Orly’s Gel Kit Is Compact So It Saves You Space And Portable For Manis On
Pros: Compact, portable, includes top and base coat, easy to remove, works on other brands’ nail polishes
Cons: Expensive for a miniature lamp
Orly introduced its mini gel lamp back in September of 2020. It’s compact and portable, and can be plugged into any USB power source. In addition to the lamp, the complete bundle includes the brand’s Easy-Off Basecoat, No-Cleanse Top Coat, as well as a nourishing cuticle oil so you can give your nails the real spa treatment.
Orly’s gel lamp is ready to use when you first take it out of the box. It needs to either be charged or plugged into a USB power source like a USB power adapter you can plug into the wall, or laptop . The convenience of this feature really depends on whether or not you’re tech savvy.
Once it’s plugged in, hold the button down for the UV light to come on. The light works on a timer, and cures each coat in 60 seconds. However, the instructions do suggest curing the final top coat for up to 90 seconds to ensure a longer wear.
Can Gel Nail Polish Damage Your Nails
A. Most beauticians and nail experts say that gel nail polish isnt any more damaging to your nails than traditional nail polish. The gel nail polish removal process requires some harsh acetone scraping and soaking that can damage and dry out your nails, but using cuticle creams and hand moisturizers between your manicures prevent this issue.
It can also help to take a break from gel nail polish manicures to allow your nails to recover, especially if your nails are starting to feel thin or breaking more than normal. You can use a treatment polish to repair and strengthen weak nails, if needed. You can also take a pure biotin supplement or another supplement for hair and nails to help strengthen your nails.
Lechat Perfect Match Nail Polish
If you love glitter, frost, and cream colors, take a look at this brand of gel polish. There are more than 200 gorgeous shades.
The texture is thick, so be sure to apply thin layers to prevent chipping. But the finish should last about two weeks without fading.
Each color has a matching Dare to Wear Nail Lacquer for quick touchups. This is like a traditional nail polish that doesnt require a lamp to cure it.
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Deborah Lippmann Gel Polish
Heres a brand that refuses to include harmful ingredients in their gel nail polish. Its a patented seven-free formula worth the money if youre pregnant or sensitive to chemicals.
It includes exotic ingredients that improve the health of your nails. For example, it has evening primrose, rice protein, keratin, and green tea. But theres also bamboo and carnauba wax to enhance shine and wear time.
The contoured brush features 320 soft bristles for a perfect application every time.
Best Home Gel Nail Polish
1. Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish + Topcoat Kit
By Essie
Essie nail polish has been a longtime favorite of mine shout out to my go-to shade Muchi Muchi!
These polishes are not technically gel polishes, as they dont require a UV lamp in order to set. They are a regular nail polish with a gel-like finish. They have the natural shine and durability people choose gel manicures for. Ive chosen this double set for anyone out there who wants a gel-like salon manicure for their big day, without having to purchase and use a UV lamp.
Definitely a good choice for brides who want to allocate only a small chunk of time to their nails. Simply brush on two coats of color, then use the top coat. Done.
The color Inside Scoop, which comes with this set, is exceptionally beautiful for lovers of pale, delicate pink.
2. Gel Lab Pro
Another gel-like nail polish that doesnt require a UV lamp. The Deborah Lipman Gel Lab Pro polish won a Best of Beauty Award in 2018 from Allure, who truly know their stuff. We love it because it means you can slap it on quickly, at home, without having to buy extra equipment.
We recommend using a base and top coat to help with longevity. A notable feature is that this brand is completely vegan! Our top colour pick is Love Hangover. A fitting shade name for a bride, no?
3. Gellen Gel Polish Set
By Gellen
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Modelones Gel Nail Polish Kit 6 Pcs
Heres a set with matte pastels and nudes. Be sure to use the matte top coat with them.
Then, each shade is good for up to two weeks of wear.
You might also enjoy their glitter and magnetic color sets. Just be sure to store all colors in a dark place as the viewing window can expose them to UV light.
The polish cures quickly and removes easily after a few minutes of soaking. Its compliant with European Union regulations for safety and made from natural resin.
The main downside is that youll need to buy the polish in sets since individual colors dont seem to exist.
How Many Colors Are In The Kit
At a minimum, an all-in-one gel manicure kit should include at least one color polish. However, as you saw in our round-up, we prioritized picks that gave you options. While having one color is nice, this means that if you want to try other colors, youll need to buy more polish. And over time, this can get expensive.
In our guide, we gave preference to brands that offered six or more shades so that you werent limited with options. But before you opt for a larger kit with more colors, make sure that it includes shades you would want to wear.
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What To Look For In The Perfect Gel Nail Kit For You
Getting gels done in a professional salon can be a fun, pampering experience, but it is also incredibly expensive. And this is why more people are opting to do their nails at home. Along with saving money, you also minimize the frustration of waiting to get your nails done or having a manicurist whos a little too aggressive with those cuticle nippers. But to get the best at-home manicure with gel polish, youre going to need to pay attention to a few factors.
Sensationail Gel Transformer Starter Kit
Sensationail also entered the at-home gel polish market at the early state, so it has been improving incredibly from time to time to meet the consumers need as well as compete with other brands. Recently, Sensationail created a Gel Transformer Starter Kit promising to turn any nail polishes into gel. Yes, it sounds really interesting, right? With just the LED lamp and a special top coat, you can seal any regular nail polish into a long-lasting gel color. This kit includes a polish, base and top coats, an LED lamp, and other manicure accessories. Though it doesnt require many tools, steps, and skills, this gel nail polish kit promises a shiny manicure that will stay looking fresh for up to 2 weeks.
Its definitely a perfect idea for getting a great-looking manicure from the comfort of your home. Just imagine that you and your group of girlfriends are able to get together, enjoy a great brunch with a cocktail or a glass of champagne and getting your nails looking fabulous at the same time. Its amazing! We showed you some aspects that you should consider before purchasing your own kit. Hopefully, these at-home gel nail polish kits listed above will be helpful for you when choosing your perfect fit to your need and your reference.
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Lds Healthy Gel & Lacquer Sparkle Collection
The sparkle gel nail shade with unique consistency fills up this stylish bottle precisely. The bright and light colors give you a new look to the finger-tip. The sparkling effect appears as if the star glitters in the night sky. The long-lasting property with easy use persuades the users. The excellent consistency of this gel dries up quickly as soon as you apply. It blends well on the nails and enhances the 3D nail art application. The colors suit all skin tones and you can go for it without any hesitation. This perfect nail shade matches well with all your outfits optimally.
Other Diy Gel Manicure Kits We Considered:
- Le Mini Macaron Le Maxi Deluxe Gel Manicure Set : Overall, this DIY gel manicure kit is easy to use. The directions are straightforward, and the nail polish cures quickly and without a sticky residue, even without a top coat. That said, I was quick to notice the kit doesn’t come with a top coat or base coat. The directions also don’t mention best practices for how to apply them, either. Le Mini Macaron does sell two top coats: a shine formula and a matte formula. I wish the kit would include one or the other, especially given its price point. The kit also doesn’t work as well with other brands’ polishes, which is limiting.
- Enova Cosmetics Gel Nail Polish Kit : There’s a lot to love about this compact gel kit. For starters, it’s super portable, and will take up hardly any space in your home. It doesn’t require a base or top coat, and the gel polish applies beautifully through a tube. All you have to do is squeeze and the color comes through the bristles that are perfectly shaped to paint an even coat of color over your nails. The reason Enova’s gel kit didn’t make my top 5 list, is because I applied the color on a Sunday, and by Tuesday morning, it was chipping. As much as I love how convenient the system is, the wide array of color options, and how quickly it generated a fabulous manicure, I felt that the lack of base or top coat negatively affected the manicure’s potential for longwear.
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Mefa 23 Pcs Gel Nail Polish Set
This lamp-cured mega-set has over 8,300 Amazon.com reviews for good reason: It comes with 23 different shades to open you up to the wide world of gel polishes. One lover of the kit, CR, raves on Amazon, These colors are beautiful, last long, easy to work with and the price is great. You truly get more than you pay for. A daily application of cuticle oil will help your nails and tips stay healthy.
Mylee The Full Works Complete Gel Polish Kit
This is an extensive kit, containing everything you need for an at-home salon experience. Complete with an LED lamp, a bottle of nail prep solution and gel remover, lint-free cloths, base coat, top coat, cuticle sticks, a glass nail file, buffing block and eight gel colours, Mylee has created a thoughtful kit thats brilliant for those used to regular gel manicures and dont want to wait months for beauty salons to reopen. We loved how much choice in shades there was, which allows you to create a multi-coloured manicure if you like.
Our favourites were Hollywood twist and gold digger silver and gold shimmery shades that felt festive but not tacky. The consistency of the gel is quite thick, which took some getting used to, as only a thin layer is required, cured under the lamp before another layer is added to build colour. The lamp is roomy too, and allowed us to fit our whole hand comfortably under it with ease.
While the most expensive on our list, its well worth the investment thanks to the variety of gel shades it includes and all the tools you could ever need. The hand cream, cuticle sticks and cuticle oil also mean once youve finished curing your top coat, you can still enjoy a pampering treat that will simultaneously keep nails and skin healthy while minimising any damage.
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Does It Contain A Gel Lamp
When it comes to choosing the right at-home gel kit, Aaron first says to check whether or not the contents of the kit require a gel lampand if they do, check whether the kit contains one or if you’ll need to purchase one separately. If you’re just starting out, it’s best to opt for a kit that contains all the tools you’ll need, gel lamp included.
Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish Kit
Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish Kit is an interesting system it isnt actually a gel, but rather a polish that dries to a gel-like finish for up to two weeks of wear. This two-step gel system only requires 2 products: a color gel polish and a clear top coat. Yes, you read that correctly, it does not require a base coat and UV/LED nail lamp.
Each color polish, which you can probably achieve more than 10 sets of gel manicure, only costs cheap. Now, lets try to calculate how much it will cost you for 10 times getting gel manicure at a nail salon one single time will cost third times the price of one Essie gel polish. Thats a steal, and we promise that you wont regret it.
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What Comes In The Kit
As you saw in our round-up, not all gel manicure kits are created equal. Some versions are color polish-only, others also include base and topcoats, and then other variants include a gel lamp and nail tools. So, youll need to consider whether or not you want an all-in-one solution or if youre okay with buying some items separately.
What Happens If You Use Gel Nail Polish Without A Curing Lamp
A. It can be tempting to try out gel nail polish without using a curing lamp to set the nails. However, if you use the polish without using the lamp, you will most likely be disappointed in the results. The gel nail polish wont effectively harden without the heat from the LED or UV light. The gel nail polish will lack the high-gloss shine, will smear and smudge, and it probably wont last very long.
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Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Chip Resistant Diamond Top Coat
Revlons ColorStay polish is another economical option. But unlike some less expensive brands, its practically salon quality.
Take this Diamond Top Coat, for example. It works with any color of Gel Envy polish.
It features DiamondFlex technology that makes it ultra-resistant to chipping. When you apply it with the wide angled brush, it goes on smooth without bubbles. Two passes with the brush, and youre done.
The only con is that there are just 46 colors.
Best Gel Nail Polishes For An Easy At
Youll look like you just left the salon.
Theres nothing more relaxing than a trip to the nail salon. An hour spent getting your nails trimmed, buffed, and shellacked is a self-care ritual that many of us look forward to. But since going to the salon isnt always in the cards, its important to know how to take that ritual into your own hands. Of course, you probably already know how to file and paint your nails. But a great at-home manicure comes down to which polish you use. We recommend setting your typical lacquers aside and opting for a gel nail polish formula. Youll find its the key to a long-lasting, chip-free manicure.
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Beetles Pack Of 23 Rainbow Summer Gel Nail Polish Kit
Perfect for summer, this Amazons Choice pick features almost two dozen day-glo colors screaming to be worn at the beach. This light-cured set offers at least two weeks of wear, so you can ensure your manis and pedis last a full vacation and beyond. ll say it over and over again about the Beetles brand its the best gel Ive ever used! The colors are vivid and long-lasting, writes Alina Sanchez on Amazon. Its truly amazing how cheap this product is considering it works better than higher-end brands. She goes on to note that youll get better results if you apply a light, not-too-thick coat and allow for ample curing time. If youre using a dark color, a coat of liquid latex will prevent any oops!
What Is Gel Nail Polish
It isnt wise to buy something you dont understand, even if its just nail polish, so lets make sure you know exactly what it is.
Gel polish functions a bit differently than regular nail polish. Regular nail polish forms a film when it dries. The film causes the polish to stick to the nail and have a glossy finish. It dries with air exposure and can dry faster when you blow on it or hold it up to a fan.
Gel polish, however, requires special light to dry. We say dry because the teeny particles its made of actually solidify and harden with the use of a light. Instead of creating a film, it creates a sturdy shell that will last much longer than regular polish.
Curing Lamp Required
Traditional gel polish needs light to harden. But, its not just any light you need UV or LED. UV lights were the original way gel polish was cured, but LED lights are becoming more popular because theyre faster and safer.
Curing lamps might sound like a hassle, but theyre actually quite portable and easy to use. You typically have to buy them separately, but the Vishine Gel Nail Polish Starter Kit includes a lamp in it.
There Are Exceptions
Gel nail polish is a product of the 1980s, but you can thank the ingenuity of the 21st century for drugstore gel polish that doesnt require any kind of lamp. This type of polish is a hybrid between regular polish and gel polish.
What is this Frankenstein of a polish, and how does it work? Lets look at its qualities:
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