My first DIY Shellac Gel Manicure- Loving it :-)

June 28, 2012


As if you didn't know, Gel manicures have taken over the world and like everyone else I'm hooked! One polish, a UV lamp, a top coat and you get a chip free manicure for 14 days! There's nothing quite as annoying your nails chipping a day or two after you've had them done, and one of my pet peeves has to be that chipped nail look. So I have been hooked on getting these gel manicures and my poor bank balance has been suffering. At £30-35 a pop, it all adds up especially if you're doing them a couple of times a month. So I started thinking can I do it myself?? I did some major research on it and after reading lots online and watching a few YouTube videos I just thought why the hell not, it can't be that hard! 
There are so many brands to choose from but I decided to go for CND Shellac. It seemed to be the most recommended and the most used by salon professionals so I bought the whole kit; A 34 Watt Gel curing lamp, a bottle of alcohol and the Shellac base coat, top coat and colour. It all cost me around £80 which is what I would spend on having them done twice a month, so I just saw it as an investment. I have just finished doing them so will have to update you on how long they'll last but I'm pretty proud of myself first time round because they look quite good! The main thing to remember is to do your thumbs first and then the other 4 fingers otherwise you're faffing trying to place nails under lamp.  This is pretty much how I did it:

  • Cleaned and filed nails and made sure they were dry
  • Applied a layer of base coat to thumbs and cured under lamp for 30 seconds
  • Applied first coat of colour ( in my case the Shellac Hollywood) and cured for 2 mins
  • Applied second coat of colour and cured for 2 mins
  • Applied top coat and cured for 2 mins
  • Wipe sticky residue off with Isopropanol alcohol
  • Repeat same process with other fingers
Now I have just done them so will have to report on how long they last, how they feel and if I have any side effects lol ( which I'm sure I won't)
Just thought I'd share. Tweet me @isalavsdotcom if you want to ask me anything on this. I'll keep you updated :-)





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2 comments

  1. I have that same uv light..:) Your nails look great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. aww thank you, can't tell you how much money I've saved with this baby!

    ReplyDelete

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