Final update on Shellac manicure

I don't have any pictures for this yet, but I just wanted to update and say that I ended up keeping the Shellac mani on for 5 weeks!! It never chipped anymore than the initial small chip, the problem was grow-out. The stuff was hard as hell to remove though! I did the wrapping my nails in foil after putting on a cotton ball with pure acetone and 10 minutes did nothing to it. I did another 10 minutes and then scraped and scraped and scraped. To be honest, I still couldn't get all of the base stuff off so it kind of messed up my nails a little bit. I can't wear a cream polish right now, even after using Essie Fill the Gap. All in all, the manicure was a success but I don't really like to keep polish on that long, so I probably won't get getting another one. I do have some gel polish systems and a UV light so I will be doing some experiments on my own, of course I will post them when I do!

Shellac manicure - 7 days later

Despite the chip on my thumb that happened the first day I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the Shellac manicure. No other chipping or wear at all. Only problem is, much like with the Revlon Colorstay polish, I am getting bored having the same polish on for so long. I miss painting my nails!! They are starting to grow out a bit.

Here are the pictures. I got one more tiny tiny chip on my right index finger but it's barely noticeable. I actually bought myself some gel polishes and borrowed a UV light from a friend so when I remove this I will be trying a do-it-yourself. I will definitely post the results. I am having cuticle issues right now, it is so dry in my house, even with daily treatment my hands look terrible. Don't even ask about my lips.

Left hand

Left thumb

Right hand

Right thumb

 Now we'll see how long I can stand it. Part of me wants to keep it on just to see how long it really would last. Part of me wants to take it off right now and start a new mani! Whatever I decide I will document the removal process. The possible difficulty of that is adding to my restraint right now.

Shellac update - one day later

Really? One day? Less than 24 hours?

My first shellac manicure!

So I was at the Mall of America today and for some reason, I decided to get a manicure. The nail lady talked to me about shellac, and since I had read a lot about it, and wanted to try it, I decided to go for it!

After cleaning up my cuticles she started the shellac procedure. It takes a bit longer than a regular manicure, but hopefully the results will be worth it. She showed me the colors to choose from. I was trying to pick between a light orchid-y pink and a hot pink with sparkles. I was a little disappointed with the relatively small color selection (I think they had 12 Shellac colors to choose from), as I really wish there had been a light pink with sparkles. In the end, sparkles won, dark pink and all. I just can't resist.

The shellac procedure goes like this:
1. base coat
2. 3 minutes under the UV lamp
3. first coat of polish
4. 3 more minutes under the UV lamp
5. another coat of polish
6. 3 more minutes under the UV lamp
7. top coat
8. Guess what.... 3 more minutes under the UV lamp
9. She cleaned off the nails really well with alcohol. They were already shiny, but this seemed to really make it extra-shiny.

And that was it! No paying before the end, because at the end I was able to get my wallet and do pretty much anything without the polish getting all messed up, it was completely dry. That was pretty cool. Now we will see how it lasts.

Close up of the pretty sparkles.

I am actually considering buying the stuff for shellac manicures for myself at home. The only thing I am not sure about is that I like to change my polish a lot. But at the same time, I despise chips and sometimes I just want to wear a mani for more than 2 days without them. I'll take a look and think about it some more.