The first week of December, I headed to Season Nail Bar at Shaw Center to do a classic gel manicure and classic pedicure. Since I have an existing packaging with them, I thought it will be good to use them before the year ends. In 2015, I only managed to get my nails done there 3-4 times. Previously, I have tried their GellyFit and Tiffany gel manicure, and was very satisfied with it. This time, I decided to try the CND Shellac. The manicurist told me that CND Shellac is less harsh for the nails as it requires no buffing when removing it. The CND Shellac gel nail will supposedly "slide off" when you soak it off. I do find that my nails become brittle after a gel manicure. My nails are usually strong, and do not break easily. But after the removal of gel nails, my natural nails became noticeable weaker. I had to paint on a hardening nail polish for protection. That is the only downside to getting a gel manicure.
On the upside, a gel manicure can lasts a minimum of 14 days without any chipping. It is great for people like me who cannot maintain their usual manicure for more than 2 days. The manicurist claimed that CND Shellac Gel Manicure lasts as long as GellyFit and Tiffany - 14 days of wear. Sounded good, all the benefits of a gel manicure, without the nail damage that comes with it.
Though, Seasons Nail Bar required me to pay an additional $5 for CND Shellac compared to our gel nail. This additional cost I did not appreciate!
The application of CND Shellac Gel Manicure is similar to that of other gel manicure. EXCEPT that, you have to put your nails for 2 minutes under the UV lamp for each time. I remember other gel nails not taking that long, probably 30 seconds or so. The manicurist told me that CND Shellac requires the use of their own CND Shellac Base Coat and Top Coat. Whereas other gel nail brands such as Gelish or GellyFit can use base and top coats from other gel nail companies.
After 5 days of wear, no chipping of nail color was noticed. My nails were still as shiny! Though, I have to say that my nails had a slight chemical smell 2-3 days following the gel manicure. I did not notice such chemical smell when I had done the JellyFit and Tiffany Gel Nail.
A natural taupe color
Shiny nails after 5 days of wear
During the soak-off process, it took about 20 minutes to thoroughly remove the gel nail. The gel nail was removed easily after 10 minutes of soaking it in acetone-filled cotton. There was no buffing required to remove the gel nail. Yay! What the manicurist claimed was true! My nails also did not feel brittle after the removal of the gel nail. Double Yay! I will definitely do CND Shellac Gel Manicure again. Though the color options available for CND Shellac is limited at Seasons Nail Bar. The colors available at Seasons Nail Bar are mostly nudes, pinks and other natural shades.
Great blog post and really helpful...... and your blog are very interesting and inspiring.
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