I'm assuming a Shellac Manicure is the same internationally... if not, well disregard what I'm about to say LOL
I have had these done a few times.
The polish itself is just like regular polish - gets painted on the same, there's a base, colour and top coat.
But, the difference is that after each layer, it gets set under the UV light - the base coat is a shorter exposure, but the 2 x colours and the top are 90sec each (I think its 90!).
The thing I love - its very hard wearing! Normal SAHM life for me means chips within a day or two - with this stuff, I don't get chips unless I break a nail or something like that - which is also not as easy to do because it's quite tough.
But, as the nail grows (and mine grow quite fast), you are left with a noticeable gap between the skin and colour - and for me, when washing the girls hair and stuff like that, I would get hair stuck under the ridge between skin/colour, and the colour would start to peel up a bit. If you aren't as harsh on your hands as me, and your nails were really fast growing, I suspect you'd get much longer out of a polish.
On my toes, I love it because it stays perfect for so much longer.
My brothers GF is a beauty therapist and she does my nails whenever I choose to get them done, so if you have any q's I can certainly ask her for you!
