Its not hard and I can you all you need within one post.
1. Push back cuticles. Any cuticle residue left on the nail will cause lifting. Be careful when pushing back cuticles because this area of the nail is the softest and most sensitive.
2. Buff very very very very very very very very very lightly. Take a nail file and scrap the nail buffer until you make it less abrasive.
2. Dehydrate the nails. Any water or oil residue will cause lifting. Scrub the nails good with acetone.
3. Paint base coat in a thin layer. Not too thin or too thick. Too thick will cause wrinkles. With practice, you'll develop a sense of proper thickness. Cure for 10 secs
4. Paint color coat in thin layers. Cure for 1 min.
5. Top coat. Cure 1 min. Wipe off inhibition layer.
And thats it. Shellac is meant to be fast, easy, light, and last about 2 weeks. If you are too hard on your nails, it will chip no matter what you do. If you want to wear shellac, you have to treat your nails like little pieces of jewels. Which is what our nails really are. Only then will shellac last longer. Shellac isn't good for nail techs because they are always messing around with acetone. Acetone can seep into the gloves and chips the shellac.
Also make sure you are actually using the cnd nail lamp with shellac base/top coat.