Shellac Adventures

First of all, thank you for all your support! When I finish my previous post, I thought that you guys would desert me, but thank you to your wonderful comments and support, I feel much more comfortable blogging about random stuff.

This post, however, will be nail related (and somewhat ‘nad related too). For those of you who don’t know what Shellac is, it’s made by CND and they advertise it as “the mani that will last up to 14 days”. It applies just like nail polish and you use a UV lamp to “cure” it.

Photo Courtesy of CND

There are a few tutorials out there on how to do it, but I figured I would give you the most simple, 10 step, least amount of investment possible method.

What you need: as far as buying the stuff, all you need is a UV lamp (my 36watt eBay one works just fine), Shellac Base Coat, Shellac Top Coat, Shellac Color, and rubbing alcohol. Click on the image below if you want to see a bigger version!

As you can see, it’s not extremely difficult. After step 10, it really is rock solid and there’s no way you can dent it.

A couple things to keep in mind: make sure you wrap the tips but that seems pretty much impossible when my nails were short, but wrap if you can. Try to not let the stuff reach your nail bed and/or cuticles because after it cures, it’ll be more likely to peel after a couple showers when the stuff has washed off your skin, and lifting the polish from the nail.

To remove: I just soak a small square that I cut from felt with acetone and let it “sit” on my nail for about 3-4 minutes per nail and it just all flakes off.

As far as ‘nadding: I haven’t tried it yet because I’m skeptical. While I think that it’s thick enough to ‘nad with, the Shellac Top Coat is a bit on the thick ‘n draggy side. I’m worried that the design will smear.

In conclusion: Don’t be discouraged if it looks like crap or that it peels after you try Shellac the first time. It took me a couple tries until I got the “feel” of Shellac but once I got it down, it works good. I wouldn’t say that I could get it to last for 14 days, but I could definitely get a solid week in and have it look flawless.

Hope this helped someone!

Shellacin’

Hope everyone had a great summer. Tomorrow is officially the first day of autumn! This summer really flew by and can you believe that Sasse Stamping Stampede has been around for more than a year?! Crazy!

My dear friend Gab from The Edge Of Sanity sent me this (sorry for the cell phone picture. I got way too excited about this):

Thank you so much Gab! Yes, I’m the proud owner of the Hello Kitty Fauxnad plate

Unforunately, I will not be able to show off Hello Kitty for a couple weeks because because I’m trying out CND Shellac. I’m going to eventually try to ‘nad with Shellac but I’m thinking it might not be successful because their top coat is quite thick. I’ll try to post a little tutorial of just the Shellac part with pictures if you guys are interested!

Thanks for looking!

Revlon Cotton Candy Fauxnad

This fauxnad pattern definitely looks much better on the nail than it did on the plate. I was a little sketched about the honeycomb pattern but it turned out really nice with with Cotton Candy. By the way, the Revlon Cotton Candy is scented! It’s even scented through the topcoat! So cool! I kept catching myself sniffing my nails. Hahaha!

Revlon Cotton Candy and Creative Nail Designs Blue Ice Shimmer and Bundle Monster BM21

Sorry if my cuticles look a little more beat up than normal. These are nails after 4 days of camping! Thanks for looking!

Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud Konad

Opulent Cloud is one of those colors that is really hard to match up a complementary ‘nad color with. I decided to just match it up with a plain black and it didn’t turn out bad at all! The m75 plate is interesting: the designs when they’re on the plate is so boring, but then when it’s applied to the nail, it’s a totally different story!

Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud and CND Amethyst Sparkle with Konad m75

Thanks for looking!

Nubar Green Tea Konad

Another reason why I like layering with the CND Effects is because it makes me “re-like” a certain color I have. I honestly didn’t care much for Nubar Green Tea. However, after layering Jade Sparkle over it, that totally changed my mind. Okay, I must confess that I’m not a cream fan either The layering then really helps!

Nubar Green Tea and Creative Nail Design Jade Sparkle with Konad m75 and Konad Blue Pearl

Thanks for looking!

FingerPaints Bada Bing Bada Blue Konad

If the next few updates are going to contain CND Sugar Sparkle, it’s because I just think it’s so cool! I added Sugar Sparkle with a mid-tone denim blue and it’s just amazing! The m75 plate is growing on me. It seems pretty versatile after you get over the typical Konad flower motif

FingerPaints Bada Bing Bada Blue with CND Sugar Sparkle and Konad m75 and Revlon Petal Chrome

Oh and I didn’t notice how horrible my cuticles look until after the photo was taken and uploaded a few days later (after it has been chipped and gross). Sorry!!!

Thanks for looking!

Sally Hansen Grape Going Konad

Creative Nail Design’s effects are quite awesome! I layered this with Creative Nail Design’s Crimson Sparkle and the color really sort of reminded me of Clarins 230! Sorry I covered it up with gold, but I think it adds a nice contrast to the purple:

Sally Hansen Grape Going and CND Crimson Sparkle with Konad m72 and China Glaze 2030

Thanks for looking!

Misa Touch of Violet Konad

I just got Creative Nail Design’s new Candy Sparkle in the mail. The first thing I wanted to do was to layer it over a light color to see whether it will show up. This is awesome! It’s like mini silver flakies. Super unique and I think I’ll be layering this over all pastel colors! It’s so cool!

Misa Touch of Violet and Creative Nail Design Sugar Sparkle with Konad m80

Thanks for looking!

Milani Soft White Konad

For some reason, I was drawn by the new feather design when I first saw m77. I tried the silver and gold chrome on it, and it turned out a little Christmasy than I wanted. Then again, I kind of like the blue shimmer on it too. The feathers are so cute!

Milani Soft White and Creative Nail Design Blue Ice Shimmer with Konad m77 and China Glaze 2030 and Millennium

Thanks for looking!

Zoya Miley Konad

Another rave for Creative Nail Design’s Effects. I added it over a soft shade and it just makes the soft shades much more fun. I would say this is definitely a fun work appropriate combo!

Zoya Miley and CND Blue Ice Shimmer with Konad m69 and Color Club Sky Blue

Thanks for looking!