...Shellac?? Gelish??...Gelish?? Shellac??...

Why hello!!!! I have decided to do something a lil different tonight...I have recently gotten rid of my artificial nails and began getting manicures...because who likes to look at gross hands??? NOT ME! Going down this manicured path, I have discovered a whole new world of polish-gel hybrids. They claim to go on like a polish..yet have the staying power of a gel! And the staying power is anywhere from 2-3 weeks! Of course will have some growth (as with artificial nails), but if your the typical work-a-holic home-maker, you are free to wash your hands, clothes and your dog, all without needing to re-polish or fear chips in the nails.

SO, I have tried two different lines so far, one is called "shellac" by CDN and the other is called "Gelish" by Harmony. They both have a wide range of colors, base and top coat and need to be cured under a lamp. NOW, based on my personal experiences I will explain why I love one more than the other..here goes:

Shellac by CDN

I received this delightful manicure at Eveline Charles and the cost was a steep $65 for the full Shellac Manicure (which actually wasn't much of a manicure, much to my disappointment..more of a "light clean up"..not even a soak). It all started out fine and well, but it seemed to be taking a long time to dry! It took about 10mins PER COAT (base, 2 color, top) which was kind of annoying, and after she had my hands curing under the UV for 10mins with the top coat, it STILL was tacky. So we did it a couple more times and she claimed it would dry over time, as I shopped. So I tipped her well and off I went shopping. After  about 30 mins i checked how my nails were doing and much to my surprise all of my nails were COVERED in little fuzzies from the sweater i was wearing!!! Yuck! So i attempted to wipe if off, with not luck, so I sat down at Starbucks, and began scraping off the top layer. After i managed to get that off, it look OK...a bit streaky and a few marks, and considering i got hot red, i wasn't pleased. Now, i know i should've gone back and asked why or what is going on, but I didn't. I made another appointment for 2 weeks later to get it taken off and re polished (by this time it had chipped a bit and grown out some) and thinking maybe it was just beginners bad luck. Well, alas, it was not...it happened and this time i had some creases in it too....LONG STORY short...i kind of feel it was a waste of my time AND money.

Gelish by Harmony

I received this AMAZING manicure at Studio J spa downtown, and the cost was $45 for the Gelish manicure. AND this was the FULL manicure!! So right from the start i was excited! I also noticed they had the ACTUAL Harmony lamp that speed dries/cures the gelish. It took 10 seconds for the base coat, 30 seconds for each polish coat (I had 2 colors, and one glitter on top..at NO extra charge) and then another 10 seconds for the top coat. SO once again..i was HAPPY!! My esthetician (Breanne) was amazing and so nice..and chatty..but not to chatty, just perfect! She did a great job on my manicure (as I am quite picky seeing as i was once in the industry). At the end of the manicure she actually REMOVED the tacky layer, and added cuticle oil...and my nails were literally perfect!!! I could have polished rocks as soon as I stepped out of the spa and they wouldn't have gotten wrecked! All in all, I WILL defiantly be recommending the gelish manicure at Studio J downtown....it looks perfect and will last for over 2 weeks, and without fuzzies or creases AND the price is CHEAPER than what i paid at EC and this was a much better job!!!

Anyways, I just wanted to update ya'll on this one. I have been HARDLY waiting to do this review!!! Perhaps I will check out the Gelish pedicure next...as summer tootsies can come out form hiding pretty soon! Hope you enjoyed!!

- Love, Laura xoxo

QUESTION: Have you gotten either of these mani's done??? Or do you have any certain products you've tried and compared??? speak ya peace!!