About Me

I'm Dani. Foodie. Lover of Beauty and Fashion. Gym and Green Tea Addict. Instagram Obsessed. Legal Eagle. (Sometimes I blog)
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Wednesday 9 May 2012



The Process
Before
After (No.1)



After (No.2)


As a lot of you will know, I've become addicted to getting a gel manicure. It has meant that my once short, uneven and downright nasty nails have actually grown without breaking off and look nice and neat for 2 weeks at a time.

The process involved is basically a gel base coat, 2 layers of gel polish and then a gel top coat. All cured under a 36watt UV lamp.

I really enjoy going and getting them done and my nail technician is both good and lovely and she only charges £15.

Now I know in the grand scheme of things £15 isn't that much, however I go every two weeks - therefore it ends up being £30/month. That's ok but I'm trying to save a deposit for a house so any chance I have to shave off the monthly outgoings is good to me.

So when KGB had a deal for a gel manicure set for £79 I thought why not and that I would have made my money back in a few months.

So firstly - the kit. It's by Gellure - one of the many at home manicure brands it's hard to find much out about. They have one video on YouTube and that is it. They sell through BodyReform.

When considering whether or not to purchase I had a look for some reviews and there weren't many, but the couple I found were positive.

So, usage then.

Not great. First thing to note is the lamp is 9 watt only. My heart literally sank when I saw this. I had attempted to contact them to ask on YouTube but hadn't had a reply and maybe I shouldn't have purchased on this basis but stupidly I assumed it could only be 36watt.

So obviously, curing time is longer. I can handle that. What I couldn't really stand was the fact the actual gel polish was a NIGHTMARE to apply and full of fibres!!! I couldn't believe it. So basically, I'd apply a layer or part of one and then the brush would pull it off with the next stroke. Painful.

Anyway, I applied a much thicker coat the second time and it made it a bit better but I'd say slightly uneven in terms of finish. Definitely not rivalling Shellac. Top coat on and cured and the result was as shown above (after no.1)

The random thumb picture is to demonstrate that curing won't work on thumbs unless you do them separately, as the cleanser you use at the end just dragged it back off!

I could see that within a day though it just wasn't going to last so I applied a further coat and top coat which resulted in after no.2. Which was a little dark but much better finish.

And now to wearability. My nails feel like paper again, despite the layers being as thick as when I have had Shellac. It's just not a strong and has resulted in 3 nail breaks. Unhappy times.

What I would say though is that aside from the broken nails it has lasted in terms of chips etc. I'm on day 13 today and it's still in tact, but it doesn't look as fresh or shiny as Shellac.

Overall thoughts?

Not the best quality. If you want a long lasting nail colour then this may be ok for you. If you want strength too, maybe not.

For me this wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, but it will do for emergencies - like if I can't make a nail appointment one week. I don't think though that I would recommend it.
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13 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you wrote a post on this in full detail! I have been looking at reviews on YouTube talking about how fabulous it was, but there was never a demonstration! Thankfully I won't be buying this now

    Leigh cx

    Http://obviousleigh.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh good!!! I'm glad that it's helped! It is so annoying when you get a purchase wrong haha. I'm back to the salon this weekend for it and cannot wait to get my nails back on track!

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  2. i never had a gel mani before, always wanted to try it!

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    1. You should definitely try Shellac as that is great (and I hear Gellish is too) but sadly this wasn't as good.

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  3. It looks amazing!!
    Just discovered your beautiful blog and I am now following! Will be thrilled to see you do the same.
    Love from Greece
    http://www.beauty-is-within.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Lovely blog you have - beautiful makeover on your friend.

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  4. Nice!
    i follow you on bloglovin,
    follow me back? xx

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  5. hi there great blog and brilliant post, i love getting gel nails, dont think id b able to do them myselft though, im pretty useless at anything like that, i just went through some of your posts u have fabulous skin, im going to try some of the products you recommended. great blog fance taking a look at mine, kisses from dublin xxx leonie

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    Replies
    1. Thank you sweetie! Hope you get on well with whatever you decide to try :)
      Glad you liked the blog. I will pop over to yours now xx

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  6. Thanks for posting, was just about to buy this as its on special offer from Wowcher.co.uk but after hearing your experience I won't be wasting my money on this and save up for a shellac instead :) xx

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  7. Great review- I was looking to invest in one of these kits as I love gel/shellac, but thought it might be too good to be true!

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  8. Thanks to this topic - and this beautiful pictures http://alhadeeka.blogspot.com

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