I am so excited to be writing this review to tell all you girls out there about getting a Shellac manicure. I was even more excited about actually going myself.
I had the pleasure of heading to Ritual Spa in downtown Toronto to sit with Erin while she gave me my first Shellac manicure. Erin was sweet and explained everything about Shellac. The first thing that was clear was the lack of colour options. When I went the new spring shades hadn’t come in yet, so there wasn’t much to choose from. I picked the pretty candy pink nail polish.
Getting it done was almost like any other polish: base coat, colour, top coat. The difference is between coats you have to put your fingers under UV lights for a few minutes to harden the polish. CND made the timing just perfect so that I could get one hand finished in the time the other hand was drying. I expected the lights to be hot and bake the polish on, but there was barely any heat at all. It was hardly noticeable and much faster than waiting to it to dry.
After about 45 minutes, I was done with a pretty pink manicure and the best part was it was dry. INSTANTLY! I could stand up from the table and put on my coat, go through my purse and head out for dinner right away. No waiting time or fanning your fingers.
The real Shellac test was still to come though. CND claims Shellac doesn’t chip. Erin confirmed and told me it keeps your nails strong so they won’t break. I have never gone more than three days without a chip in my nails, so this is a challenge. I wanted to put this polish to the test, but instead decided to go about my days like normal. Days passed without chipping. The nail polish even kept it’s shine like I had just put it on that day. While I carried a box one day I bent my nail back and the Shellac was so strong it didn’t break. I have to admit at about day five, I was starting to get sick of this cotton candy colour. I noticed you could see how fast my nails grow as each day passed, but it still hadn’t chipped.
On day 7 the unthinkable happened. I chipped my Shellac! I have no idea how. All of a sudden there was a little chip on my thumb nail. I was devastated. By day 14, two whole weeks after getting the Shellac applied, that was the only chip. One chip in my nail polish in two weeks! That is amazing.
The problem was I now had to get my Shellac removed. I was required to go back to the salon, even though I didn’t really feel like it. I admit, I tried putting nail polish remover on my nails to see what happened. The answer is absolutely nothing. Once at the salon, the manicurist put my nails in a bowl of warm liquid that smelled like rubbing alcohol. The Shellac peeled away at the edges and then she scraped it off. I wonder if this is good for my nails.
I’m not sure I am a total Shellac convert yet, but it has been hard to go back to regular nail polish. I hate the waiting time of drying, but I do love the freedom to be able to change my nails in an instant. I don’t want to see pink polish for a long time! I can think of many times when a Shellac polish would be perfect like before you go on vacation or for a wedding. I couldn’t live without the freedom to change my nails, but I will definitely be back in the Shellac seat soon.
Tags: Beauty, beauty review, BGP reviews, BGP tries, CND, CND nail polish, CND review, nail polish review, Ritual Spa, shellac, Shellac nail polish, shellac review