At Sweet Squared, it’s our customers who are at the heart of what we do, so that’s why we’ve teamed up with four of techs to create summer themed edits, designed for the pro, by the pro. Let’s catch up with Laura Costello (@ragdollnails) who’s curated a CND™ Ocean themed edit:

 

How long have you been in the industry? 

Approx 8-years
 

What do you love about CND™?

So many things. Besides being eternally grateful for their invention of Shellac™ and their seamless, super-fast, damage free removal process, what I love the most about CND™ is that I trust them. Their science led approach and constant research and development gives me full confidence that I’m using safe, high-quality products on my clients, made by a company who care about their nail professionals and their clients. I know I’m using good products and good practices in my salon and that peace of mind is invaluable to me.

What is your favourite summer colour from CND™? 

Wisteria Haze and Lobster Roll are my all time favourites - I can’t choose between the two.
 

What is your ‘can’t live without’ product from CND™? 

SolarOil™ - I use it twice per day, every day.

What’s the best thing about our industry? 

The way it makes people feel - we can spend an hour with a client and completely turn their day around; they leave feeling happier and more confident about themselves and I think that’s pretty powerful.

 
What’s your top tech tip? 

Educate your clients on their nails and how to care for them at home between appointments; they’re more likely to follow your aftercare advice if they understand why you’re telling them to do it. Plus, it shows them that you know what you’re talking about.
 

What’s your anthem to your summer? 

At the moment I’m absolutely loving Holiday by Little Mix

  

Laura Costello’s edit takes inspiration from the beauty of the ocean sunset and the spectacular colours that lay beneath. Using CND™ Shellac™ Pink Bikini, Wisteria Haze and Get The Gold, Laura uses techniques such as dry brushing, dotting and intricate line work to replicate the magical movements of the coral reefs. Check out the three looks she’s created and how you can replicate these for your clients:

Sunset Design
 

Step-By-Steps

Tools required: Striping brush and medium sized dotting tool

1. Apply Wear Extender Base Coat to all nails and cure.
2. Paint the inner half of the nail with Pink Bikini, leaving a rough, uneven edge down the centre line, there’s no need to be neat here, an organic shape is what we want. Apply two coats, curing each.
3. Using a striping brush, apply a line of Wisteria Haze down where the Pink Bikini meets the base. Add some irregular sections to the line to build up the Wisteria and cover more of the bare base. Cure.
4. Using a medium dotting tool, apply two to three irregular blobs of Get That Gold over the areas where the colours join. Be free with the shapes here, think melted gold. Cure.
5. When you are happy, apply Shellac™ Top Coat of your choice to all nails. Cure.
6. Finish with a generous dose of SolarOil™ and massage in to the nail and surrounding skin.
    

Sealife Design

Step-By-Steps

Tools required: Mini and medium sized dotting tools

1. Apply Wear Extender Base Coat to all nails and cure.
2. Using Get That Gold, drain off your brush then take a small amount from the bottle neck. Starting at either the base or the tip of the nail use a sweeping motion to pull the colour over 3/4 of the nail creating a dry brush effect. Alternate direction on each nail for variety in the finished look. Cure.
3. Using a mini dotting tool and Wisteria Haze, apply a cluster of small, irregular shaped dots over the gold dry brushed section. Keep these small, but varied in size. Cure.
4. Using a medium dotting tool and Pink Bikini, fill the vacant area around the gold section with medium sized scale like shapes. These can overlap the gold and meet the Wisteria shapes. Cure.
5. When you are happy, apply Shellac™ Top Coat of your choice to all nails. Cure.
6. Finish with a generous dose of SolarOil™ and massage in to the nail and surrounding skin.
    

Ocean Blur Design

Step-By-Steps

Tools required: none, we will use the Shellac™ brushes for this look, the new curve hugging brush is perfect for application of this look.

1. Apply Wear Extender Base Coat to all nails and cure.
2. Apply two coats of Pink Bikini to the whole of each nail. Curing each.
3. Using Wisteria Haze; drain off your brush well then take a small amount of product from the neck. Use the brush tip and a side to size motion to create large irregular shapes, similar to an oversized cow print, over the nail filling in any gaps with smaller ones. Cure.
4. Using Get That Gold drain your brush well then take a very small amount of product from the neck. Using the very tip of your brush with a light touch, dab the product onto random areas of the nail where the other two colours meet, in multiple areas over the nail. Do this in small amounts to begin with, then when you’ve marked out the areas, you can go back and retouch to build texture.
5. When you are happy, apply Shellac™ Top Coat of your choice to all nails. Cure.
6. Finish with a generous dose of SolarOil™ and massage in to the nail and surrounding skin.

Coral Lines Design

CND Ocean Sunset Shellac Edit by Laura Costello Nail Art

Step-By-Steps

Tools required: Striping brush

1. Apply Wear Extender Base Coat to all nails and cure.
2. Using Wisteria Haze; drain off your brush then take a small amount from the bottle neck. Starting at either the base or the tip of the nail use a diagonal sweeping motion to pull the colour over 1/2 of the nail to create a dry brush effect. Repeat this in different directions on each nail for variety. Cure. Apply a second coat if needed.
3. Repeat this step using Pink Bikini to fill the area not touched by Wisteria. Cure.
4. Using your striping brush, use Get That Gold to paint two to three wobbly lines across each nail. These can come from different directions, bend direction and even meet at points and merge into one. Use your brush to touch up points to build depth. Cure.
5. When you are happy, apply Shellac™ Top Coat of your choice to all nails. Cure.
6. Finish with a generous dose of SolarOil™ and massage in to the nail and surrounding skin.
    

Get the look using the CND™ Ocean Sunset Shellac™ Edit by Laura Costello - SHOP NOW

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• #Sweet Summer