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I love feeling as though my appearance is well groomed and complete. Nothing says that to me as much as having well manicured and neat polished nails. But it can cost a fortune! So here’s how I’m saving money by doing my own shellac manicure.
Saving Money By Doing My Own Shellac Manicure
Around my neck of the woods, a shellac or gel manicure can cost £15-20. I love the fact that shellac lasts a couple of weeks, and doesn’t chip like normal polish. It’s also the best thing ever that shellac is dry straight away. I don’t have the time to wait for nail polish to dry, I inevitably smudge it! But if you do go to the salon every 2 weeks to have your nails repainted, this is a cost of £400 – £500 a year!
Whilst it is lovely to be pampered every once in a while, I think I would rather save myself some money. So for the last 8 years I have been doing my own shellac manicure.
(Please note: if you have any nail issues I would always recommend seeing a specialist. But for normal healthy nails there is no reason why you shouldn’t do it yourself)
What You Will Need
- A UV nail lamp
- CND Shellac polish in the colours of your choice plus top and base coats
- D-sperse inhibition layer remover liquid
- some tissues or cotton pads
I buy CND shellac (the original brand) from reputable dealers or Amazon. There are fakes out there so be aware. Today I am doing a french polish.
Prepare the Nails
Make sure your nails are clean and free of polish – I actually like to use acetone to remove any old gel shellac or old polish. Then soak the nails and push/remove the cuticles. Finally shape the nail tip and buff the surface of the nail gently to give the new polish a clean surface to adhere to
As you can see., my nails aren’t the nicest looking when they are bare.
Painting the Nails
I paint a thin layer of CND Shellac base coat on each nail and place my hand in the lamp for about 20-30 seconds
Then I paint the tips with a thin line of Cream Puff CND Shellac – and place my hand in the nail lamp for 2 minutes.
I then paint over the whole nail with a layer of Negligee CND Shellac – this gives a pearly glaze and actually helps to blend out any real faults in the white line tip. Again I cure this in the nail lamp for 120 seconds.
Next, I paint a thin layer of top coat over the whole nails. And again cure the nails in the lamp for 120 seconds.
The top layer is still sticky. So finally I remove this sticky inhibition layer using D-sperse.
And The Nails Are Finished!
Yes, they may not be absolutely as perfect as a salon. But actually, the last French polish I had at a salon wasn’t perfect either, it was applied in about 10 minutes and I certainly didn’t feel that it was £20 worth of pampering.
Over 8 years doing my own shellac manicure has probably saved me thousands of pounds. And you can buy CND shellac in all the colours. I love being able to match my nails to my outfits, even at the last minute.
Why not have a go?
However, see here my views on teeth whitening, and why doing this at home is a definite NO
Like a spa treatment? Why not see my Hotel Chocolat Beauty range review? Or read about my visit to My Little Farm Spa.
And pin me for later…
You did a lovely job, Jo! I used to go to the nail shop. It was indeed quite expensive. And it damaged my real nails. I started doing my own, too. Now I just leave them bare. Thank you for sharing the tutorial.
Thank you Marilyn. I just wanted to show how easy it is to get that salon look.
What a great way to save a few pennies. You did a brilliant job.
Thank you!
Your nails look great, and it’s fab that you are saving so much money. I do love nail polish and paint my nails at home, I’ve not tried a shellac manicure though. I did have my nails done by my niece who has her own Salon for my wedding. But I don’t think I’d pay that much for one though.
#ablogginggoodtime
I love shellac because I don’t have to wait for it to dry like normal nail polish!
Honestly I have never even thought of doing my own with shellac. What a great idea, I stopped getting mine done at the salon as it just added up to too much money over time, very inspiring! Thanks so much for sharing this post with us for #ABloggingGoodTime
It just makes so much more sense to buy the basics and do it at home. Thank you for reading.
My nails are an absolute disgrace… This post kinda makes me want to do something about that, lol.
#pocolo
It really is so easy, even just a glossy topcoat layer can make all the difference!
What a great way to save a bit of money. Your nails look fabulous x
Thank you!
Your nails look so lovely! I just use regular nail polish – although it’s the gel ones from Rimmel which dry fairly quickly and I manage to avoid smudging most of the time! 🙂
Thanks for sharing with #Pocolo
Thank you Morgan. I cannot help but smudge when I do normal polish, even the 1 minute ones!
This is such a great idea! If only I could find the time to actually do my nails! #ablogginggoodtime
Totally with you there, which is why this is so good. Takes about 10 minutes and they are dry straight away.