Hard As Nails

I like my nail polish, no secret about that, but no matter what I use over it, it always chips super quickly. I've had professional manicures before, and really liked Shellac as a concept, but it was punishingly expensive and a special occasion treat only.

Luckily for me I have a very generous flatmate, a generous flatmate who has a UV lamp and some Gel kit. when she said to me 'use it any time'.... I got a bit excited. That was my holiday nails sorted right there.

I'm not known for my steady hand, so I thought I'd try out DIY Shellac a couple of times before starting to build up my own collection, but with some patience, I don't seem to be too bad!

Not bad for a first attempt- Holidays nails that unintentionally matched my passport!

A messy start, but many lessons learnt- like why you need to leave a small gap between the gel and the cuticle.... So cue attempt number 2, where I bought a new colour to add to the collection

Shiny. And green. And slightly neater than the first attempt. 

So it's all well and good, but I know the CCD Shellac polishes are quite pricey, and this is a bit off putting. I have lots of nail polish, and I don't think I'll be very popular if not only do I start buying/collecting more new polishes, but their super expensive too... 

So I did what any girl in my situation would do, I hit up eBay to see what was on the bargain market. And hello Jackpot... DING DING DING. 

*ahem* I get a bit excited about nail polish, can you tell..... 

Turns out that you can buy Gel polishes for a very reasonable price, in a myriad of colours and with great service. After sifting through a few sellers charging extortionate postage, and some with dodgy reviews, I found a couple of options- reasonable prices, decent delivery and huge choices of colour. The green pictured above is available HERE for £4.60 with free P+P. It arrived the next working day which was really impressive, and take a look at that shiny sparkly green!

I also managed to get a base and top coat at the same price, and now I have my eye on the matte topcoat for something different, which is still not a bank breaker at £6.20.

I'm really enjoying a longer lasting mani, and there are some great shades, unfortunately, Shellac and gel polishes are annoying to remove, and they take a fair soak in acetone and whilst there are some really nice shades about, there seems still to be a bit of a limit compared to the plethora of glitters and effect and colours available in regular polishes. My next job is to see if I can put a gel top coat over a one of my many standard nail polishes for a longer lasting version.