How To Piss Off Beauty Editors
Shellac - this was taken TWO days AFTER application. Pretty bloody glinty aren't they?
This might sound like a bit of a princess-y thing to gripe about – but it’s really friggin annoying!
A couple of weeks ago we (being pretty much every beauty editor in Auckland) were treated to a revolutionary manicure from CND Nails. That we couldn’t take off ourselves. A fact that I hadn’t really thought about too much at the time, I guess I just assumed there would be the removing pads in our press-kit.
Anyway, there we sat through a 30 minute presentation about SHELLAC the new revolutionary nail-gel hybrid that will ‘change our lives’. It certainly did. It held us to ransom! We had to endure a painful five minute CHEESEY infomercial about how wonderful the product is – yes it is wonderful but I don’t need it drilled into my brain like a monkey! Move along please. I’d written my notes and I trusted what the founder, Jan Arnold was saying. I just wanted to see for myself.
Choosing a colour was hard – there are so far only 12 and the nude and beige version had a metallic glimmer which I wasn’t up for. So I stuck with dark. Thank god I didn’t go for the fire engine red that was suggested.
Shellac is actually awesome – I must say that I am impressed with it – two weeks later my nails haven’t chipped or scuffed and are still shiny which is pretty bloody cool. Shellac is a special varnish formula that works pretty much like gel nails – each coat, including the base, is dried (fixed) with UV light. Which is great because straight after the last zap your nails are dry and you can fish about in your handbag for keys without marring the perfect polish. So thumbs up there for helping the time-poor.
It’s also helpful for those who might have weak or brittle nails – there’s no breakage with this stuff on your nails. In fact, I’m pretty sure Jan likened the paint to what goes on your car – not kidding! I’m sure of it? So it’s possibly not very natural, but it’s pretty cool for keeping polish looking perfect for TWO AND A HALF WEEKS.
But here is where I get a bit tetchy. My nails are getting long, I find food under them which is always an indicator that I need to get them cut – I really can’t handle having long nails. I’m also over the colour I’ve chosen. Nail polish is supposed to be fun and flighty, I want to change it often to suit my mood and what I’m wearing. I missed my removal appointment yesterday because I was finishing deadline and now I’m worried when and how I will be able to get this bloody stuff off. Apparently CND don’t have a salon in Auckland yet. The person was travelling especially to do this for us beauty editors (the appointment was in her hotel room). So what on earth do I do? I’ve contacted CND and I’m waiting for a reply.
Top marks for an awesome product but honestly, I just want my nails back!
Taken yesterday - exactly two weeks after application. Pretty amazing huh.
Tamsin xo
Hi Tamsin, it’s a stayer
I am a CND Grand Master Tech based in Australia we are yet to recieve Shellac .. I hope you get it sorted . Nice colour BTW 
Sounds like you have a dose of CND envy to me. I’m trying to work out what exactly pissed you off. Surely, as a beauty editor, you are subjected to all forms of marketing that you may not find ‘inspiring’ at the best of times so why are you complaining now?
Princess? Weeeeelllllll, you suggested it. So yeah, I have to agree with you. You do sound like a princess.
Taking Shellac off is easy. Apply acetone. You can buy this in a hardware store or a supermarket (as nail polish remover). Douse a cotton ball in it, hold it against the nail for a few seconds and proceed to rub off.
All you had to do was ask the thousands of nail techs out there who have been using the stuff for the past few months
Check out Magic Tan, Nails and Cosmetology in Epsom
Hi Tamsin
Guess I would agree somewhat with the above comment.
BUT I do agree there was probably some selling of the product – is that not what beauty editors do too?
Anyway, give the girls at ‘Magic Tan’ a call in Newmarket/ Greenlane, they have great opening hours and if you are really nice they may even come to you.
And if you want to change your colour, then paint over them, remove the colour when the mood suits you and then change your shellac colour. Easy as 1, 2 and 3.
Karen
Hi Tasmin, I bit of an old blog but I had to comment on your email which I totally agree with. I was also a newbie to Shellac and purchased a voucher from a website to get these done at The Nail File in Howick. The results were pretty impressive, but like yourself, I didnt realise at the time when I purchased the voucher to have them done that I would need to go back to the salon to have them removed. Unfortunately the said nail salon are impossible to get hold of and it took me 4 days to even speak to anyone to arrange a suitable time for me to come in and have them removed. I was advised I could pop in the next afternoon evening to have them removed and didnt need to make an apt as it only took a few minutes. I arrived arrived within said timeframe with both a small child and very small baby in tow, only to find the salon all locked up. Not funny after driving 25k to get there with another 25k home I can tell you, especially when like you I was now desperate to get these things off my toes. I left numerous calls to the salon and eventually requested that someone call to me tell me how to remove them myself, though unfortunately the salon didnt even return any of my calls. I then trawled through websites and found someone else doing the nails and they very kindly advised how I could remove these myself which is what I ended up doing later that day after a trip the shops to buy the appropriate products to do so. Extremely annoying and needless to say I will still to my express pedicures in future as I have always done and will not have another shellac again.
OK I have had the Shellac opposition’s product from OPI. Six weeks later, till strong and glossy but regrowth of nail bed is obvious when pointed out. This is an amazing product. Bored with the colour? As previously pointed out, you can use usual nail colour and remove when want to but original baked on product is till ther, shiny and new. I was having problems with my right hand index and pinky nails continuing breaking (too much blogging?) but for the past six weeks, no worries. Also freed me up for the two hours or so it took to do my own manicure each week. I’m sold!