Shellac at home removal!

Hi guys. I'm really sorry I haven't updated recently. I've had zero days off work and therefore zero time to myself! I really wanted to blog about something but the only interesting thing I've done is take my mum's Shellac manicure off...and that's not particularly thaaat interesting. 

Buttt...I thought I'd show you what I do anyway to take off Shellac at home for cheap.

First I start off by cutting some foil pieces - around the size of a bank card - and some small cotton pad pieces.  I used a regular sized circular cotton pad and got two pads out of each of them by cutting them in half and trimming the edges.

My mum had picked off four of her nails already, naughty!

Anyway, I then soaked a cotton pad in 100% acetone and placed over the nail.

Next, I placed a foil strip over the nail and cotton pad...

...pushed down and folded the edges over...

...to create a makeshift nail guard which holds the acetone covered pad onto the nail and stops it evaporating.

Squeeze each foil thimble with your hands to ensure the acetone covered cotton pad is touching all the nail.

I waited for 10-15 minutes for the acetone to break down the Shellac.

I pushed firmly on the nail and twisted the foil a couple of times before pulling it completely off the finger. This removes as much product as possible in the first sweep.

I then used a wooden orange stick to gently scrape off the remainder of the Shellac. This comes off easily.

I took another cotton pad, soaked it in acetone, and ran it over the nail to get rid of any extra bits of Shellac that may still be gripped to the nail.

Ta'da!

The nails aren't damaged from the shellac as no filing is necessary to remove it.

Lovely!

This is also the longest that my mum's nails have been in a very long time. The Shellac gives the nail more strength and stops them breaking as much as usual. Always a bonus!

:)

Today's Shellac Manicures

So, I forgot to take a picture of my friend's manicure that she got two weeks ago before I took it off... but here's what I replaced it with. This glossy black colour is called Black Pool and it's beaut!

I decided to do two different colours, simply because I wanted to try out all the shades that I'd purchased and these were the last two that I hadn't tried.

The turquoise is Hotski to Tchotchke and the pink is called Gotcha. The pink is definitely a lot brighter than in the picture. I'd say it's a Barbie pink.

Shellac - Two week update.

Hi everyone. So, last week I showed you some pictures of my CND Shellac manicure that had been on for 7 days. Here is my final update of this particular colour - Rosebud.

I've now had this manicure on for 16 days and I've been very, very impressed.

Here's the day I got it done:

Here's the manicure after 7 days:

And here it is today - 16 days after first application:

As you can see the manicure has held up very well. There is minimal chipping and the only really visible sign of it being on for so long is the growth of new nail.

As I mentioned in my one week update, I have been purposefully heavy on my hands. I have to count a lot of money in my job so have been bashing my nails about in the coin counter, mixing up the coins. I've been peeling off stubborn stickers, cleaning, washing up, using keyboards and phones - everything and anything. Nothing has chipped the finish.

There has, however, been hairline scratches that appeared at about 10 days as you can see in the picture below. This has only happened on two nails - my left index finger and my right thumb - and I think has come about from being quite heavy handed as mentioned before. They aren't too visible and you can't feel them if you run your finger over your nail, but they're definitely there.

My right thumb has suffered the most. See the picture below. On day 14 the outer edge of the Shellac seemed to peel a slight amount. I was really tempted to try and peel it off but when I looked closer, only a tiny bit was lifting away and the rest is still firmly on there.

The Shellac on the tips of my nails has worn away as you can also see in the picture but it is by no means terrible. As I mentioned in my 7 day update, I think this may be down to application as the place I got it done didn't seem to cap the nails with the product very well.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with CND Shellac. So happy in fact, that I recently bought myself my very own kit so I can do my own CND Shellac manicures from home.

It arrived yesterday and I was so excited, eeeeee!

The boyf kindly donated his feet (along with his manliness and dignity) for me to practice on!

He's wearing the colour Black Pool which is a glossy black.

What a good boyfriend!

My mum was also keen to get in on the action and she chose the colour Masquerade, a nice deep plum red.

She never wears nail varnish because she finds it never stays perfect for more than a day, so this morning she was very impressed that they are still fully intact! Let's see how they are in a week! She may be a convert...

Finally, I practiced on my toes. I chose the colour Tropix which is  a lovely coral-orange.

I'm going to remove my Rosebud today and try a different colour on myself. Also going to perhaps give an update on my friend's colour - Fedora - which she got at the same time as me, and will be re doing her manicure this afternoon, too.

Hope these updates have been helpful if you've been researching getting a Shellac manicure. I'd totally recommend it if you want chip-free nails for at least two weeks!

Shellac - One week update.

So, it has been over a week since I had my first Shellac manicure. I thought I'd update you with the results after a week and a day.

I've been really rough on my nails to see how well they cope. I work in a busy shop and have counted thousands of pounds in coins every night and deliberately been quite heavy handed. I've also been moving heavy clothing fixtures and racks and shelves etc, so my hands have been put through the paces.

Here are how they looked the day I had them done.

And here they are after a week and a day.

There's minimal chipping - just around the edge of my thumb nail and right index finger... but it's more wear rather than chipping. The nail technician that did mine didn't seem to cap the edge of the nail very well, so I think rather than being the product's fault, I would be more tempted to blame it on the application.

As you can see the only signs of wearing really is the growth from the cuticle area. I think I'd get another week out of these, definitely. I've been so impressed with Shellac that I actually invested in buying a set for myself. I'm currently waiting for it all to arrive but will be doing my own Shellac manicures from now on, how exciting.

I'll keep an update as to how long I keep this particular manicure on for. I can see myself wanting to change it straight away when my own set comes, though!

For reference, this colour is Rosebud which is a nice purple-undertoned pink colour.

Shellac

So me and my bez went to get our nails done. Popped our Shellac cherry. I got Rosebud (baby mauve-pink) and J got Fedora (deep reddish black)