So, it’s Monday. Not Friday. Let’s all just get that out in the open. But, I’m not going to apologize. Mama’s got shit to do and what-not.
Now, back to business.
Until recently I haven’t painted my nails, pretty much ever. I wash my hands about a hundred times a day and anytime I have paid for a pricey manicure I have ended up with nails that look like this :
Figure 1: Chipped as balls.
Recently though my friend talked me into getting a shellac manicure. After being told that it lasts from 2 weeks to a month, I decided to try it. The shellac manicure was created by a company called CND. You can watch CND’s infomercial for the shellac manicure here. But, you should only watch it if you have something sharp to stab yourself in the eye with nearby. These women will make your ass twitch. #firstworldproblems indeed.
For more hilarious information, I generally watch “beauty tutorials” on Youtube. I have discovered this woman called “Leighannsays”. I knew I was meant to love her when I saw that she had a video called “Big Texas Hair”.
Video 1: Big Texas Hair.
She does a little review of shellac nails here. She cracks me up. I think she drinks.
So, in short, the manicurist puts a coating of colored gel on top of your nail and then it cures for 2 minutes under a UV light. Then, it’s all dry. I didn’t have to wait for anything to dry. Nothing smudged or chiped. It took in total about 20 minutes. I had it done nine days ago and here’s how it looks:
Figure 2: SHELLAC!!!
Nine days later and these fools are not chipped. What you can see is the little bit of my new nail growth at the bottom. Still, not chippage and no nail breakage. This is unheard of for me, so I am over all a fan. The one down side? I’ll probably pick something a bit more neutral next time. This reddish brownish coppery color was cute when I got it, but I’m over it now.
there is something seriously the matter with that leighannsays person.
Leighann is now the go to authority on basically everything.
Dude, don’t get all pissy just cause your jew hair looks like crappe compared to hers.
Spray! Tease! Spray! Tease!!! Hair corners!!!
Don’t hate on Leighann!
So, does it last if you spill organic chemicals like isopropanol on it? How about hydrogen peroxide? I’m dubious about its ability to last under those conditions…which is why I haven’t painted my fingernails since 2007. (I paint my toenails all of the time, though.)
I can’t vouch for every organic solvent, but it’s been pretty resistant to alcohol and peroxide. The color is removed by soaking in 99% acetone for 10 minutes, so I probably wouldn’t trust an organic solvent for too long.
What the hell is “Moroccan oil”? I’m not Googling that.
This stuff is the greatest thing ever for scientists who like pretty nails. If you do a french manicure I’ve had it last up to 5 or 6 weeks (the nail growth isn’t as noticeable with a french manicure). Not only doesn’t it chip (and seems pretty immune to a fair number of solvents and other insults) but it is so freaking strong my nails are the longest they’ve been in years. I broke a nail in the lab a few months ago and I didn’t notice for half the day b/c the shellac didn’t break (!) only the nail underneath. Plus if you are on travel you don’t have to worry about your manicure getting screwed up away from home. Yeah I’m a fan girl. (also, you can buy a good enough lamp on amazon for like 50 bucks and then do them yourself whenever you want, super easy!)
Yes yes yes. I used to have gels with tips and they just got too shitty and pain in the ass to deal with the fills. But I loved having nails. I love love love the gels.
@Sarah. Didn’t know you could buy the lamp. Must look into that.
Moroccan oil = Argan oil, made from the fruit of the argan tree, found only in Morocco. It’s good stuff, very expensive, but for us plebes, extra virgin olive oil is more affordable and just as beneficial.
I’d laugh if Mariah Carey found a way to market argan oil through her son, whom she named Moroccan.
I bought this lamp http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BNLDQA/ref=oh_o01_s00_i01_details
You can buy the official CND one but it is really expensive. You can also get decent deals on the shellac itself on amazon
So would you know anything science-y about the safety of this? I know that regular old nail polish used to be full of formaldehyde and toulene and crap (and some still is) that was not good to have around you if you didn’t need to, so I gave up getting my nails done. (there’s the whole safety element for the nail salon workers who are around it every day, too.)
I kinda would like to go back to funky colored nails someday, though.
Yup, leighannsays definitely drinks……or it was the fumes from the shellac-ing.
love watching babes with lots of makeup on talk about their nails!! lol..
the blonde I thought was very nice looking… I just played that part over and over for a few minutes and didn’t watch the rest…
I actually prefer olive oil to Moroccan oil but the Moroccan oil sure does smell nice.
I wish I liked having polished nails.
That’s 12 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. That hair ain’t even that big! Girlie needs to check 1987 if she’s looking for big hair.