A new craze... gelish! Have you tried it?

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My experience: I always use to have my nails done (acrylic or solar generally) because I got so sick of my nails breaking and the paint chipping... but we all know that does horrible things to your natural nails. When I heard that you could do gelish yourself, I was really excited because the polish is so much stronger than regular polish and doesn't chip!!

So I did... I went on ebay and bought the uv light and the gelish polish and 1 polish (which are $12-15 a bottle, yikes!) but the results are FANTASTIC!! I don't have to worry about my polish chipping, it helps strengthen my nails with a strong base and top coat, and it comes off when I want it to. My favorite part?? With the UV light drying system, when you take your nails out, you're DONE. No waiting on polish to dry and smudging it/scratching it (which I would always do), when you're done you're done! 

It is expensive to get started, but really only costs the price of getting your nails done a couple times. I think I paid $30 for the light, $30 for the gelish kit, and $12 for the polish? HOWEVER, I discovered a way to make your own gelish polish and I'll never buy another color!! I'm absolutely loving gelish!!!

I'm wondering how many of you ladies have tried gelish and what you think about it? 

 
Never tried and probably never will. I'm not that invested in prettying up my nails. Haha. Glad you found something that works for you.

 
That's really cool, I'm just about done with polishes lately because they chip on me within hours.  I've been using the Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips and those last up to 15 days on me, until they grow out basically.  I'd be up for trying a gelish nail polish though, I've seen them on a friend and it looked pretty thick and durable but hers were coming off within a day too.  She does have short nails that she used to bite and was using the gelish to keep her from biting them, so my mileage my vary.  Tell us, if you will, how you make your own.  That's interesting!

 
I love gelish, but I find that I get bored too darn quickly and want to take it off so that I can change things up. And, like the poster above, I am a HUGE fan of Sally Hansen Nail Effects, which were how I first started getting into doin' my nails once I quit biting them. 

 
Originally Posted by calexxia /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I love gelish, but I find that I get bored too darn quickly and want to take it off so that I can change things up. And, like the poster above, I am a HUGE fan of Sally Hansen Nail Effects, which were how I first started getting into doin' my nails once I quit biting them. 
Have you tried other brands of Nail Strips?  The Sally Hansen ones are just so amazing, I seriously love them.  My nails are constantly done now, with little effort and the colors and patterns are so fun.  My nails right now are white with pastel pink polka dots and my toes are done in pink camo.  If you use them a lot, you can buy them on Ebay and get multiple packs for a lot cheaper than at the store.  I can use one half of the two packages included for your nails by cutting them in half and using the other half on the other corresponding nail.  I'd love to know if people have found other brands to work as well.  The KISS ones I've tried were more like a sticker.  Surprisingly they lasted a long time and got lots of comments due to the jewels on them, but they were stickers rather than actual nail polish like Salon Effects.

 
So far, just the Hansens. I bought them on a whim and was so blown away that I always keep a few stashed back for "nail emergencies" LOL

 
I love gelish!

I'm not patient enough to do my own nails, unfortunately, but I have an awesome nail tech! I used to go to her for weekly manicures, but even then my nails were chipping and cracking if I didn't use clear coat, or I would have to wear gloves to clean or do dishes. I started getting gelish a year ago and absolutely love it.. It's way more expensive, but I only go twice a month now and my nails can last up to 3 weeks.

There are a couple of downsides... you really have to be able to commit to a color for at least 2 weeks or it's not really worth doing. That kinda works for me, so it's no big deal, but I know others like to change their nail polish more often.

Also, it's hard to beat the richness and depth of a good OPI color.. I guess that's where you sacrifice with the gelish to keep it on longer. They have a couple of dark purple/ almost black colors that I like, like Diva, and All About Me. I haven't found a red I'm in love with, but I like the Gossip Girl bright pink, with June Bride as a top coat on my ring fingers. But the white isn't a true white and the black shadow is more of a deep gray. And also once you pick something and it's baked on there's not much turning back :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I'd love to know more about how you make your own!

 
Both the gelish nails and the Nail Effects are a great fit for me, because I don't change nail colors frequently. Every 2-3 weeks is perfect for me.

 
Originally Posted by elle elle /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Also, it's hard to beat the richness and depth of a good OPI color.. I guess that's where you sacrifice with the gelish to keep it on longer. 
OPI is launching or has launched a UV gel line, fyi

 
OPI has a gel line that my mom gets alot. They use alot of the same colors in the regular polish so you can easily match your nails and toes for summer.

I use gelish and I love it. The only issues I have are that the nude color I just tried was too hard to work with and I got a ton of bumps on two of my nails. I've also had issues with the tip shrinking and I'm worried that will cause lifting.

 
Yes, I'm thrilled about the OPI line.. just got the lincoln park after dark a few weeks ago!

 
Absolutely!! I bought the gelish "structure gel", which I initially got because I was doing white tips on my nails, but it just wasn't quite strong enough. I had a bunch of pearlex (highly shimmery pigment powders that I used in scrapbooking) so, using a paint brush, I scooped some of the structure gel onto a piece of paper and mixed in a good amount of the pearlex and painted it on my nails in place of polish. There are a couple of things you have to be careful of when doing this: make sure to put enough pigment powder in or the color will be sheer (unless that is what you want). Also, paint it on very very thin, or when you put your hand in the uv dryer, the polish will slide to the sides and gather on the edges of you nail, giving it a very strange shape. I wouldn't recommend doing more than one coat, because I find that the thicker coats you do with gelish, the more likely it is to peel. But I absolutely love making my own colors this way, it gives you endless possibilities and the shimmer in the pearlex is so wonderful it almost creates a dimensional look on your nail. The last time, mixed the hot pink with the silver and got a really pretty plum color, and mixed the sea foam green with the blue for a bright teal. I will never go back to regular polish! :D /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
Oh, you also want to be sure to let the pearlex polish cure for at least 3 minutes under the uv light, as it will be thicker than regular polish. And stir it well too, as there may be some pigment powder lumps in there. The great thing about gelish though is you can wipe it of or re-do it until it is right! Still follow the regular order of foundation, then polish (pearlex), then top it off, and always make sure to cap your edges to reduce peeling. 

 
Originally Posted by sweetiegirlll /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Have you tried other brands of Nail Strips?  The Sally Hansen ones are just so amazing, I seriously love them.  My nails are constantly done now, with little effort and the colors and patterns are so fun.  My nails right now are white with pastel pink polka dots and my toes are done in pink camo.  If you use them a lot, you can buy them on Ebay and get multiple packs for a lot cheaper than at the store.  I can use one half of the two packages included for your nails by cutting them in half and using the other half on the other corresponding nail.  I'd love to know if people have found other brands to work as well.  The KISS ones I've tried were more like a sticker.  Surprisingly they lasted a long time and got lots of comments due to the jewels on them, but they were stickers rather than actual nail polish like Salon Effects.

I've tried the Incoco Nail Polish Strips (they came in one of my BirchBoxes) and they were fantastic....I decided to put them on my feet, they literally lasted a month, and then my toe nails grew out and they started looking bad. But those strips stayed on!

 
I love gel polish however when you place your nails under a uv light you are exposing your hands to uv light so be sure to apply sun screen to protect your skin or a cheap pair of gloves that you can cut the finger tips out of. I wish I had been like those chinese ladies that glove up before they drive, I hate sun damage!

 
Originally Posted by studiomakeup /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I love gel polish however when you place your nails under a uv light you are exposing your hands to uv light so be sure to apply sun screen to protect your skin or a cheap pair of gloves that you can cut the finger tips out of. I wish I had been like those chinese ladies that glove up before they drive, I hate sun damage!
I definitely agree, its hard on your skin! I've been thinking of getting some gloves to cut the fingertips off, but I haven't because I feel like they'll get in the way and be cumbersome while painting...

 
I, too wondered about the intensity of the UV. I tan really easily and at 59 am starting to get age spots on my hands! I am totally unfamiliar with this, but interested.How much of the fingertips get exposed to the UV?

 
I think it's interesting, but I'm not too set on trying it. I hate when my polish chips after a few days, but I get bored with designs after about 5 days, so doing my nails every week is about right for me anyway.

 

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