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" |
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
I love the coral nail color! I watched that same video and her coral was definitely more neon. I like your shade better. Does two coats of Cream Puff as the base first help to cool down the Tropix color as opposed to the video's 1 coat of Romantique?
ReplyDeleteI was about to get " sparks fly" applied to my nails today as I love the coral color but at the last moment I couldn't handle all the sparkle. I quickly googled " CND" coral and found this blogpost. I requested 2 coats of cream puff and one of tropix. My nail tech had a challenging time as the cream puff is quite thick! The resulting color is a bright beautiful coral.... But a PITA to do. I wish CND had more cream coral colors to offer!
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