CND Shellac Hotski to Tchotchke
I finally tried CND Shellac gel polish for the first time. I chose this bright teal blue color from the lot that I recently purchased called Hotski to Tchotchke. Teal is my favorite color so naturally I was drawn to it and had to try it before all the others. I love the color and the gorgeous glowy shimmer! I wore this on its own for 2 days and then decided to punch it up with a lightning bolt stamp. I used Konad black polish and Bundle Monster stamping plate BM305.
I also tried the Shellac base and top coat for the first time. The base is much thinner than Gelish and I only used the top coat on one finger because I didn’t care for the consistency. I immediately grabbed for my Gelish and finished the rest of my nails off with it. The one finger that had the Shellac top coat has a chip already. Hmm. My nails also don’t feel as strong as they do when I wear Gelish, and then there’s the fact that Shellac only cures in a UV light which takes more time. So my opinion of Shellac is… eh, it’s so-so. I love the color, but I’ll stick with my Gelish foundation and top coat.
Edit/Update: The soak-off was super easy using the Shellac base coat and color, so that’s a plus. I only soaked for 5 minutes and the polish rubbed right off with ease using an orange stick.
Shellac cures quite nicely under an OPI led light. I use Shellac base for all brands and have found GIA to be the best/easiest topcoat.
Cant agree with you more. i love the shellac colours and their consistency however as soon as i tried the gelish base and top coat, my shellac base/top coats got put to the bottom of the drawer and are still there. In my opinion gelish base and top coat especially are a lot more durable.
Wowie! That is so bright! I love the stamping. Lightning bolts go so perfectly with the color :)
Shellac is a power polish, not a gel polish. Gelish is a gel polish. This is why Gelish feels “harder” or “stronger” on the nails.
What does that mean, exactly? I think “power polish” is a marketing term CND coined for its gel polish…to make it seem different. Feeling harder or stronger is just a result of different formulas. But both are gels that require curing under light.
I agree. It’s all the same to me. It’s a soak-off polish that cures with UV technology so I’ll continue to call it a SOG :)
I love love this color! I totally agree with on the Gelish top and base coat. I just really love the pigments in Shellac colors-I wish they would get more of a variety. Gelish isn’t really coming up with anything new, just variations of the colors they already have.
That didn’t make sense—what I meant to say is I love the colors that Shellac offers…and I wish Gelish would offer more new colors instead of variations of what they already have. I’d like to see something different.
I knew what you meant. :) I agree that the latest collections have been variations of existing colors and would love to see some new shades.
Lovely Andrea! What did you think of the one step SOG? you tried it yet? Was it called Laquit, i think? I’m still Buying my way through the whole collection of Gelish!!!! Slight addiction, like yourself….oh! Sigh…. :( xx
That was Mal Timmons….not immons….only had one Vodka!
I like the one-step polish – it’s very convenient if you don’t have a lot of time to do your nails. I prefer the high gloss finish that a top coat provides though, so even with those I still like to top coat them. :)