nails by chele bee

Hi there! I'm Chele Bee - my love of nail art lead me to my current job as a nail technician in Chicago, so this blog is very dear to me. I currently work in an athletic club spa on the west side, but I'm also open for private bookings! Mail me for details.

[chelebee]

I've been a little lax on posting lately, but it's only because this is the busy season for nails!  One of my coworkers gets extensions at another salon (we don't offer them) and comes to me to get art put on top.  We went with one of my favorite manis to do, chocolate drips!

The studs on her thumb were a first for me - I've tried them with regular nail polish before, but not with Gelish.  They seemed to hold pretty well!

[chelebee]

Since painting my nails with a gradient in Shellac Purple Purple, I've had a wave of clients asking for the same in alternate colors.  White is especially popular, but the sea green glitter is really neat, too!

[chelebee]

This client has come a long way!  When I first started putting no-chip on her, she only wanted dark or subtle colors.  Last time I saw her, she opted for glittery neon nails.  During her most recent appointment, she came to me with a nail art idea and a desire for sparkly purple nails!  I'll get her to a full set of nail art in no time!

Base is Shellac Purple Purple with gelish Silver Sand on top.

[chelebee]

One of the massage therapists asked for simple nails to show her support for the Chicago Blackhawks, so we came up with this.

Colors are all Shellac - Wildfire, Black Pool (mixed in with glitter), and Cream Puff.  

[chelebee]

A hair stylist at work asked me to put Gelish art on top of her freshly-filled gel extensions.  I really love the colors she chose!

All colors are Gelish - Sheek White, Amazon Flirt, and Shake It 'Til You Samba.

[chelebee]

One of my clients wanted something edgy for her trip to California, so we gave her bright green snakeskin nails!  I really love this technique.

Base is Shellac Limeade, top is Black Pool.

[chelebee]

A client asked for "neutral but funky" nails, so we came up with this design.  It's a little simple, but still effective!

Colors are Gelish - base is Reserve and stripes are Sweet Chocolate.

[chelebee]

A client came in recently asking for a no-chip manicure that wouldn't have noticeable outgrowth, so we went with a simple rose-colored ombre.  Even though the design is simple, I think it turned out great!

Colors are Gelish Sweet Dream and Exhale.

[chelebee]

I've been playing around with the layering limits of no-chip a lot lately.  The result turned out with a nice ocean-ey feel, I think!

[chelebee]

The weather's finally getting warm, so it's time to break out the neon colors!  This is Gelish Tiki Tiki Laranga with distressed peach holo foils on top.  It's even brighter in the sunlight!

[chelebee]

Daisy accent nails on one of the estheticians at work!  They're about a week grown out in this photo, but we'd originally just done Shellac Zillionaire over Hotski to Tchotchke without the flowers.  We added them in a week later to give the manicure a little extra oomph!

[chelebee]

Zoya's Earth Day nail polish exchange is going on until the 26th!  For those of you who've never participated before, Zoya is letting you exchange your old (Non-Zoya/Qtica/Nocti) polishes for a 50% discount on up to 24 bottles of their polish!

I'm definitely going to be participating this year - I've had my eye on the new Stunning and Irresistible collections since they first came out.  What colors are all of you looking to pick up?

[chelebee]

My massage therapist coworker came back for more Gelish nail art - a little simpler this time, but still fun to do.  She chose Midnight Caller for her thumb, index, and middle finger; It's a Lily for her ring finger, and Tiger Blossom for her pinkie.  We faded them up, added some holographic glitter, and ended up with this!

[chelebee]

I had a new client recently who booked with me because she asked the girls at the front desk for the nail tech who does the most nail art.  I was really happy about being recommended!  This client asked for simple butterflies just on her big toes, so this is what we came up with.

[chelebee]

One of my regulars asked for an accent nail over black, so we decided on a negative-color leopard print design.  I like that the change in colors abstracts the design a little bit, too!

Base is Gelish Black Shadow, accents are Shellac Cream Puff and Iced Cappuccino. 

[chelebee]

The weather's finally been getting nicer, so it's time to break out the neons!  I wanted to do something quick that I knew I wouldn't get sick of wearing in two weeks' time, so I went with neon color blocks.

Colors are all Gelish - mostly from the Rio and Candy Land Collection.

[chelebee]

My favorite nail art client went a little simpler this time and asked for holographic glitter tips.  It's just the right mix of classic and flashy, I think.

Base color is Shellac Cityscape.