Gel nails at home

firefly5 · 30 September 2014 at 10:31AM

I bought all the stuff to do mine, they looked fab, but kept popping off! I thought I was doing something wrong, but when I had them done at a salon exactly the same thing happened. I guess my body chemistry just doesn't work with gel nails!

hgotsparkle · 30 September 2014 at 11:46AM

If you have a lamp, you can buy gel builder pots from ebay, about 36 colours for £15. You need a brush to apply them with but they're basically just a pot of gel colour that you brush on and cure. They don't soak off though, but require acetone for removal.

AbbieCadabra · 23 November 2014 at 3:26PM

how's everyone getting on?

i've tried a new brand of polish, IBD just gel, still used with gelish base/top coats.

cashmere cutie (with iridescent glitter but doesn't show very well) - nearly all the photo's i've seen show this is a lilac, but mine is more pink! still a nice colour & will use again. lasted 2 weeks ok but with a little lifting at the cuticle on a couple of nails, so i'd probably applied a bit thick. really good coverage on the colour, just 2 coats needed (usually have to use at least 3 with most gelish colours).

retro rosette (with mixed size pink glitter, again doesn't show well on photo) - this is the colour that prompted me to try IBD. stunning bright pink, but can't get a decent photo of it. shows better on the blog link i've detailed. only just applied, 2 coats again to get full coverage, so can't comment on wear.

retro rosette, simply into my nails blog (better photo).

i'm still using D-solve for removal, works great every time, & i've recently got these little gadgets off ebay - soak off clips, purple. they work brilliantly & are a real bargain for £3! you can use cotton wool pads cut to size for each finger but i've just use the little pads that have come away from the magi-foils that i was using, they're just the right size to fit into the clip. the clips just keep the pad & acetone pressed tight on your finger to ease removal. i'm still putting my hand into a bag then a bowl of warm water as usual.

maddiemay · 23 November 2014 at 5:35PM

I bought the Senationail kit at the B**ts special offer price a few weeks ago, I mainly want to use the clear base and top coats with some of my many (hundreds) of regular nail polishes, so far this has worked really well and I changed colour 3 times. I didn't want to use either of the colours that came with the kit until I am more proficient so have bought a couple of different Taupe type polishes, the S'nail is on atm.

I have long fingers and long nail beds, but some of my nails don't really extend over the end of my fingers, this makes it hard for me to wrap the tips with any np, so I don't think I will get very long life from the gel polishes until the nails have grown and I have managed to get rid of the slightly peeling tips on a couple of nails, but I am happy with my purchase.

I have got the D-solve book marked for when I need more remover, and think I am going to place an order for the clips now.

I should have started by saying how great your nails look, lovely colours, look good on your skin tone and so well applied:D

laughingcow81 · 23 November 2014 at 6:29PM

AbbieCadabra wrote: »

how's everyone getting on?

i'm still using D-solve for removal, works great every time, & i've recently got these little gadgets off ebay - soak off clips, purple. they work brilliantly & are a real bargain for £3! you can use cotton wool pads cut to size for each finger but i've just use the little pads that have come away from the magi-foils that i was using, they're just the right size to fit into the clip. the clips just keep the pad & acetone pressed tight on your finger to ease removal. i'm still putting my hand into a bag then a bowl of warm water as usual.

Thank you! I do my gel nails at home and have been going through foil like nobody's business, so hopefully these clips will be useful. Hopefully it means I can do both hands at the same time, because at the moment once I've wrapped one hand I can't seem to wrap the other

spike70 · 3 January 2015 at 10:39AM

I too am a newly converted gel fan. I bought the sensationail deluxe kit when it was on offer in boots for £50 back in November and absolutely love it! I got 2 colours with the kit and got some extra for Christmas. Im quite creative so have been blending colours adding glitter and did an accent nail with snowman and Rudolf designs for Christmas Day following you tube vids. The kids thought they were cool anyway......

I don't use any primer as I find it makes removal incredibly difficult but that might be just me. I don't get any peeling/chipping issues without it but TBH I rarely keep the polish on for longer than a week as I get bored with the colour and my work is generally office based so my nails don't get much abuse except from typing, opening the occasional cardboard box Plus housework etc.

My favourite discovery is Essence gel nails at home peel off base coat, for £3 in Wilkinson. You apply a thick coat and cure for 10 secs under the sensationail lamp then finish with the usual sensationail colours/routine. When you want to remove you just use a tooth pick to lift the edge nearest the cuticle and it just peels away in small sections !! I haven't needed to soak my nails for weeks and as I like to change colours often it suits me perfectly. You don't use primer otherwise it wont peel. It can also be used as a top coat but I prefer the sensationail one instead as its thinner.

I wasn't a particularly big nail varnish user before as I was too impatient to wait over an hour for regular polish to dry and ALWAYS smudged it or made mistakes. I used to treat myself to a salon gel 1-2 a year but this home kit makes it so much easier, Plus as it doesn't set until you cure it, you can easily move it around and correct any mistakes.

Can I ask what gel cleanser you use? The one which came with the kit is running out, did I read that isopropol is available from Supermarkets is it any good?

laughingcow81 · 3 January 2015 at 5:52PM

For the Essence gel nails at home peel off base coat, does this mean that your nails flake at all over the week? Or is it only when you actually want to remove it?

spike70 · 3 January 2015 at 10:35PM

Ive not had any peeling or flaking with the essence base coat. It stays on until I want to remove it. The trick is to put it on thick otherwise it won't peel off. They do 2 types, clear and French which is a very translucent pink and looks great on its own.

spike70 · 3 January 2015 at 10:44PM

hgotsparkle wrote: »

If you have a lamp, you can buy gel builder pots from ebay, about 36 colours for £15. You need a brush to apply them with but they're basically just a pot of gel colour that you brush on and cure. They don't soak off though, but require acetone for removal.

What is the removal process for these, are they like regular polish if they need acetone? Do you use a gel base and top coat with them and wouldn't that still need soaking?

laughingcow81 · 4 January 2015 at 6:41PM

spike70 wrote: »

Ive not had any peeling or flaking with the essence base coat. It stays on until I want to remove it. The trick is to put it on thick otherwise it won't peel off. They do 2 types, clear and French which is a very translucent pink and looks great on its own.

Thank you, I might give it a try!

I hate the soaking / scraping off method...it just takes so long!! Maybe I should be more patient but you know how it is....

Gel nails at home

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