When I was a young girl I became instantly obsessed with my nails. It
all began when Mrs. Dinapole, my kindergarten teacher would read us
stories and I saw her pretty claws turning those pages. I don't think I
knew what any of the tales were about because all I could do was stare
at those beautiful red talons tapping the pages and pointing at each
corresponding colorful illustration. I headed straight home to play
teacher where I would place the pen caps from my markers on each of my
fingers and open up a book to pretend to read to my imaginary students.
As soon as I was able I began purchasing every nail polish color that
existed on this planet - and several that appeared to be from others.
My collection was legendary. My nails were always painted. Maintaining
my nails was one of the most important things to me and I somehow had
the time to devote to this. I remember selecting which musical
instrument I was to learn in 3rd grade. Though I desperately wanted to
play the violin - I chose the flute instead - so I wouldn't have to cut
my nails to hold down the strings. Of course when I got older and had
more money to waste - I would keep myself in acrylic tips - even
learning how to do them myself at home. Eventually - poor college
student life took over and that all fell by the wayside. In my adult
years - I have found it utterly impossible to have the patience to paint
my nails on any sort of regular basis - knowing that they are going to
chip within a day no matter what type of topcoat I use. Even when I
splurge for a mani/pedi - I am sad knowing in a few days the chipped
paint will be catching on something and I will have to spend time to
remove it from my fingernails because it looks ridiculous. It was
actually just a few short years ago that I allowed my mother to toss my
gigantic tub of nail polishes I had collected throughout the years out -
even though I knew most of them probably had gotten gross and unusable -
they really represented quite a bit of my funds growing up! You know
my priorities changed when I started playing the guitar and am
constantly chopping off my left hand (always longer/stronger) nails in
order to be better able to play. Well something has come along to
change all that. It's called Shellac. Now I suppose this is a random
blog post - since this isn't a beauty blog and especially since it has
been a REALLY long time since I have posted one - but I've been dying to
share my love of Shellac for a few months now. So for those of you
entirely uninterested in girly nail polishy things - you've probably
gotten all you can get from this post. For the rest of you
beauty/makeup freaks....read on...
Just in case you haven't the foggiest notion what I am talking about: Shellac is a brand of gel nail polish which is activated by U.V. light
(via special lamps for your hands) which cures the gel to a shiny and
immovable manicure that lasts for at least 14 days. Mine usually lasts
close to 3 weeks! The polish dries within a few minutes and you are out
of the salon digging through your purse and picking your wedges with
not one shred of fear about ruining your manicure. The removal process
is something you can do yourself if you need be. All you need is to
wrap or soak your nails in regular nail polish remover (with acetone)
and once you've soaked long enough you can gently scrape it off with an
orange wood stick. This removal process doesn't really damage your
nails but it definitely always takes a little longer than they advertise
- whether I am in the salon or doing it myself. Shellac does cost a
wee bit more than your average NYC cheap-ass manicure - but the fact
that I usually have mine for 3 weeks makes up for that. I can usually
find places that charge about $35 - $40 for a basic application. It can
cost more if you want special designs or a french manicure - as is
usually the case. Salons don't usually charge you anything to remove
your last Shellac when you are paying for a new one. The jury is still
out on some of the naysayers who may warn that the time under the
U.V.lights may be a danger to your skin. As a fair-skinned and
semi-freckled ghost - I tend to hide from the sun and do everything I
can to steer clear of skin cancer. So I am going to keep an eye on what
people have to say about this - but as far as I can learn - this
doesn't pose any more risk than driving a car without sunscreen or
gloves on.
So yes, I am literally addicted to it now. The only problem I have
with it is that they really don't have a large range of colors to select
from. They've got the generic reds/pinks/brownish colors covered - and
some really neutral tans and whites - but only 3-5 or so "funky"
colors. I dig the funky. When you are selecting something to look down
and admire for 2-3 weeks though - you want to REALLY love it. How many
times can I get my nails painted the same 3-5 funky-ish colors?? Now
there are several other gel manicure brands - O.P.I. makes one called
Axxium which has tons more awesome colors to select from. The only
problem is that it doesn't last as long as Shellac - and requires a
special solution in order to remove it - so you HAVE to have a salon do
it. Plus - they say it is harsher on your natural nails - and you don't
want to ruin those just because you are obsessed with long-lasting
polish. So I am presently giving my nails a break from the Shellac -
mainly because I am no longer inspired by any of their color options and
I have to pay extra to have fun designs created with the boring color
selection. But now I've started trying to apply regular polish again -
because I am addicted to seeing something lovely on my nails! Suddenly I
am 12 years old again - waiting for my nails to dry and looking for new
colors to dump my money on. Grrr...I wish they all existed on Shellac!
Here are some shots of my Shellac experiences:
Sunday, June 3, 2012
I am a Shellac Addict and this is my story.
Here was my latest - getting funky because they need more color selections! This was two different colors plus a glitter over everything to make it even more interesting.
I generally like to keep my nails shorter in case I feel like practicing my gee-tar.
A little glitter over the gray - to make it more fun.
A little hot pink....
One of their few funky colors - purple!
A sexy hooker red...
3 weeks later - left hand FLAWLESS - minus the barely noticeable growth at the cuticle.
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2 comments :
I've never understood why some ladies focus so much attention on their nails or what goes into color selection, patterns, products, and all the rest of that mindset. I don't usually post on Blogs and read them rarely. On yours I read everything posted but not the older ones. Now I'm going back to the ones I really appreciated and commenting as I see fit.
Thank you for opening my eyes as wide as they'll ever be on this topic. I'm fascinated by the human experience but prefer to interact with individuals rather than take classes. I've done some reading as well.
Your post almost made me 'get it' about the nails, from how it started for you to where it was when you wrote the post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thing even though I'm not remotely inclined in that direction. It's just something I've thought about from time to time and tried to talk to those I've encountered a few times. None of them were as articulate and connected as you are. Thanks for your Blog as a whole and this post specifically.
Oh PaulBlog1 -- you have no idea how wonderful it has been having you visiting, reading, and commenting on my posts! Just when I think no one on earth ever reads them --- poof -- here you are....getting something from them (somehow!??!). I am glad this one was entertaining to you as well -- and no worries -- there is absolutely NO pressure for you to go get your nails done!!
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