Let's talk about nails shall we? I feel like it's been an age since my last beauty related post so I am very excited to chat all about CND's latest innovation, the Shellac Luxe system. For those of you that follow me on Instagram, or even Facebook, you'll know that I love the Vinylux polishes from CND, so when I was invited to go to London to try out the new Shellac Luxe system, I felt very lucky indeed.
Just to be clear before we get started though, I am under no obligation to write this blog post at all, and I'm certainly not being paid to tell you about the new system. Yes, CND were incredibly kind to bring me to London, but I am sharing this post because the Shellac Luxe polishes and the innovations that have come with them got me all kinds of excited and I couldn't wait to tell you all about them! Maybe it's a little sad that nail products have me so excited, but who cares?!
From spending time yesterday with Jim Nordstrom, who co-founded CND along with his wife Linda it is clear that CND are a brand who really care about their products and their customers. So much research and testing goes into creating the best possible products and I think the Shellac Luxe system really shows that. They have created a new shellac that is much healthier on your natural nails, and is designed so that it only takes 60 seconds to remove it and no buffing or scraping is needed to remove any left over product because there isn't any!
As Marian Newman, a world renowned nail tech who has done pretty much anyone you could name's nails, explained to me, the Shellac Luxe polish is formulated so that there is more room within the formula than with a normal shellac for oils to reach the natural nail bed, meaning that the Shellac Luxe polish won't dry out your own natural nails at all, and if anything will keep them much stronger and protected whilst maintaining their health.
We got to try out the Shellac Luxe polishes in the gorgeous DryBy salon, somewhere I've wanted to visit for so long since one of my own favourite bloggers, Victoria from In The Frow, gets her nails done there religiously. There are 65 shades in total in the Shellac Luxe collection, and with me being so indecisive it definitely took me a while to settle on the shade I wanted but in the end I went for 'Charm', a gorgeous coral colour that makes me look hella tanned!
When having my nails done, it was pointed out that I have what's called "delamination" which is a fancy word to say that the top layer of my nails were peeling. Unfortunately I wasn't blessed with the strongest nails in the world, and I am definitely not the best at looking after them either. When I was chatting to Marian, I asked her what would be her number one tip for good nails and she said that applying a nail/cuticle oil at least once a day is essential. I actually have a bottle of the CND Solar Oil that I've shamefully only used once or twice so now I am going to make it my mission to apply it at least once a day and make a habit out of it. Strong, healthy nails, here I come!
The girls at DryBy did such a fabulous job on our nails, I love the shape of mine, they're so neat and chic and I think that this shade 'Charm' will be so popular for the summer, especially since it makes tanned skin just pop. I'm looking forward to seeing how well the Shellac Luxe polish lasts, since it's promised to give at least 14 days wear and I can be quite hard on my nails.
Since Shellac Luxe is a shellac/gel treatment, you will have to go to a salon to try it out, but what a good excuse to treat yourself to a little pampering. If you'd like to try the Vinylux polishes from CND which don't need to be cured using a UV lamp, then you can find them online on Millies.ie or in salons that stock CND.
I hope you enjoyed this little introduction to CND's newest product and of course if you've got any more questions about it just pop me a message on Facebook or Instagram and I'd be delighted to help. Thanks so much for reading!