Gelish Polish Review

Hi everyone!  I know I said I was going to post a blog sooner, but unfortunately, my mother (the DOCTOR) has expressed a deep desire for me to STOP w/ my nails!  Can you believe that?  Of course you can...I can only imagine how all the fumes and whatnot can affect the poor little dear inside me.  So, as a compromise, I've cut down...and I've dealt with the whole chipping thing with having her (yes, HER, lol) invest in a new gel polish system.  I couldn't afford it without her, and I'm blessed she still spoils me! =)

This pic here is me sporting a cute French Mani, courtesy of babsita84's Faded French Hologram Manicure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnj3evqlXGQ .  I think they turned out really cute, but it was quite tedious to do.  You are supposed to put each hologram glitter on one at a time...as you can see, I got lazy and did a few at a time, and so my fade looks a little funny. =(  Oh wellz!  I still like them!  And of course, I chose my Lakers Colors: Purple & Gold! =)  Can't wait for the season to start!

Now, on to the Gelish Polish Review!  Before actually buying a soak-off gel polish system, I did some research before choosing which brand I wanted to go with.  There are many reviews of the big 3: CND's Shellac, OPI's Axxium, and Harmony's Gelish.  The main reason I decided to go with Gelish over the others is the price.  My manicurist friend told me that you get more bang for your buck with Gelish.   LOL So yup, I brought my mom with me, and she seemed to like what she saw, so she bought me the whole system (as an investment, of course!).

*Update At ShearUp.com, there is a Gelish Starter Kit for $119.99!  (Much cheaper than the $200 my mom spent to buy all the stuff I needed, lol.)

Now, this does seem a little pricey....but, you need to look at it from the other side as well.  A typical gel polish manicure here, in the LA area, runs you about $30.  I know on the east coast, they run closer to $60.  So, if I do at least 5 manis/pedis with this set, I will have made it worth its investment.  I've already done that, actually...mani/pedi on mom, mani/pedi on me (plus an extra French mani now!), and a mani/pedi on my mom's friend.  That's 7 total...which is about $210.  Not bad for owning it for 2 weeks, eh?

To the right is how my nails looked right after I was finished with them.  The system is pretty simple.

Step 1: File/Shape your nails, push cuticles back.

Step 2: Clean nails with alcohol (on a lint-free wipe).

Step 3: Apply PH Bond.

Step 4: Apply Foundation Gel.

Step 5: Cure for 30 seconds.

Step 6: Apply 1 coat of color polish.  (In my pic, my first coat was Gossip Girl.)

Step 7: Cure for 1 minute.

Step 8: Apply 2nd coat of color polish.  (In my pic, my second coat was Water Field.)

Step 8: Cure for 1 minute.

Step 9: Apply Top Seal.

Step 10: Cure for 2 minutes.

Step 11: Remove tacky layer with alcohol (on a lint-free wipe).

And you're done!  All in all it took about 30 minutes to do one manicure.  Not too shabby!

Since it was my first try, I didn't do a great job...I got too close to the cuticles, and my top coat was too thick.  My second time around, I kept all my coats thin, and the mani looks MUCH better!

This pic to the left is from the 2nd day.  They look exactly how they did the day before.  I wish you could see how shiny my nails are...it was almost as shiny as glass.  The gels have a beautiful finish.

This pic to the right is from Day 3.  You can kinda see the shine a little better from this angle, but the picture doesn't do it justice!  The nails still look perfect...no chipping, no wear & tear at the tip.

Because I went too close to the cuticle, some of the polish lifted a little toward that end.  You can't tell in the pictures, but you can feel it...especially when running your fingers through you hair! LOL  So that was my bad...other people have reported that they stay in perfect condition for 10-14 days, even longer.

This next picture to the left is from  Day 5.  They look like I just got them done!  You can kinda see that my nails are growing out a little, but besides that, they look great.

At this point, I was kinda getting annoyed with the length of the nails...This was the longest I've kept them in awhile, and they just started to bug me.  I didn't do anything about it at this point, because I wanted to keep taking pics...hehehe.

Sorry this picture is blurry!  Sometimes you look at the little tiny screen on your camera and it looks perfect...but when you look at it on your big monitor...it's blurry as hell.  Oh wellz...

This is from the last day I kept my manicure: Day 7.  At this point, I really wanted to cut my nails to a more manageable length.  From inspecting my nails, I could tell that the manicure would last at least a few days more, but I was also bored with the color.  I mean it's pretty....but to wear for an extended period?  I would need something more my style, like... a French manicure! LOL  So that's why I removed them (soaking in acetone for 10 minutes then removing with an orange stick is the proper method), and began a new manicure!

Here is a pic of my mom's manicure.  This is two coats of June Bride.  I think my application was a little flawed because in the pic, the color looks darker on the tips.  But this was back when I was still figuring it out, so don't judge! LOL  She has also removed her polish, but she didn't want to get a new manicure yet...she broke two nails yesterday while cooking, and she doesn't know what she wants to do yet, lol.  She said her nails grow fast and I think she wants to wait for them to be a little longer before doing another Gelish manicure.  Two weeks is a pretty long commitment....

So this is my current manicure...my right hand.  I used Water Field as my base, and Good Gossip as my French Tip color.  Then I added some big bling in Teal & AB.  I was basically doing this to test if rhinestones stay better with the gel system.  Unfortunately, these rhinestones were too big...the top seal is too thin to have a rigid hold on the rhinestones.  I think I should use regular clear gel to secure them...

Here is my left hand...with light pink & AB rhinestones.  I think the teal stands out a lot better, but the pink does have a nice soft look.  These two pics were taken right after I finished my manicure.

Unfortunately, I lost a few rhinestones already...replaced them, and have lost one again.  This is definitely a pain in the butt....the lost rhinestones leave a ridge, so my nails aren't smooth. =( Bleh!

And also unfortunately, the camera is not picking up the gorgeous gel shine and all the sparkles!  LOL  But, as you can see from the pics, I don't look like I'm wearing anything but regular nail polish!  My coats are very thin and even, and I stayed the proper distance from my cuticles.  My top seal is a little thick on the nails that have the rhinestones, but I'll have to figure out a better way to apply those next time.  I think my mom wants some bling in her next mani, lol.

I did post a quick video on YouTube showing all the pics above.  It was just a slideshow, but here's the link anyway!



It's hard for me to compare Gelish to other brands...I've heard that Shellac actually applies thinner (perhaps easier?), but have you seen the bottles?  They're smaller than the Gelish ones!  Both are about the same price, but the Gelish Polish comes with .5 floz while the Shellac only comes with .25 floz.  Crazy!  You get double the product for the same price!  I don't know if you'll necessarily use 1/2 as much Shellac just because the product applies thinner, but I don't feel like my coats of Gelish are THAT thick anyway.  The Axxium system doesn't come in a nail polish-like bottle (which Gelish & Shellac do).  The Axxium gels come in a pot, which you need a separate brush to apply.  Each pot runs around the same price as Gelish and Shellac, but it only comes with .14 oz (not sure how that converts to floz).  I believe the Axxium system applies the thickest of the three.

I'm really happy with the Gelish system...which seems to have more color choices than the other two.  I don't think I'll be trying Shellac, but the OPI colors do interest me (I absolutely adore "I'm not Really a Waitress"!). I'm quite tempted to try it out...but I don't think that'll happen in the *near* future.  Will keep you updated if I do test it out!  Maybe I'll ask my manicurist friend if I can mooch of her, tee-hee!

Anyhoo, will have to wait and see when my next post is!  It'll prolly be a little sporadic until a few months after the baby is born, but I'll try to post stuff when I can! =)

Update: ShearUp.com is offering my readers 10% off if you use the promo code: PRINCESSTEA
(Please note that I don't get anything if you use this promo code.  This is completely for your benefit!)

Update: I posted a new video/blog on the application of Gelish: http://miniteababy.blogspot.com/2011/05/gelish-manicure-review-on-6g-led-lamp.html

Btw, happy birthday to my loving Hubby!

Peace!

**UPDATE: Check out my review on Gelish Magneto!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free). -- Exception, my mom bought me the Gelish Polish System. =)
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.