Longer Lasting Nail Color! Introducing CND's Shellac!

Hey, gals! You are looking at nails that were painted 5 days ago! Notice that there are no chips, dings, smudges, or flaking! This past weekend, I cleaned house, did laundry, took out my holiday decorations from the basement, decorated the house, assembled and decorated my Christmas tree, and cleaned scores of dishes. Even after all the chores were done, my nail polish survived totally intact! If I was wearing 'normal polish' like OPI, Essie, or China Glaze, my nails would be wrecked. So, how did I manage to get such iron-clad color? CND Shellac, of course!

What is Shellac? CND, or Creative Nail Design, has created a gel nail color system that is applied on natural nails.  Shellac made its debut earlier this year. The system contains a gel base coat, gel polish, and gel topcoat. The three polishes are applied separately and a special UV light is used to cure each layer. Unlike most gel formulas, Shellac is applied directly onto the natural nail with no buffing or sanding. Thus, the natural nail is not damaged in any way. The finish result lasts about two weeks and when it's time to remove, the polish is soaked off and re-applied.

I first found out about Shellac when I was in South Florida for Thanksgiving. I went to a local salon to get my nails done with my mother-in-law and her cousins. I saw promotions for Shellac and when I got home, I googled it and  was instantly intrigued. 

I love having my nails painted in vintage reds.  My favorite color is bright red cream with a blue base.  Whenever my nails are bare, I feel incomplete. I enjoy doing my nail polish myself but the color chips in about a day! I wear gloves when doing the dishes and I try to refrain from using my nails when opening things. Despite my efforts to make my manicure last, I still end up with flaking and peeling polish!  After reading how Shellac works on the CND site, I felt like my polish dreams came true! I searched on the site for a local salon my area and to my surprise, I found one near my office.

I walked into the salon and I was able to get an appointment right away. I sat down in the chair and the manicurist soaked my hands in warm soapy water. After a while, my softened cuticles were pushed back and trimmed. My nails were then shaped and filed. I was told to wash my hands and when I returned to my chair, the manicurist used an acetone-soaked cotton ball to prepare my nail surface for the base coat.

The clear base coat was applied to my right hand which was then inserted into a small, open UV box-shaped light with a timer set for 10 seconds. My left hand's nails were coated in the base coat then inserted into the light for another 10 seconds. The bright, true red gel polish, "Wild Fired," was applied in two separate layers that required a two-minute curing time in the UV light. ( For a total of 8 minutes for color).

To finish, a clear topcoat was applied to each hand and cured for two separate minutes (for a total of 4 minutes). After my nails were done, they were dry! I was floored! No more gingerly reaching into my coat pocket for keys or driving with my pinkies out while I wait for my nails to dry! After my nails were 'shellac-acked,' the manicurist gave me a lovely hand massage with an intense moisturizer. I felt so great and my nails looked amazing.

So, if you love polished nails but hate the up-keep from standard lacquer, you have to check out Shellac! Here is the CND site for more information:

http://www.cnd.com/Products/Color/shellac-hello.aspx