shellac gel nail polish

Shellac is a UV light cured gel polish that lasts about two weeks. This color is more of a pearly golden tone and not pink. It looks very natural and sparkles for quite some time. I find that one coat of polish, well applied, is fine. I have used OPI's Axxium gel polish and it destroyed my nails. I now use Shellac. One item of mention is that to remove you need to use an acetone nail "wrap" for about 20 min to get the polish to come off easily. I make my own "wraps" by soaking cotton balls with acetone, placing the ball on my nail and covering with a 4 inch square of aluminum foil. Wait 20 minutes and the polish peels off like magic with no nail damage. Although this system takes more time compared to regular polish, it is long wearing under harsh conditions. The only reason you can't get more than two weeks out of a single coat of polish is because your nails will grow out.

I purchased two bottles of CND Shellac Iced Cappucino from two sellers to see if the second bottle is as thick and clumpy as the first. It was. Very difficult to apply thinly. Clumps and is the consistency of watered down oatmeal. I've used CND Shellac Rose Bud with great success. Something seems amiss with the Iced Cappuccino.

I'm a beginner when it comes to applying my own Shellac. I've purchased 5 colors so far: Hollywood, Red Baroness, Tropix, Iced Cappuccino, and Iced Coral. I've found the Iced colors are much more difficult to use and haven't gotten good results with either color. The matte colors are much easier to apply thinly and smoothly. I haven't given up on the iced colors, but think I need more experience before I can get good results. Fingernailfixer.com is a great website for videos and tips. She has a great video on trouble shooting and mentions that the iced colors are difficult. My Iced Cappuccino application ended up streaky and blobby so I removed it immediately.