I can see the benefits: less wear on your cuticles by not having to use polish remover constantly, a hard base to help prevent chips and breaks, a non chip system to make your manicure last longer, etc etc. But on someone like me, who almost goes BATTY if I wear the same color longer than 2 days, the whole method is a little wasted. But for testing sakes, I managed to get through 12 days without changing my polish! I know!
This is Gelish base coat, 2 coats of Hot Rod Red and Gelish Top coat. I purchased an el' cheapo UV lamp on eBay for $13.
NOTE: these photos were taken 3 days after application, I kind of forgot to take them on the first day. You can see that my first gel polish application was a little messy...nobody warned me that when this stuff has cured, it's NOT budging! You can't fix it up with acetone and a brush!
10 days. The tips have worn a little bit BUT I didn't wrap them with polish.
And after 12 days. Yes, I had a little pick at my ring finger's cuticle to try and fix it up and the end messy result is what made me finally remove it. Pretty good wear tho isn't it?
Things I did wrong on my first attempt at gel polish:
*Painted near my cuticles. Really try hard to stop the polish at least 1mm away from your cuticles.
*Painted thicker coats. Too much polish will run and it's too hard to clean up properly.
*PEELED THEM OFF! Do NOT peel them no matter how great the temptation when they do start to lift a little at the sides. You WILL end up with peeling on your nails.....on the whole nail too and just not at the ends. Trust me, I know from experience :(
*Didn't seal the tips. This attributed to tip wear after 3 days.
The benefits of gel polish is that I don't have to worry about changing my polish while on holidays. I now know that I can go at least 12 days and still have nails that look good.
It also helped me grow my nails super long and be able to be shaped into a semi stiletto shape.
I have since purchased a few more colors so I look forward to playing with these!
Anyone have some gel tips for me?
Great review! I've been wanting to try gelish but a manicure at the nail salon runs me around US$35 plus tip so yeah not willing to spend that much. Maybe I'll try the at home kits since I'm going to Vegas next week. Can you use any nail polish or just the gelish type?
ReplyDeleteIts my understanding Mariela that u can mix and match gels. I bought all the same brand for convenience as it was from the same eBay seller.
DeleteI love Gelish! The glitter gelish polishes require 3 coats but other than that I like the formula. I've even used the gelish base and topcoat with regular polish between and had 8 days of great wear! I call it a Gelish sammy! lol
ReplyDeleteI am a little mixed on the gelish formula. A few colors I have are very watery and application is very difficult. I have a blog post on it coming up soon.
DeleteGreat review!! I'm also on the verge of getting a UV lamp el' cheapo from ebay and trying it out for myself. Have had it professionally done, but thought could save the time and money and do it myself at home. And this post has helped sooo much!! especially the lessons learned part. Thank You!! I'm from the Melbourne area, can you copy a link to where you purchased the UV Lamp from on ebay. What did you think of the lamp?? there's so many to choose on ebay, i don't know which one to go with... Thanks Again :D
ReplyDeleteI am glad it helped u a little! Gel applications is very confusing, I asked 10 different bloggers about it all before buying anything! The eBay seller was pinojames_06 AMD it was $13 incl postage! It works fine and also comes with a lamp. I do have LED lamp envy, but they average around $50 for a cheap low wattage lamp.
DeleteWhat a great shape of nails, and that nail polish is amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love the stiletto shape! Hopefully my nails can handle the points without breaking off any more!
DeleteCould you get the benefits (protected nails, long wear) and still be able to change colors by doing just the clear coats of gel (or a french manicure), and then painting as regular over the top... since acetone won't affect the gel polish, I would think you could wear and change out regular polish over the top w/o messing the gel at all.
ReplyDeleteYes, you could definitely use a gel base only. I did try that for a week and it was fine with normal polish on the top.
DeleteLiesel, I definitly believe you can. I had a shellac manicure (i think it's the same as gelish?? is it??) I got a nude colour like OPI Bubble Bath, and after two weeks, I thought I'd experiment. I used regular nail polish over the top of the shellac and then used normail nail polish remover. The shellac underneath was still there and unperturbed and glossy. I've often thought but haven't done it yet, get a clear "protective" coat of shellac (gelish). So I definitly believe you can, but I say this only having experimented with shellac. HOpe this helps.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I think the only difference is that any gel polish that contains shellac can cause yellow staining to nails.
DeleteWonderful review and classic shade of red. I've not ventured near gels yet either, but you've really piqued my interest in them now.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Thx Jessica!
DeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed learning from your own first hand experience. I love using the Gelicious polishes. Although I have my favorite "out there" colors, I love using neutral ones like Gold Digger and even DJ Bliss, They look wonderful by themselves but enhance pretty much anything I might do over them when I want a regular change of looks.
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to try these for ages. I hate changing my polish! Thanks so much for this info - great post!
ReplyDelete