Few women are born with the hard, healthy, naturally acrylic-like nails that polish was made for. My mother: one of the lucky ones. Me: not so much. So while here at The Beauty Bean we all obsess over the latest lacquers and gush over the newest in nail art, unless you’re one of the lucky few, you’re lucky if that manicure lasts more than a couple days (that is if you can even make it out of the salon without a ding or smudge). And don’t even get the keyboard and blackberry pounders among us started over here! Seriously, we can barely last 24 hours before we have a chip and our once pretty pinkies look messy and, well, (better left) unpolished.
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We long for long-wear lacquer and, no matter how often we’re disappointed by unfulfilled promises and unmet expectations, we continue to hold out hope. Sure, acrylics and gels have long been our friends, but both are high maintenance, pricey and damage our already-suffering nails in the process. And while we in NY do love our CalGels (and the Japanese nail art that goes along with it), without widespread offerings around the world, many of our less-geographically fortunate friends have, until now, been left without any healthy or feasible options.
Luckily, our friends at CND have kept us in mind and worked tirelessly to come up with a solution – and what a solution they have! After 5 years in the lab, this month marks the launch of the first hybrid nail color: Shellac. Part gel, part polish, Shellac is a 3-free formula, (produced without formaldehyde, toluene or DBP,) that is applied like a polish (with a base coat, 2 layers of color and a top coat) but cures like a gel between coats (under a safe UV light). And while it feels and looks like a polish and is just as easy to apply, it requires no dry time and wears flawlessly for 14 days without a chip, dent or peel in sight, like a gel.
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In fact, we’ve had ours on now for about a week and it looks exactly like when we left the salon. Even the shine has remained! Just think: no longer will you spend 40 minutes getting a manicure only to need another one a mere 2 days later. And, unlike gels and acrylics that, when removed, can cause irreparable damage to your natural nail, Shellac removes easily in just 10 minutes, without damaging chemicals or destructive files or drills.
While Shellac is only available in 12 shades at launch, we assure you there is one for everyone. Our pick: Tropix, a coral that has us feeling nothing short of tropical (and thinking of just how great a flawless 14 day manicure will be when on that tropical vacation we’ve been dreaming about).
To find a salon near you offering CND’s Shellac, click here.
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