Shellac for the Season

Today, Jennifer shares her favorite beauty solution for the season:

A couple of weeks ago some gal pals and I went to a local salon, Lexington Nails in Lexington, to check a miraculous new gel-based nail polish we'd heard about called CND Shellac. Apparently it's strong enough to resist the smudges, chips, and fading that we moms experience all too quickly after treating ourselves to a manicure. Since the product is so new, this particular salon only offered a few colors, so I went with a basic pale pink just to be on the safe side. It took only 20-25 minutes to apply and dry under a UV lamp. It was crazy fast drying. Like, no-worries-digging-for-your-car-keys-in-your-handbag-right-after crazy fast. We all marveled at our nails over coffee afterward.
For the next several days I watched in fascination as, despite loads and loads of laundry, dirty dishes, and pulling apart teeny tiny Lego pieces upon my 7-year-old's request, my glossy, thick color stayed completely intact. I'm in love...hook, line, and Shellac! For the holidays I plan to rock the deep, deep red.

A couple of things to note though -- because of the awesomeness of the Shellac, the manicure is a bit more expensive; $20 at this particular salon vs. the normal $15. And, you are advised to come back to have it removed. Once my nails started to grow out in about a week, I found that regular nail polisher remover didn't cut it; they remove the Shellac with acetone wraps at the salon. And while this may seem a bit of a hassle, in my opinion -- particularly during this time of year, during which I have multiple mani-worthy events -- the benefit of the strength and quality of the manicure outweighs the need to go back to the salon for removal and reapplication (plus, I would venture to guess that you deserve 25 minutes to yourself every couple of weeks...).

You can check out CND's website for a list of salons near you. I noticed Lexington Nails wasn't on the list, so I'd call your favorite place to get the scoop. My guess is most salons will carry this soon!

Image credit: CND