I have recently qualified Last week to be precise. I trained with OPI Absolute and a non branded brush in college. I was told by my lecturer that CND is preferable. So I bought myself a starter kit of Rentention + So far so good. I have a Beauty Secrets no. 8 brush. I have been practising on my own nails this last week and seem to be getting a lot more lifting than I did in college

Another problem I have notice that I seem to have some shadows in my smile line and the odd bit of fuzziness. Hope that makes sense. Would this be due to too much pink on top of the white, i.e. white not even enough before applying zone 2?

I know I should do a conversion course with CND. Unfortunately I live in Florida and there don't seem to be any courses anywhere close by. I can't really fly to another state just for the conversion course.

I am fairly confident that I prep properly. Could it be that my mix ratio is off? Would it help if I used a CND brush? If so which one is best?

I am getting rather disheartened as I fell I am getting worse rather than better.

You can visit CND - Creative Nail Design, Professional Nail, Hand and Foot Beauty Products - Artificial Acrylic Nails and Brisa Gel. and watch their video classes. You have to register first, tho. There is a ton of great info in their vids. Don't get discouraged...just keep plugging along and you'll get there. HTH and best of luck to you!

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Does anyone have an answer regarding the shadows and fuzzy lines? Should you use brush and acrylic system of the same company?

It always pays to use the brush from the company of products you use - that way you know they have tested and found the one that gives the best result with their brand (plus is also means that instructions are specific to the equipment you are using)

Shadowing and fuzzy lines means the 'smile' of your white is not crisp but rather flat and wobbly - hence when the pink goes over it is actually filling the low spots in your smile line - take a look through the tutorials on here - there is a fantastic one for smile lines.!!

Good luck and contact CND to see if there are any conversion courses coming up in your area!

Because CND is a product that requires a very light touch only with the flags of your brush you may find that you are brushing with too heavy a hand and making grooves or thin places in your white .,.. you may also find that you are dragging your pink over the white and away from the area where you want it to be.

Press into place nice and firmly with your brush but then brush out with a feather light touch only ... you want to smooth it NOT move it.

Your mix should feel controllable and not wet. It should look like wet sugar or wet snow on your brush and then it should be placed and turn glassy on the nail before pressing out ... this only takes a few seconds.

The ideos should help you .. they are so clear and precise. x

All the above ... and yes, buying a CND brush would help, many don't think a brush matters.

But the length of the bristles and body of the brush are taken into account with each product to enable easier pickup and consistent ratio.

Even if you watch videos ... if you are using a different brush, you will have a slightly different outcome.

CND and OPI are different products, so it may take a little while to master the change in consistency.

Just think and learn from each mistake, more importantly, remember what you do right and repeat the good stuff, not the bad.

Thank you all for your replies. I guess it's a case of if at first you don't succeed...

The CND Sculptor brush no. 6 just went to the top of my shopping list. I will get onto all my friends and they are having enhancements done whether they like it or not.

Thanks again for the pick up. I suppose set backs are part of the learning curve.

I would personally recommend the CND Pro Styler Brush for you. The Pro Styler has longer flags and is a bit larger (but not too large). I think the Sculptor that you mention is a bit to small for Retention+ liquid; it was originally made for the Solarnail liquid. x

HI there,

I changed my brush on Gigi's advise.. about 12 months ago..
I havent looked back..
CND Ultra Sculptor I think from memory ( it is well loved)
I think it is a 10# or a 12#..
It took a little time to break in because I was so used to "pushing " the product around the nail... when u press and use the brush as per "nail Class" by Gigi it works perfectly..
Give it a go and if u can do some training with CND .. DO IT..lol

The Ultra Sculptor #10 is my FAVE brush!

i use CND and i also use the beauty secrets brush. Try to sweep your smile line rather than packing and let your white dry a min or so before you add pink. when you prep try wrapping an orange wood stick in cotton and add your scrubfresh to the cotton. scrub scrub then add primer. do 3 nails and apply acrylic, then the other 2. 3 then 2. that helped me tremendously and solved nearly all my acrylic lifting problems! good luck!

Just had my first go with my new CND brush. Still not perfect by any means but I think I am heading in the right direction. The brush is lovely. Will be posting some pics for critique. So constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your tips and advice guys. Don't know what I would do without this site.

has the brush helped you any? i thought of something after i posted. You asked abut ratio. Idon't know it off the top of my head, but CNd is very ratio oriented. when you form a ball it should look like frosted glass. too wet or dry and poof, gone.

Just to add, re lifting, Sam pointed out that you should spend a good 5 seconds on each nail with your scrub fresh and really scrub the nail plate making sure you get right into the side walls and down into the cuticle area.
Once he said it, it made perfect sense, you are removing impurities as well as dehydrating, so scrub
If I haven't said it before.
Thank you Sam, I've never had a problem with lifting since

The brush seems to help a lot. Took a couple of goes to get the orange peel effect but I think it went alright. Pics are up for critique. Only time will tell if the lifting is any better. I scrubbed and scrubbed, so will see what happens. Thank you guys for your help.