Gel nail varnish - what would I need?

bossymoo

I got the sensationail starter kit earlier in the year, on offer (used quidco too).

Mine last 10-14 days and my nails have never been in such good condition. They used to split and peel, but now so much stronger.

I've bought extra colours in their flash sales (usually £6) and now have a little collection going on!

AbbieCadabra

after using gel polish continually since last December (just 1 week without out it recently), my nails are longer than they've been for years, mainly due to the protection that gelish gives. they're in very good condition too, regularly using solar oil. i easily get 21 days with no wear, but absolutely NO buffing allowed! just too much risk of damage & should only be done by professionals.

Anoneemoose

I've just had my acrylics off and have had shellac put on again at my local salon. They seemed to buff the nail before applying the shellac, is that right??

I previously bought all the stuff off amazon but couldn't be bothered faffing around after a while so sold the bits to my sister. I like the look of the sensationail though. Is that just as much as a mess on trying to remove?

trolleyrun

I've just done my own nails for the first time. I bought the various bits on the "rainforest" website, including a uv lamp, top/base coat, colours, remover and alcohol wipes. It's a big outlay as such (my order came to just under£80 including 5 colours. I don't think I did too bad a job of it. The proof will be in how long it lasts for

smileygill

Michala_B wrote: »

So Smileygill do you lightly buff your nails then use the oil remover to help prevent colour lifting, then base coat, two coats of colour and then top coat? All set under the lamp? From what I know and from You Tube's help that's the method which seems to be the recommended?

And does anyone know (possible daft question here!), can the gel polish brands be mixed? For example can one brand of colour be used with another brand top coat or do they have to match?

That's just what I do, but I buff very lightly, using the ridge removal side of a four-sided buffer/file. My aim is to make sure the last traces of base coat are gone rather than to roughen the nail to provide a key. It sticks just fine.

Perhaps the stage you didn't mention - gel primer after the oil remover (which is basically isopropyl alcohol; just now I'm using some left from a CD head-cleaner kit) makes some difference, then base/topcoat, colour x2 and base/topcoat again. I don't know what's in the primer, but I forgot it once and it didn't seem to make any difference; it stayed on as well and was no easier to remove.

I don't see why you can't mix brands but I haven't done it myself - yet. Some might require longer curing times so I suspect some trial and error is called-for. I've seen a few interesting colours on ebay but have so many Sensationail ones I'd struggle to justify buying them. All Sensationail shades are intermixable, btw, if you fancy customising them.

I've had success with running repairs, too. When a nail decidesdto split and chip the finish, I've buffed the damage out, cleansed, then done a basecoat/colour/basecoat on top.

Small aside. I have thin bendy nails that split for no reason. When one did this and I didn't want to chop them all short, I applied cut-to-shape micropore tape over the cleansed nail (over existing polish) then base/colour/base and all is good.

I don't recommend Sensationails "strengthening" basecoat. It sticks to the nail too well and it's easy to cause damage when removing it.

Hope that clears up a few potential questions!