Gelish Soak Off Gel Colour : How to DIY and Review

You will need:

- Nail trimmer 

- Nail file

- Cotton wipes

- Gelish Mini Basix Kit $39.95 which contains PH Bond, Foundation, Top it Off and Nourish - which are the curing base and top coats, it also contains a mini Gelish Cleanser and mini Gelish artificial nail remover.

- A Gelish mini Gel colour $19.95 each 

- Gelish Mini Pro LED Curing Light $59.95

Gelish products are available from Hairhouse Warehouse www.hairhousewarehouse.com.au

D.I.Y:

Preparation:

Your nails need to be fully prepped, take your time and push back your cuticles and then buff, file and shape.

Tips:

- Wash your hands with an anit-bacterial soap prior to starting your Gelish mani at home, just to kill any nasty germs lurking about.

- Do one hand from step 1-6 at a time, it is just easier so your not fiddling around with sticky nails.

- Always remove with the method specified (I will do another post on this!) Do not peel off gel or shellac polish, it will ruin your nails and make them very weak and horrible.

- In between each layer your nails will be tacky and sticky, so don't go cooking dinner or going to the toilet.

Step 1.

Apply the PH Bond to your nails, this takes any oil off your nails so the Gelish products have a clean base to adhese too. This is the only step which you do not need to cure with the LED light.

Step 2.

Apply a thin and even layer of Gelish Foundation which is basically a base coat. 

Step 3.

Using the LED Light cure the Gelish Foundation layer, I do my four fingers first and then my thumb second - 45 seconds for each. It is just more comfortable than trying to shove your whole hand in at once. The LED lamp automatically switches off after 45 seconds, to let you know to start the next step.

TIP: When your nails are under the LED LAMP keep your fingers very still and flat as the lamp will heat the polish and it can have some movement and slip around making it uneven if you are wiggling about.

Step 4.

Apply your Gelish colour, making sure you are painting thin and even layers. This will help your nails look neat and not lumpy.It is better to do more thin layers than fewer thick layers. Gelish colours are all different some need 2 coats some need 3, cure with the LED light in between each layer.

Step 5.

Apply a very very thin layer of Gelish Top it off all over your nails, making sure you cover the whole nail and cure under the LED light If you don't cover the entire nail - or where ever the colour is it won't cure and will rub off.

Step 6.

Put a little bit of the Nail cleanser on a cotton wipe and rub and clean your nails and TA-DA! Your nails are dry and ready to go - no waiting around waving your hands in the air waiting for hours till your polish dries.

Gelish Soak off Gel Colour in 'Silver Sand'

REVIEW:

I had the opportunity to test out the Gelish range prior to launch, and I love this product. It is fantastic for busy people who don't have time to wait around for nail polish to dry for hours. The main difference is that Gelish have 72 colours to choose from! That is more than most regular nail polish lines and by far the biggest range of at home gel or shellac colours available. Like all polish ranges there are amazing colours and there are dud colours, my advice would be to do a google image search of the colour on someones nails before buying it just to make sure you like it.

Although the initial outlay of $39.95 + $59.95 + $29.95 may seem like a lot of money, if you have a Gel Mani at a salon prices vary between $50-$70 so after buying the kit and using it 2 times at home you have already saved money rather than if you were getting it done at a salon.

Gelish claims to last up to 3 weeks on the nail, but that depends on if your nails grow super fast or not - I personally have left my Gelish mani on up to 10 days and then I need to take it off because my nail it has grown out too far. Gelish will definately not chip, but if you are a picker try not to peel them off this will really damage your nail. The removal method suggested by Gelish leave your natural nail un-harmed.

I'm slowly building my gelish collection so far I have 'Up in the blue' which is a cool powder blueish-lilac, 'Silver Sand' an irredescent silver glitter with large and small speckles and a clear base and 'Sheer Simple' a beautiful pink based nude - all of which I LOVE! 

Just Another Manicure Monday : Pastels and Glitter Hearts

Revlon Top Speed - Cloud 710 $4.95 + Pa Premier Lame Grande AA07 $5.00

Welcome to 'Just Another Manicure Monday'! Cringy but what the hey, its given me an excuse to actually HAVE to paint my nails every Monday without fail.

Revlon's Cloud is an absolute chameleon of a colour - it has an extremely opaque white cast base and the colour notes aren't a lilac or a pastel blue but a perfect combination of the both. I love it underneath glitters on its own its great on your toes but looks pretty flat on your nails. There are these stores called 'Gloss' which are scattered around Sydney CDB all the Revlon polishes are $4.95!!!!!! Pa polishes are everywhere in Japan like everywhere, I got about 25 when I was there and still haven't tried half of them. But in case you haven't bought $199 Jetstar sale flights to Narita recently I found a Japanese nail polish hot spot on the top floor of Market City in Chinatown at the bargain store, they have a small range of Pa Polish.

What does this manicure say to the world? I'm pretty sure it wont get you a boyfriend, but you will feel super cute and as long as you don't wear head to toe pastels I think this is a kind of acceptable manicure for a 28 year old? Whatever, I love it! 

Winter Nail Combos : Across the Universe

It's taken a while but I have finally found my favorite winter nail glitter combo.

Last winter it was all about a deep red with a high gloss topcoat, but since I have been totally addicted to glitter polishes I was desperate to find a combo that would match the cooler weather.

The above is my absolute favorite:

1. Revlon Top Speed Black

If you are using any glitter polish with a jelly base to make it pop - do your base in flat colour that matches. Navy would also work well with this look. Because there are going to be quite a few layers choose one which will give you total opacity in one coat and a quick dryer otherwise you are going to waiting around for ages not being able to do anything stuck in the hands in the air drying stance.

2. Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

This is a total nail splurge! Could I have shopped around and got a dupe? Yes. I saw it and fell in love and before I knew it I was paying $14 shipping for it to come from Jamaica on Ebay. Oh well. Thank goodness I LOVE IT! It's a jelly so if applied on its own it would take 5 coats to be opaque. The blues and green glitter are so pretty and my nails kind of look like beetle wings. On saturday really cute hunk told me my nails looked like 'Galaxy's' - Which was the last confirmation I needed to know this was the ultimate winter nail combo.

3. Seche Vite Fast Dry Topcoat

Holy water of a Topcoat, this will change your life. It takes about 10mins dry time but then its done and not budging, the result is super super shiny. Apparently it has loads of chemicals in it and isn't the best for you - just a heads up!

So excited to debut this out of control 'Galaxy' look at the next N.P.A meeting.