dots, and a regular red striper to draw a picture of the state and a red "N".  For good measure, I put red glitter on my thumb nails.  Again, put under the lamp for 180 seconds.
• For the final (and most important touch), I put a gel top coat over it all.  Then, I cured my nails again for 180 seconds.
• But, wait... you're still not done.  I had to scrub the nails with OPI N.A.S 99 to remove the sticky layer.   I really enjoy this part.  

I definitely need more practice with this.  I wish there were some sort of nail class that I could take to perfect this art, without having to become licensed.  The greatest tips I can give is to make sure to keep the polish off of the skin and to use a light hand when applying the polish.  Otherwise, it becomes thick and goopy.  You don't want that.  Also, there are many different kinds of lamps out there, with LED technology.  Be sure to research that before you invest in what I have (I've had the lamp for quite a few years!).

If you have any other gel tips or products you love, please share them with  me!

P.S. For more Husker love, be sure to check out my Pinterest board!  I post my inspiration there.