Shellac Two Weeks On

Two weeks ago, I had my first Shellac manicure (review here).  So how has it fared?  Well I have been pretty impressed with it as there has been no chipping or lifting at all and it still looks just as glossy and bright as when I first had it done.  There is obviously some noticeable regrown at the bottom of the nails and there is a little tip wear, but this can barely be seen unless you take a close look.

So would I have it done again and how does it compare to the Nails Inc Three Week Manicure I tried previously (reviewed here)? Well it is substantially cheaper than the Nails Inc manicure for a start, and it is more widely available.  I did find though that the Nails Inc manicure seemed to be a little more hard wearing and I preferred the wider variety of shades. I found the Shellac shades a little limited with mostly pink and red polishes, although this may be due to the small selection in my salon.

I tend to only have professional manicures for special events or holidays so I think I would probably end up paying the extra with Nails Inc for the wider range of shades and longer wear time.  The complimentary Champagne also helps swing it for me!  However, there are always deals for Shellac with Groupon and other group purchasing sites so it is a much more affordable way to have sophisticated, perfect-looking nails with minimal upkeepon a regular basis.

Have you tried Shellac or Nails Inc's semi-permanent manicures?

Do you prefer these manicures over traditional polish manicures that are not set with  a UV light?

Shellac Manicure in Purple Purple

A wee while ago, I won a giveaway on the lovely Annabella's blog Skin Scrubs for a £50 Wahanda voucher!  As I've been really busy recently, I hadn't had a chance to choose anything but with my birthday fast approaching (30, eeek!), and several nights out and activities planned for the week, I thought it was a good chance to have a Shellac manicure so I wouldn't have to worry about chipping my polish.

I've previously tried Nail's Inc's 3 week manicure (review here), but have never tried Shellac before, despite it probably being the most popular of the permanent manicures.  I went for the shade Purple Purple, which is a gorgeous blue / purple colour with an almost pearlescent sheen to it.  

The photos were taken in direct sunlight and seem to look more blue than purple, but I can assure you there is certainly a large amount of purple present.  These photos were actually taken four days after the manicure and it still looks perfect so I am confident my manicure will withstand my week of partying! 

Have you tried Shellac before? 

 

Review follow up: Nails Inc 3 Week Manicure

Prior to going on holiday, I booked myself in for a Nails Inc 3 week manicure, which I reviewed before I went away.  Last week, I went to have it removed and I thought I would show you a couple of picture of the growth over the 3 weeks and how my nails looked after it.

Nails Inc claim that their manicure lasts for 3 weeks, however as you can see from the photo above, there was a substantial amount of growth, although my nails do grow very quickly.  There was no chipping or discolouration present and aside from the growth, they seemed fine and it was much easier than having to paint them every few days when I was away.

Removal was fairly straightforward, with the tin foil method used whilst I had a glass of champagne or two (hic!).  A nail stick and file was used to remove the particularly stubborn sections of gel polish and the whole process took just under half an hour. 

I know my nails don't look their best here but I was pleasantly surprised at how strong and healthy they felt after having the gel on them for 3 weeks.  There were some marks left where the polish was difficult to remove but in general the nails themselves felt fairly healthy and I have not experienced any peeling or brittleness which I often suffer with. 

Verdict

The removal itself is fairly basic and something you could do yourself easily.  I opted to have it done in store mainly as I get intensely frustrated at removing glitter polishes, and removing this myself would fill me with rage!  I was also a little wary of damaging my nails and felt that paying for removal on the odd occasion was worth it.  The price for removal however is way too high and I would suggest that this is mainly for the 'free' champagne.  As a one off for a special occasion I would recommend the manicure, although for regular manicures, you could easily find a local salon who offer similar products, such as Shellac, for much cheaper, albeit with less champagne!

3/5

Price - £20

Where to buy - Harvey Nichols, Some Debenhams stores