New (to Me): the Shellac Manicure

Just a few short years ago when my family first moved to Temecula there weren't any quickie nail salons.

If you wanted a manicure, your only choice was a day spa or a manicurist working out of a hair salon. Fast forward to 2012:  quickie salons for all!  Seems they are on every corner and in every mini-mall now.

I am a wee bit obsessive about germs so I try to be careful where I dunk my feet.  Truthfully, there are only two quickie nail places in the Temecula/Murrieta area that I trust.  (More about them in another blog post.)

And I'm so active that the normal state of my nails is: un-done. Or I do them myself and they look pretty bad.

So anyway....I had a Spreebird deal for something I'd heard of but never tried:  the SHELLAC MANICURE.

You can read all about it here on CND's website.

Roberta at Element in Temecula does all types of manicures including shellac.

The huge revelatory moment for me: she put on a layer of topcoat then announced, "You're dry!" And my nails were completely, perfectly, absolutely 100% dry! None of this "You're dry but be careful" or "You're dry but they might dent" that you have with regular manicures. They were DRY as in, "Reach into your purse for your keys without fear."

My hand was in a golf glove at the driving range within twenty minutes of finishing this 'cure.

How long does it last? Results seem to vary person-by-person but many women see a shellac manicure stay in good condition for 2-3 weeks.