We tried it:The Shellac Manicure (page 2)

We tried it:The Shellac Manicure

Posted by Alexandra C. | Wednesday November 2, 2011

Think of everything you hate about painting your nails- the chipping that occurs two days later, the thick, goopy mess that happens with one too many coats, waiting for what seems like a million years for it to dry. It's enough to stop painting them all together! Now- let me introduce you the shellac manicure.

As part of the Beautylicious event, where you can get great deals on almost any beauty service, I was treated to a shellac manicure courtesy of Sitamaa Spa- check my review over here. Shellac manicures are the remedy to everything you hate about painting your nails and promise to last two weeks with no chips (let me repeat that- two weeks!). They immediately dry under a UV lamp (no smudges!) and have a gorgeous glossy finish (lasting for the entire wear!).

Here is my 'Before' picture... pre-shellac!

First, the (amazing, by the way) manicurist cleans up my hideous nail beds and rightly scolds me for biting them and I hang my head in shame. She softens my cuticles and files my nails. The shellac manicure doesn't react well to oils or wet ingredients so this part of the process is all dry.

After this, the next few steps are basically rinse & repeat. There are three colour polish layers painted, a base and top coat and in between, your hands are put under the UV lamp. You can alter the colours of your polishes, by layering on different shades or tones. I chose to go with a deep red for my first layer and over top of this a shimmery magenta to give my red a bit of shine, shimmer and a pink hue. It may seem like your nails are now loaded on with shellac but here's the best part- they don't feel that way! Unlike some polishes that feel heavy on your nail, the shellac feels like your natural nail.

A bit of advice about your manicure: I developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with my shellac into my second week because I wanted to change up my colour so you'll definitely have to chose your colours carefully. Like a tattoo- make sure you love the colour because you'll be stuck looking at it for a while.

What I didn't love was when my nails started to grow out, there is a small gap between your polish and your nail- much like gel nails. As well, you need to soak your nails in pure acetone to remove the shellac. This isn't too difficult, it was more inconvenient for me to go purchase the acetone and soak it for about 5-10 minutes for each hand. It is advised to go to the spa/salon to replace your polish there instead.

Overall, the shellac mani is definitely a 'must-try', especially for the holidays. With it's long lasting shine, when you're running around busy a shellac mani just takes that one extra thing off your mind.

Here is my 'After' picture... post shellac!

At Sitamaa Spa- this manicure is $50.00- well worth it when you consider a regular manicure at a similar nail bar or boutique would cost about $25 and lasts a fraction of the time. Beautylicious runs until November 6th.

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15 Comments

	on November 02, 2011 curlysue10 7,326 said: Yeah I think one of the only drawbacks of this type of mani is getting tired of the colour. @AlexJC I think you're right, it won't be long before people are doing these at home. I saw the UV light required for it being sold on eBay a little while ago for like 20 bucks!
	on November 02, 2011 shiorim 982 said: Really like how they can layer the different polishes to make a custom shade. Also interested in how they do the half moon style there as it seems complicated after watching the process for just one polish. Thinking of trying this out for the holiday or possibly an event I have coming up soon.
	on November 02, 2011 AlexJC 50 said: @Ali- the gel manis are very similar, I asked the manicurist what the difference was and she told me that gels are a bit thicker than shellacs and shellacs have more colours at the moment! I'm thinking of getting another mani done in december to have through the holidays too @takoda Also- the other day I was in shoppers and they are actually starting to sell base coats and top coats and even colours in the store- pretty soon everyone will be doing shellac and gel manis at home!
	on November 02, 2011 Ali de Bold STAFF said: I did an OPI Axxium manicure at Tips Nail Bar a while back and it lasted me for 3 weeks. Very similar.
	on November 02, 2011 takoda 28,648 said: Very nice, this would be great for Xmas, or even to give as a gift for Xmas. They could use it for a fresh Mani for New Years Eve.