This sounds like a dream come true, a manicure that can last for 14 days without chipping, getting wrinkled from bendy nails, scratches as well as dents. The Shellac nail color is a hybrid between nail polish and gel because it applies like a nail polish and sets like gel, and dries almost immediately under special UV lights so as soon as you walk out the door of a beauty salon, you can start digging through your bag and even pry open a can of soda and your nails will still be perfect. Now that’s something people like me would want – I once ruined a manicure that cost more than RM100 almost 2 minutes after it’s done. This new technology that took nearly 5 years to develop was launched earlier this year in the U.S. and initially comes with only 12 colors. By next year, CND (Creative Nail Design) says there will be up to 60 varieties of colors.
Shellac-ing is as simple as applying 4 coats onto your nail – a base coat, 2 color coats and a final top coat and you’re good to go; no buffing required, but unfortunately, because it requires the UV light to “cure” the color, Shellac cannot be done at the comfort of your own home. Once the base coat is applied, it will be placed for 20 seconds under the UV lightbox followed by the first color coating which will take 2 minutes to cure. Once the third and final layers are done with 2 minutes of curing time each, it requires some cleaning and you’ll be good to go. Sounds simple enough, now all we need is to convince our local beauty salon to bring this thing in so we can try it.
(Source: All Lacquered Up, Lisa Eldridge Make Up)