The finished article.
It was probably always inevitable that I'd ultimately neglect this blog (SORRY), but as is almost customary with me, there's nothing like a grievance to provide motivation, and in this case it's motivating me to write a blog post. It's about time. The main reason I wanted to write this post is due to the fact that I've heard very few negative responses in relation to Shellac polish, but as I've been less than overjoyed with the experience, I thought I'd share my honest thoughts with you all.
Shellac is one of those things that seems to be talked about all the time, and almost always in ridiculously high esteem. Due to this I was expecting a lot - in hindsight, probably too much - from the latest 'wonder' in the world of nail polish. I want to begin by saying that the Shellac manicure I had done was in no way awful. It was just disappointing.
I found that the Shellac polish itself was strangely sheer, and even after two coats I could still see my nails through it in places. As someone who is almost always gunning for the full opaque look, this wasn't fantastic news. I also found that the wear and chip resistance of the stuff wasn't great - this is probably where I felt most let down by Shellac - I had a fairly noticeable chip in one of my nails after only 3 days. Being brutally honest here I've had cheap, drugstore nail varnishes fair better. In fact, I'll often manage a full week of blemish free nails when using the likes of Barry M and Essie. To put it simply, for over £20 I expected more.
My final grievance is how difficult the stuff is to remove. I'm sure, in an ideal world, you'd go and have it removed by a professional, and that's probably a much nicer experience than having to sit soaking your nails in a bowl of nail polish remover for 20 minutes just to soften the polish to the point that you can painstakingly pick it all off to remove the dehydrated nail bed beneath.
I'm genuinely writing this post with my nails drowning in almond oil in the hopes that this will put some much needed health back into them. To say they're dry is an understatement.
However, having said all of this, I'm not necessarily steering clear of Shellac manicures for the rest of forever. I did get a lot of compliments and comments about how great my nails looked and it was nice to have someone do my nails for me, and for it to be instantly dry - one of the big, genuine selling points of Shellac. I didn't have to sit afraid to touch my nose or pick up a pen for an hour after they'd be painted; a definite advantage. So I'm not swearing off Shellac forever - but I'm not contemplating it anytime soon either. In the meantime I'll stick to my old polish favourites and spend the money I'm saving on G&T's - let's face it, things could be worse.
