These things are ruthless! They simply refuse to chip—except for a clumsy little accident on my left thumb where it did chip. But as you can see from the pics the only thing you notice (besides the chip on my left thumb) is that my nails are growing out so the area by my cuticles are getting naked.

I’m going to see how they hold up for another week (or as long as they stay on), but I am itching to put a new polish color on my nails!

My CND Shellac manicure is still holding strong after week 1. The only sign of wear is at the cuticle and where my nails are growing out. I experienced no chipping, peeling, or smudging. I did break a nail but since I had them cut relatively short, I just filed it down to blend in with the rest of the nail.

My only gripe so far is that I’m kinda over the color because I’m itching to try out some of my new fall shades I bought some time ago.

Check out my initial review post here.

Sunday afternoon I sashayed over to the Spa at Nordstrom to try out the fairly new CND Shellac Manicure.

CND Shellac is a hot new manicure that boasts no chipping, no smudging, and near salon fresh nails for up to 2 weeks. The only thing you’ll notice is the demarcation line when your nails grow. Sounded too sweet for me to pass up!

I had tried the OPI Axxium Soak Off Gel Manicure before if you remember and unlike OPI, CND Shellac comes right out of a polish bottle, dries more quickly (uses a special UV lamp to dry nails), and is slightly more expensive. I paid $45 for my set while my OPI set was $28.

At the Spa at Nordstrom, I was greeted immediately by the reception area and then shortly after taken into a private room for my manicure (#ohyoufancyhuh). I was amazed at how quickly the process was. First your nails are buffed, filed, and cuticles are pushed back. You don’t get all the treatments you would during a manicure (I imagine because it would interfere with the Shellac). The manicurist told me to make sure I use cuticle oil and/or tons of hand cream on my hands and nails because Shellac can be very drying on the cuticles. A lot of alcohol was used on the nails prior to applying the Shellac–again I assume so that the treatment applies better.

After each coat of base, color, and top coat, your hands are placed under a UV lamp for about 2 minutes. There aren’t many colors to choose from (I think I saw a total of maybe 8-10) so I picked the brightest one in the bunch. I really wanted to try a darker color, but the manicurist said the lamp they have doesn’t work well with the darker colors but they should have one that does by my next visit. The darker colors had a very deep blue-red, a dark vampy burgundy, and I believe I saw navy blue. I’ll definitely have to go back and try those after I see how long this lasts.

Since it’s only my first day wearing it, I won’t have much in terms of a review until about 3 weeks. I’ll keep you posted every week with how they’re holding up though. So far I’m loving it–but if you like to change your polish often, you may get “bored” with CND or blow money fast getting the color changed every week.

Have you tried these? What do you think?

Any questions–please leave them in the comments. I’ll do my best to respond quickly. You may also want to opt-in to have replies emailed to you.

Also check out what The Style and Beauty Doctor reader Barbara had to say about her CND Shellac manicure here.

To find a salon near you that offers CND Shellac in the US or Canada, go here.

UPDATE: Check out all my review posts week by week here.

I was super psyched to try out a polish that didn’t require nail polish remover to get it off–especially since I’m a chronic offender of leaving nail polish chips on way longer than what’s socially acceptable (arrest me officer, I’ve been bad). So when I was sent the Sula Paint and Peel Polish for review consideration, I couldn’t wait to rip it open and try it out.

The polishes I received (Berry and Horizon) were some of the most pretty colors I’ve come across and are perfect for almost any skin tone. They applied smooth and creamy just how I like my polish. You put them on your clean, bare nails without base or top coat if you want to take advantage of their temporary qualities or add a special Sula top coat for prolonged wear. I opted for temp status.

Now I’m not the world’s best polisher so I often get polish all outside my nail bed. *smh*. The polish dries about the same amount of time as regular polish does.

But the peel part? Not a fan. Not all of the polish wanted to peel for me and then some peeled back on their own. It also took some time to get every last bit of polish off and it made my nails look kind of rough after (though I must add my nails weren’t in tip-top shape prior to application)..

Not recommended unless you have the patience and skill to get the polish off and have a real aversion to nail polish remover. Or if you polish nails like me:

Sula’s Paint & Peel Polishes are designed to be worn with whimsy and match your ever-changing moods and styles. The novel – and proprietary – water-based formula, allows these daring shades to be peeled off in one clean sweep – no harsh nail polish remover required! Created with Sula’s “Big 3-Free” Formulation – free of Formaldehyde, Toluene and Phthalates – this trend-setting collection is safe for your nails and the environment!

I just got these in from PR so expect a full review very soon.

Wanna try them yourself? Pick up a mini-set for $14 at SulaBeauty.com. Or grab a full sized bottle for $10 at Anthropologie or Ulta.