The first time I had my nails gelled I didn't really know what was going on. My boyfriend at the time had suggested getting my nails done (long story short he was a bit pushy when it came to my appearance) and so I trotted off to a salon in the centre of Manchester with my friend Amy and sat down to have my nails pampered. I chose gel acrylics as my little stubs were less than desirable even with a lick of polish and thus started my once-every-four-week obsession to have my talons redone. I loved the look of them, how long they lasted and how easy they were to wear and although it was an expensive hobby, they were so much better than painting my nails at home and so much less hassle!
However when I took the plunge and moved home to Wiltshire, getting my nails done just wasn't as easy or affordable and something had to give. I had them removed, a simple polish applied and didn't go back. I started hating my nails again and could never be bothered to paint them myself (they always chip within days and smudge as soon as I move) and because they were so ugly anyway, shamefully, I became a biter. I needed something to give me pretty nails quickly, without the effort and without them chipping days later...
At Christmas time I was very kindly sent a starter kit from Sensationail. Available in Boots, Sensationail offer an at home Gel kit to spruce up your nails with up to 2 weeks of wear and shine. A little sceptical at first, I left this to the side for a while, but finally curiosity hit in and I tried applying it all myself. Whether it would work or not, I was still dubious about, but I was going to give it a go. Six months down the line and here I am finally writing a blog post about how bloomin' much I love this brand. Painting my nails at home has never been easier and have never lasted so well!
The Sensationail Starter kit is around £49 and comes with a lamp (which is USB or mains), a mini coloured polish, a mini base & top coat, a primer and finishing liquid. It's one of the cheapest I've seen on the high street (and currently on buy one get one half price) and for the amazing job that it does, is one that is most definitely worth the money. I'll talk about the top ups in a minute but as far as the initial kit goes, it's just so easy to use!
How To:
Step 1 - File Nails, push away / cut cuticles
Step 2 - Wipe over with finishing solution
Step 3 - Thin Coat Primer
Step 4 - Thin Coat Base/Top Coat - 15 second cure under lamp
Step 5 - two / three coats colour - 30 second cure under lamp each time
Step 6 - Thin coat Base/Top Coat - 15 second cure under lamp
Step 7 - Wipe over with finishing solution
It really is that simple and I've found that I can get my nails completed in around 15 minutes now and after the last swipe of finishing solution on a lint-free wipe (which are also included in the kit) my nails are always good to go and I don't feel like I have to be cautious at all with them. One of the main things that I hate about painting my nails is the time they take to dry / set afterwards and if you've read my Rimmel Super Gel blog post you'll know that sometimes even an hour later (when you think all is safe), I always manage to screw up my nails with normal drying polish. I absolutely love the fact that the Sensationail gel polishes are lamp cured and are ready to go within seconds of finishing up. My second favourite thing about the Sensationail gel polishes are how long they last. Again, being a lazy beauty lover, not having to do my nails every couple of days is absolutely beautiful; with the Sensationail gels my nails stay pretty pristine for two weeks and that could literally not make me happier!
When it comes to top ups, this is where it can get a little pricey... The colour gel nail polishes are £15 each for around 7ml, which isn't too bad if you're pretty set on one or two colours, but if you're like me and get a little bored of the same two colours every couple of weeks then £15 a bottle can easily add up. To counteract this though, Sensationail do a 'Polish to Gel' transformer which is around £10 for 7ml and £15 for 14ml but is basically a solution that you can mix / use with your normal nail polishes and have Gel lasting nails with your usual pretty colours. I bought this to try and save myself some money so that I could use all of my favourite nail colours however so far I haven't quite gotten along with it. There are two methods with this product that you could use to transform your polishes to gel and the first is the one that I personally really want to work for me. In a nut shell, you mix equal parts solution and polish and apply two coats to your nails and cure with the lamp, however being me, I didn't really read the instructions properly and they were a bit too gooey! The other method is just applying your normal nail polish and using the Polish to Gel transformer as a top coat but I didn't get along with this one at all and just found it didn't dry properly.
I absolutely love the Sensationail Gel Kit and the way my nails look and would 100% recommend this at-home-kit to everyone wanting Gel nails at home. At the moment, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the Polish To Gel solution, but I am determined to make it work and will keep you updated on how I get on with it on my social media!
How do you do your nails at home? Is a Gel kit like this something you would be interested in?
BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in the South West and London.
(*this post may contain items gifted to me for PR purposes*)
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