Gelish Info

Back in August Polish Insomniac posted about at-home gel nails, something I had been thinking about trying, but just hadn't gotten around to. At that time, Sally's was running a special on the Gelish mini UV light and the Gelish starter kit, so I went for it. I am SO glad I did!



Here's my first try at a full mani- this is two coats of Harmony Gelish Star Burst. I actually purchased Star Burst on Amazon because it seemed to be the cheapest option for full-sized bottles.

Here's what comes in the starter set.

And this is the light. I read all the reviews on this light and it seemed like a great way to go to begin.

A few tips:

1. One thing I read was that even though the light uses batteries, it is better to use a power adapter because the strength of the light goes down as the batteries go down. But if you use a power adapter, the strength of the light is constant and it works much better. So that's what I've been doing- we have tons of power adapters lying around from toys, so I just grabbed one of those and just plug it in each time I use it.

2. It's not really necessary to use the Gelish Cleanse.... once I run out of the starter bottle, I'll use the higher percentage Alcohol and it will work just fine- I think it's 90%. You just don't want to buy the 70% Alcohol because it won't work as well.

3. I use an old t-shirt for my lint-free cloth to wipe the cleanse across my nails- you do it twice- once before you start, and then at the end to remove the sticky residue that remains after curing.

Have you tried at-home gel nails? I am having fun! I do have to say I practiced a bit using it to mend tears before I tried a full mani. I followed Loodie Loodie Loodie's tips for using gel polish to mend a tear.

My first Gelish mani!

Harmony Gelish in Starburst (2 coats)

This is the first full Gelish mani I have done. I'll post details later on the products I got and what I think about DIY gel polish manis- the short version is I really like it!

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann Superstar

Deborah Lippmann Superstar

This is from the 2008 Holiday collection, but I thought it was pretty perfect for the Halloween season too!

The above swatch is two coats, and is still quite bumpy after a thick coat of Seche Vite. Next time I'll probably try a coat of Gelous before I apply SV.

But it's quite a stunner.... don't you think?

Fun With Crackle

Yesterday I played around a bit with the mani I was about to take off- Revlon Craving Coral.

Revlon Craving Coral topped with

China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Lightning Bolt

Revlon Craving Coral topped with

China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Tarnished Gold

(side note: I have never taken swatch pics of my right hand before... it was quite an adventure! Is there another way to do it other than holding the camera upside down and pressing the shutter with your thumb?)

Disclosure: The China Glaze Crackle Glaze shades were sent to me for review purposes. The Revlon shade was purchased by me.

NOTD: Wet n Wild Fast Dry Hannah Pinktana

Wet n Wild Fast Dry Hannah Pinktana

(click pic to enlarge)

I left this pic big and focused on only one nail so you could see the multicolored shimmers better... it's actually a very pretty polish.

Coats 1 and 2 left me with many doubts... I was really not liking this shade at all. But a third coat made it much better and then seeing it in the sun totally changed my mind- I love it!

Do you agree?

NOTD: Milani Spellbinding

Milani Spellbinding

It's October! Halloween time! I remembered this weekend that back in 2009 I purchased several shades from Milani's Black Magic collection. However, going thru my archives, it looks like I only swatched Whimsical.

So last night I chose Spellbinding, a black jelly loaded with red glitter. The above swatch is three coats and it's so pretty.

Swatches: Sephora by OPI Manhattan Minis Part 2

Today I have the other three swatches from the new Sephora by OPI Manhattan Minis collection. You can see Part 1 here. These shades are only available in this mini collection and I purchased them for $22.

I'm on the List

This is a dark forest green that covered great in two coats. It was a little hard to clean up- you can see where I got a bit on my cuticle on my pointer finger, and I couldn't completely get the polish off- it sort of stained.

Removal was fine though- once I dipped my finger in my scrubby tub, it all came off easily.

Say It Ain't So-ho

This is a pretty red cream. It's not all that unique, but a nice addition to the collection. A bit of VNL was visible with two coats, but I wasn't bothered enough to try a third coat.



Stand by Your Man-hatten

Love this shimmery burgundy. Such a great fall shade! Two coats was perfect coverage.