Go Shellac Yourself

If you're anything like me you spent your days watching I Love Lucy admiring her sense of style and her seemingly fiery red hair. Lucy had perfectly manicured nails which she up-kept at the local salon on a weekly biases, whether the hot headed Ricky liked it or not. Well, both Lucy and Ricky would be on cloud 9 after the newest crazy in nail care; Shallac manicures.

For those of you stuck in the past let me give you a quick 411. Shellac is innovative hybrid nail color which is guaranteed to last for 14-whopping days. The polish is a combination of gel and regular polish. You come in, sit as they apply. The polish is thin and strong enough to be applied similarly to nail polish, but it is cured in a way that gives it great flexibility and durability. You sit under a mini UV light and wait for the perfect mani. It also has the incredible shine associated only with gel nails.

The minute I heard that there is a nail polish that won't chip for 14 days I was sold. I was willing to forgo my life savings for this magical opportunity. Luckily I didn't have to. I took my fancy Gene Juarez gift card and pranced my butt over to the Bellevue branch. I was welcomed with a cup of tea (which was nice considered Seattle weather is copying Alaska this year) and taken to my fancy seat where I met Leah my manicurist. She welcomed me, complimented my wind blown bird nest hair and let me pick my future nail colors. I was able to pick one of about 12 nail colors. They had all the basics; red, pink, dark purple, etc. I chose a neutral pink (I want to appear as though I'm a professional adult now-a-days). We sat down and started talking about my job, the trouble of parking and driving, fashion and of course; nails. She did a great job making my nails look humane as she prepped me for the big polish. Two coats of the polish, 4 minutes under the UV lights and BAM. Perfect nails. I was so ecstatic that I decided to document the whole party.

Day 1
The manicure was perfect. I banged my nails against everything and anything (I had to experiment..!) and not a single twitch. I got at least 3 compliments that day, which is three more then I usually get.









Week 1
Manicure is still pretty darn flawless. Not a single scratch/chip etc. I'm Berry Berry Impressed Gene.









Week 1.5
The color is starting to darken a bit. Still no chip or scratch but it's not as shiny/flawless as day 1. I'm not even mad about it.












Week 2
Looks like I've been eating fruit and veggies. My nails have been growing which means that the nail polish only covers half my nugget of a thumb. Looks like it's time to remove, as promised.













Removing the polish was a breeze. Just go to the drug store and spend $3.00 on pure Acetone. Soak for about a minute and you're home free.

I would 100% recommend this to any of my friends (and even my frienemies). It's cute, safe, easy, and pretty affordable ($35 at Gene). I think this invention would have Lucy and Ethel running to the salon.