Shellac v Axxium - Follow Up

Ok, so its been about six months since I first discovered Shellac and since my friend and I put Shellac and Axxium to the test.  How have they held up?   Allow me to show you my newly Shellac'ed nails in a lovely spring coral (and yes my cuticles are horrid - we'll get to why shortly):

As you can see I'm still happily Shellacing.  My friend on the other hand quit the Axxium product not too long after my original post.  She felt the process was too time consuming and was thinning out her nails pretty badly.

My biggest hurdle to get past was price.  While my salon was very reasonable with its prices, it was still about $50 each time after tax/tip.  That means $100 a month on my nails and that wasn't feasible long term.  So, luckily I had a birthday in December and asked for the whole Shellac shebang for a gift.  Awesomely enough I got it.  And I had actually tracked down a two-handed light which saved LOADS of time for do-it-yourselfers (otherwise not only did you have to do 2 mins per coat, per hand, you had to just sit and wait while one hand was under the light  "baking").   [NOTE! The light I got is NOT CND or Shellac approved.  However it works just damn fine thankyouverymuch.]    Here is my lovliness:

I did also get the appropriate level of alcohol (99%), the Shellac remover pads, and some Solar Oil (which I clearly have not been using - hello cuticles as mentioned).   So while I don't get the salon level results (as in there is usually polish on my fingers and at least one nail is filed at a wonky angle) its worth it to be able to keep up with a product I LOVE without having a second mortgage on our home.

Up next for me?  I want to try the new Shattered Polish by OPI but integrate it with my Shellac.  What I'm planning on doing is starting a normal Shellac French mani and then putting the Shattered just on the white tips.  After that I'll use the Shellac top coat as normal.  I'm hoping it works... we shall see!  But I think the possibilities are endless here and I'm excited to have the ability to keep at it!

Look for that Shattered post soon - just waiting for that little black bottle to show up on my doorstep.  (And no, I almost NEVER shop brick and mortar anymore thanks to Amazon Prime - but that's another post for another day!)

No Win Situation

My husband is a saint.  Seriously.  Those of you who have hung in there with me over the years would understand why!  I'm about to give you a shining, concrete example.

The other night as we were drifting off to sleep, I said aloud - without really giving it much thought - "you know I'm not sure I even have a proper suit anymore. I mean I have jackets and slacks but I doubt I have one suit set in my closet.  Humph".   I am lucky enough not to be required to wear suits daily at work and since I never see the inside of a courtroom any longer its just not high on my priority list.  When I go out in the evenings, a dress is my "go to".

Two days later as I am standing in my closet choosing what I might wear the next day, Hubby comes in and says "I've been thinking a lot about what you said - about not having a proper suit. It's really been bothering me.  When we get our tax returns, I want you to take $1000.00 of that and go on a shopping spree for clothes."  Ok, here is the point where any sane woman would jump up and down, squeal with glee, and throw herself at that wonderful man.  Any woman other than me.  You see, Hubby and I are trying to pay off ALL our debt.  ALL.  That means student loans, cars, mortgage, you name it.  We're attempting to set up and follow the ways of Dave Ramsey (a blog post for another day in and of itself).  So, I kindly told Hubby, "That is very sweet of you, but with us trying so hard to pay down debt, now is probably not a good time to go on a $1000 shopping spree."

At this point Hubby has GOT to be pretty confused.  I'm guessing that was not the reaction he was looking for.  (See instead: normal woman reaction).  So bless his heart he takes another tack.  He now says "Well I try really hard to keep my wardrobe current.  I buy at least one new piece each month.  I haven't seen you buy anything in months!  I want you to be able to stay up to date."   That is what he said.  What I heard was "My wardrobe is trendy and wonderful and yours is outdated and shabby.  So there."  Not good.

I may have gained some baby weight.  I have recently chopped off all my hair.  But by God the one thing I pride myself on is my fashion sense and wardrobe.  For me, its a source of PRIDE that I can cobble together anything out of my closet and make it look trendy.  I feel like I'm turning water into wine and all for the sake of my soon-to-be debt free family.  Sooooo Hubby's comments didn't sit well.  I did the only rational thing I could do: I burst into hysterical tears.  Poor Hubby just stood astonished and finally stammered out "I thought I was doing something good and yet you're crying!  I have no idea what I just did wrong!"

Little by little I was able to form complete coherent sentences and explain my thought process.  I think he finally "got it", but still didn't quite get it.    As for me, as much as I fantasize about that shopping spree I think I'll stick to my guns and work our savings plan instead.  Of course, the next time I want something - anything - I'm going to be reminding him at one point he offered me a $1000 shopping spree that I turned down.  Yeah.  He can't win.

Running on - Reebok?

I hate running.  Really.  I've tried in the past to love it but I never get that "runner's high".  Instead I get runners angst.  I end up cursing myself, my shoes, my legs, the pavement (or treadmill), the clock, etc etc etc.  However (you knew it was coming, right?) I've decided its the quickest, easiest, most portable cardio I can do.  I loved my Zumba classes but trying to get away from my desk at the same time each day is next to impossible.  So while I love the flexibility to work out during my work day classes weren't going to work long term.

Enter my friend Jenny.  You know the type - had her second child seven months ago and looks like she's never eaten a carb in her life?  Yeah.  Well she's a runner.  Each day I watch her go down and get her run in.  Each day I hear her mention how great she feels after.  This is about the time I'm eating a Mrs. Freshley's chocolate cupcake (heaven!).   So I've decided to join her.

The last pair of running shoes I have are about eight years old.  Really.  So its time for some new ones.  At least I can finagle some shopping out of this experiment in torture!  I decided, after much research, on a new pair of Reebok Runtones.  From all I can gather the "toning" part is iffy - but they rock as a running shoe.  I'll take that.  And our friends at Reebok allow you to customize EVERYTHING about the color palate of the shoe - down to the cross check and stitching!!  (Did you know the Rebook logo thingie was called a cross check - now ya do!)

Here are the ones I created - and here's hoping they make running fun palatable.

 

And just for fun, here are two that I created but didn't choose.  I think I could have a new career her folks.  Seriously.  Shoe-color-designer.  Catchy.

For the Birds

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching the gravity of my situation is hitting me.  What situation is that?  Well, two weeks shy of my 37th birthday I will be - for the first time - hosting Thanksgiving and preparing my first Turkey.  EEEEKS!

Of course, a month ago while planning I thought of all the wonderful things I would cook.  I would brine the Turkey via a 4-day process following Alton Brown's recipe.  I would make my grandmother's buttermilk rolls from scratch.  I would make maple glazed carrots with orange zest - a great new recipe I'd found.  I would make my famous sweet potato bake.  And I would  make Ree's (Pioneer Woman) pumpkin caramel gingersnap cheesecake.  My mom would be preparing and bringing  the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pecan pie.  What a delightful menu!

However now that we're three days out many things have become very clear to me: 

• I am not Alton Brown.  I don't even know what a whole allspice berry is and do not regularly use the word "truss" in everyday conversation.
• I have never made a cheesecake in my life and my poor Kitchenaid is so dusty it may rebel against being asked to function
• I have one oven.  One.  Turkeys take approximately 47 hours to cook.  How then will I be cooking a cheesecake for over an hour, rolls for 20 minutes, and sweet potato bake for 45 minutes - all at different temperatures - and have them all come out perfect just in time for dinner.  Did I mention no warming drawer?
• I am insane.

So now that we have all that covered I'm forced to reevaluate.  Do I push forward and "go big or go home" for my veritable Thanksgiving debutante ball?  Or do I play it safe, take it down a notch (ok ten notches) and make sure I have at least something palatable to serve?  Well, I've never been much of a "play it safe" girl when it comes to the kitchen so I think I'll forge ahead.  (But I may have a precooked turkey breast tucked in the back of the fridge for emergency purposes!)

Shellac & Axxium - Test Drive

When my friend Sarah sent me a text asking if I'd heard about the "CND manicure" I just thought "Urgh - no thanks.  No wasting my money on manicures that last about 1-2 days in mommy land."  While I love the pampering of a mani, I get so disappointed when, after shelling out $30, my polish chips the next day or, if I'm lucky, the day after.  For that reason alone I almost never polish my nails.  There is no polish that can stand up to baby baths, washing bottles, washing diapers, fixing dinner, washing dishes, etc etc day after day.  Or, excuse, me.. there wasn't.  Now, there is!

Enter CND's Shellac system and perhaps slightly more well known OPI's Axxium system.  After looking into this "CND manicure" I became more and more intrigued.  It claims to be a manicure that lasts  "14+" days.  *insert jaw drop here*  I was VERY skeptical.   I was guessing it didn't really last 14 days.  Or, if it did, it would be a major ordeal to remove including damaging the nail bed.  The more I read on CND's website, (http://www.cnd.com/Products/Color/shellac-hello.aspx) I noted they claim minimal removal time and NO damage to the nail.  Did I mention the ZERO dry time (no trying to fish for your keys like a wingless chicken after the mani).

While looking into CND (and doing my regular neurotic research) I came across a few other "14 day" manicures.  The most popular being by polish pro OPI.  They call theirs the "Axxium" system. http://www.opi.com/   In my reviews it seemed that Axxium was slightly more "durable" (i.e. you can actually paint OVER the color you got at the salon, and then remove it with nailpolish remover to see the original polish) however the down side was that reports said it took quite a bit more to remove (more time and more "doin'") and after repeated use might damage the natural nail.

In the name of fair research, my friend Sarah got the Axxium and I got the Shellac (what we won't do for the sake of science).  Below are photos of our progress and the eventual "re-do".   After the photos I'll give you the "low down" on what we both thought! [Note:  I don't have the first few days of Axxium - I pulled Sarah into my scheme a little late in the game, but you'll still get a complete picture of the durability)]

Day One, Shellac

Day Three, Shellac

Day Five, Axxium

Day Six, Shellac

Day Eight, Axxium

Day Nine, Axxium:  Post Pumpkin Carving

Day Ten, Shellac: Note Grow-out

Day Eleven, Axxium

Day Thirteen, Shellac

Day Fifteen, Axxium

Day Fifteen, Shellac (Yikes Grow-out!)

Wow.  Let me again say it:  WOW!   I was (and am) totally converted.  These manicures both did truly live up to exactly what they promised.  They were mirror shiny and "no chip new" the entire time until we both had them re-done.  They also are really and honestly dry the minute your top coat comes out from under the UV light.  And I mean "drag my keys across it" dry.   The down side is that if your nails grow lightening fast like mine do, you'll have some icky grow out to live with (or you'll have to have it done more often than every 2 weeks).   However if you look at Sarah's, the combo of the light colored French and her reasonable growth cycle shows almost no noticeable grow out.  

When it came time to have a re-do we both decided to stick with the company we'd started with (hence I stayed with Shellac and Sarah with Axxium).  When I asked Sarah about her removal process she said it took about 30-45 mins and involved the nail stylist coating her fingernails with acetone-soaked cotton, wrapping it in foil, and then heating it.  After that the nail stylist had to file some the remainder off.  [My guess is this is the point some nail techs can cause damage it they're not careful.]   For Shellac, CND makes these little "acetone soaker band aid thingies" that wrap around each fingernail and you let it sit for 10 mins.  Then, it literally flakes/crumbles off (my stylist used an orange stick to scrape it off).  The way my nail tech described it (who went to the official CND training) the acetone literally breaks down the bonds/structure of the gel polish so it flakes off.  No buffing. or filing was required prior to my re-do.  However for both our "re-dos" the whole process took about an hour and a half or slightly less.  So it sounds like a wash there.

Here are our respective new nail "dos":

New Axxium (Sarah decided to go all one color this time)

New Shellac.  Hey its Halloween Weekend!!

So - from what I have seen it sounds like Shellac may be slightly less durable than Axxium in theory (I say in theory since I sure didn't see any damage in my 15 days and while at the salon getting my re-do, a lady told me she kept hers on four weeks!).  In return, it sounds like Axxium has the potential for more damage to the nail than Shellac in theory (again I say in theory because Sarah experienced no problems and I presume it depends on the ability and experience/training of your stylist).  I would say whichever system you choose you will not be disappointed!

Now, what everyone wants to know:  Price.   Generally from my midwestern shopping around (Iowa, Kansas City, Chicago) both are comparable in price and tend to run from around $35 on the low end for an "express" version (which means no mani pampering - just the polish process) to over $50 on the high end (at more chi-chi salons and/or including more pampering).  The big key:  shop around in your town!!  The first place I had mine done would have charged me $10 to remove the polish IF I was getting the process redone and $14 if I just wanted it off.  I called around and found that right in my own backyard, my local salon would do the removal for FREE, IF you were having the process redone.  They did charge $10 if you just wanted it off and weren't having another service.  I figured that was more than fair.    NOTE:  Since these processes are becoming so popular so fast, not many salons have been able to get ahold of the process (many of the materials are on backorder from the companies).  CND has a "shellac salon locator" on their website.  For OPI you may have to just call around a bit.  Even in Des Moines I was able to find about eight salons that did Shellac.

Lastly:  I absolutely want to give a shout out Melissa at Shear Style Salon in Ankeny http://www.shearstylesalon.net/  where I had my re-do.  She fit me in on short notice, as I mentioned she did not charge for removal since I was having the process redone, she had this great new glitter technique I'd never seen before (the benefit of being CND trained), and she's just a really damn nice person!  I really enjoyed my time with her!   If you live in the Des Moines area and want to go Shellac - by all means give Melissa a call.  You'll be glad you did!  I know this will be my new Shellac home from now on.