Hi there! We're Luke and Cat, and we're so happy you're here. We hope you'll stay a while! We’re a husband and wife wedding photographer team based in Houston, Texas. Ranchers-turned-photographers, our world looks like this: a Craftsman-style farmhouse; our newborn, Knox, in our arms; coffee in the kitchen; Edison lights on the back porch; and a pair of English bulldogs at the foot of our bed. Read more...
 
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Makeup Mondays #12 :: Not Makeup At All Actually

Apr 8, 2013 / Makeup Mondays
This isn't really makeup, but it is beauty related, and it is one of my new favorite things, so I must share, and this is the right place for it, I think!

In the past couple of months I've been getting manicures every two or three weeks in the form of a shellac manicure. I was first introduced to these by my good friend Lindsey Connally who met us for lunch one day with these ultra-shiny Aggie maroon nails. She then enlightened me about the wonderful world of shellac.

Shellac is pretty cool because it isn't like fake nails - it's just polish that goes on your normal fingernails but hardens to the point of... well, extreme durability. It will also stay shiny shiny shiny (worth saying three times) for a long time. Unlike acrylic or solar nails where they have to file your own nails down, shellac doesn't have any prep like that. It is literally just like you are getting a plain ol' manicure. The difference must be in the shellac paint, which is painted on in 2 or 3 coats and then 'cured' under a special light that hardens it.

The entire manicure takes about 45 minutes, You only need to go back when your nails have grown out enough for it to be noticable - which for me is about 2 or 3 weeks. Here's my 3 shellac's I have had done so far:


On the left is my current shade, which is called Lightning Orange. It's a bright neon coral and my favorite yet. I think I will stay with this color for another round.

Middle was my first shellac, which was a pale brownish pink with a gold glitter coat on top. I was trying for 'rose gold' nails, but they weren't dark enough.

The far right are my 'Barbie nails' that I had done for Las Vegas, hot pink with a glitter overlay.

Each of these manicures has lasted two weeks.
When it's time to get the nails redone, the only part that is a little different than what you may be used to with normal manicures is that you do have to soak the old shellac off. This doesn't take too long, but you do have to sit there with both hands soaking for about 10 minutes, which really cuts down on my ability to play Candy Crush on my phone. :)

If you're looking for somewhere local, I really recommend trying the Sweet Escape Nail Lounge in Sugarland. They have done the best job of all of my shellac manicures!
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