I have always loved to get my nails done. It was something that mom and I would go do together. When I was in high school sometimes she would pull me out of class and we'd go and have an afternoon together, eat lunch and get our nails done.
Of course when I grew up and got a job that involved the making of some kind of food, I couldn't have my nails done and even nail polish was out of the question. So for the last couple of years my nails have been off and I would paint them if I had a long weekend or went somewhere important.
When I left Starbucks the first thing I did was march my way to the nail salon and I got those dang acrylic nails put back on and I was in love. But then I remembered how horrible they are for your nails and how much they damage your real nail and I got sad. I knew I shouldn't have put them on so a month later I was taking them off. (Enter serious sad face here)
I had heard about shellac nails before and knew it was the new "thing." I researched it and called around for prices. I found out that there are two options, one is the actual shellac and others offer gel polish which is called Gelish. Gelish offers a lot of color options and even allows different customizations of the colors. So two weeks ago, I got my first round of Gelish nails and I'm officially hooked and obsessed!
My first trial with it was a little disappointing. Because I had taken my acrylic nails off, the tech left a fine layer of acrylic on my nail so it wasn't so thin and brittle. Within a few days some of those pieces of acrylic started to lift making the gel start to peel and look really ugly. I went back and they fixed the one that was really lifting and looked pretty ugly, they even did it for free! Within a week and a half the nails with acrylic left on really started to lift and look ugly, I was kind of bummed about it and I was ready to just have it all removed and not do it again. I again researched and found out that the acrylic didn't help and with my nails being so thin the gel had nothing to hold onto to.
Yesterday I went back to the salon and got a new gel color put on. I made sure the tech removed all the acrylic and I had her do a quick manicure. For some reason this time the color looks a little thicker and looks like it may hold on longer. They say the gel should last 2-3 weeks, my first round lasted almost two weeks. Some nails only lasted a week and half, others looks great when I went in yesterday. I hope this time they will last 2 or more weeks!
I really am happy with the look of Gelish and I like how quick and easy it is to apply. I've looked into it and you can even buy the stuff from a supply store and do it at home if you wanted. I never would do that though, I like going in and having my nails done. It's always good to have some quiet time that's all for me!
