Shellac

I got shellac'd today!! I absolutely love it.

I was a little skeptical of its claims and still have to wear it for its claimed 2 weeks to really see if it can live up to all the hype.  I've wanted a shellac mani since I first heard about it from Michelle over at All Laquered Up and I've been looking for a good excuse to get it done.  It isn't terribly expensive, but considering I have almost 300 polishes (who's counting?) and enough base coats and top coats to last a normal girl a few lifetimes, I could never actually justify paying to get my nails done.

But, back in August when my mom asked what I wanted as my college graduation gift (fina11y!!) and I responded with a cruise, I began to think of my polish options.  I figured I would just do my regular mani/pedi myself and take a few back-up polishes just in case something happened to my nails.  But last week I was talking to my brother about it and I totally remembered out of nowhere that the spa he manages (I know) exclusively uses CND and it clicked that they may do shellac and he could hook a sista up with a discount.  Well, he booked me an appointment immediately and told me I didn't have to do the fully mani/pedi and could just do the polish change one for $10 on the fingers and $15 on the toes and I was sold!  He ended up also scheduling me for a nail maintenance as well which was a little more costly that I had anticipated, but my cuticles were in disparate need of some TLC.

Anyhoodle, I knew the color range wasn't super great and a little "nana-esque", but I knew you could layer the colors to create new, fun ones.  I narrowed the option down to four I would like to try, then to the two I got today.  I went with the "neon coral" cream color for my tips and one what I'm calling a "Shellac Scrangie" for my toes  (but now that I think about it, a different color combination would have yielded a better result ie fedora+tutti fruiti+iced coral).

Flash

Sun

Comparison with China Glaze's "Flip Flop Fantasy"

"Neon coral" is a color combo I got from the official CND layering video and mine is two coats of "Cream Puff" and one layer of "Tropix."  The color is ablosultey gorgeous and it is not what I was expecting, but thank god because it is everything I love for summer polish.  I was a little nervous because the lovely lady that did my nails doesn't like applying Cream Puff to the whole nail as the color tends to wrinkle when it gets cured under the UV lights, but it was easliy smoothed out with a second coat of the white color and the other coats of Tropix and the top coat.  As you can see from the third picture, "Flip Flop Fantasy" from China Glaze's summer 2010 collection is a great dupe.  I'm in love and wish that this was my pedi color instead.

On my toes is my wannabe "Scrangie" color.  My friend said it looked like the MAC eyeshadow "Club," but I own MAC polish "Toast of the Town" (Barbie) and that color is "Club" in polish form, but I can see the similarities between this and the shadow as they are both a duo-chromes.  I like it, but I don't love it.  I should have tried a not-so-shimmery color because I think shimmers like this look a little dated, even though it is a funky color.  Maybe it is just the combination, though, because the receptionist at the spa had on "Cream Puff" with "Iced Coral" on top and it looked really cool; it was a fun, funky, nude color.

I loved the experience and, just like everyone else says, the colors dried instantly and they should retain the hi-gloss shine until I remove it, which I love because Seche Vite dulls throughout the week.  I anticipate my flawless fingers and toes will remain that way on my vacation, and hanging out in water and the beach will be a great test.  I'll take pics of the mani and pedi before I remove them in a few weeks.

Hasta luego!! xo

American Eagle Nail Polish Sets

American Eagle came out with four nail polish sets along with their Holiday 2010 collection. I love nail polish, and I love American Eagle, so naturally I purchased 3 of the 4. They looked great in the store and when got home with them I played around with them for a bit, but other than that, they have been sitting on my night stand for well over a month.

My plan for break was to go through as much polish as I could so that when spring comes I could buy more polish with out feeling guilty that more than half the polishes I own have never been used. But alas, this is exactly the opposite of what I've actually done. In reality, I spend my time off from work with my friends or killing my life on the internet. Awesome.

I've been wearing one color a week, surprisingly my manies last that long. So today, while I was getting ready to change my polish color, I decided to swatch all the mini AE polishes and photograph them for this blog. :]

Brights:
Dock of the Bay Blue - Blue based teal cream
Twilight Violet - Red based purple (not violet), with blue shimmers
Not-so Mellow Yellow - Vibrant yellow creme
Make Him Jealous - Vampy blacked-maroon jelly

Winter:
Orange You Glad? - Neon red based orange
Go For the Bronze - Taupe foil
Flock of Flamingos - Neon pepto pink (way brighter than the pics)
Once in a Blue Moon - Blue/violet shimmer with a purple duo-chrome

Pastels:
Tu-Tu Pink - Sheer pink with blue shimmer
Mint Green With Envy - Pastel green based turquoise with silver shimmer
Concrete Jungle - Cool grey (same name and color as the RBL version)
Peri-Wink At Ya - Baby pink cream

I really liked them all. all swatches are with two coat, no top coat. They are all very shiny and opaque, for the exception of Tu-Tu Pink (which I think would make an amazing top coat or nicely over a french mani). They were well priced $15.50 each set of 4 and BOGO 1/2 off, so each mini polish ends up being just under $3 each. Not bad. :]

I wouldn't mind seeing Mint Green With Envy, Make Him Jealous, Dock of the Bay Blue, Flock of Flamingos, and Once in a Blue Moon as full-sized polishes. They are all lovely colors, go on nicely, and are incredibly opaque. Here's to hoping AE sees this! ;)

Dock of the Bay Blue is my current mani and I absolutely LOVE it! It's less grayed out and more vibrant in real life.

Thanks for looking! xo