I am a big DIY kind of person, in that I don't like paying other people to do things that I can do myself. I haven't paid for a hair cut in years, and I have never went to a salon to get my nails done. I have always done my own nails and spent a while doing acrylic nails at home (on myself only) but didn't care for it too much.
Recently I've been getting into the gel polish. I had bought a SensatioNails kit awhile ago and have been getting used to using it. My first application looked good, but I got it too thick near the cuticle and it started to lift after about a week's time. The next application I did better, but got it too thin on the edges and it started to lift after just a few days. I have since bought the Gelish Basix kit and prefer it to the SensatioNail brand. I goes on better and it seems to last longer. I have mixed the two products in one application and have had zero problems doing so. What I mean by mixing is that I use the SensatioNails colors with the Gelish prep, foundation and top coat. The reason for that is that I don't have many Gelish colors yet ($12 a bottle, so I plan on buying a new color every couple weeks until I have a small selection to choose from).
My most recent manicure I did on myself was a french tip using Gelish "Sleek White" and "Bashful." I really like the white color, but the base color was a little disappointing. "Bashful" is shown as a pale sheer pink that is shimmery. When I get it on though, it is very very sheer beige with golden flecks of shimmer. The end result is that my nails end up looking yellowing. In some light it looks okay, and in other light my nails look just plain fugly. I will need to find a new base color for my french tips, but won't worry about that for awhile. My bottle of "Need a Tan" should be coming in the mail today. "Need a Tan" looks like a light nude color online, we'll see what it looks like once I get it on my nails.
When I do my nails today, I will not be soaking off. I will file the gel down to a thin layer then put the new on right on top of it. I hate the soaking off process as it seems to take forever and dries my nails pretty badly (during the process anyway, as they are fine after). I may have a crappy bottle of acetone (my husband got it from Wal-Mart for me) or my technique may just suck, either way I don't feel like doing it today.
One thing I feel like I should note, is that polish performs better on the gel than it does on my natural nails. I put some glitter polish and a top coat over my gel manicure to change it up some, and it has stayed on remarkably well. I didn't rough up the top of the gel at all, so was concerned about the polish even sticking. This is nice just in case I get tired of my nails and want something different but don't want to do a full-blown gel mani.
I have started doing my girls' nails with the gel polish. I am not really in favor of little girls wearing makeup, but nails can be fun and girly. I wouldn't normally put gel polish on them, but I am trying to get my 7-year-old to stop chewing her nails and my 5-year-old to learn to take better care of her nails. When their nails are painted both girls are more careful with their hands and it helps protect their nails (not as easy to break or so likely to be damaged by chewing). I have promised them if they take good care of their nails that I will buy some fun colors for them (my oldest wants bright glittery pink and my youngest girl wants really dark red, lol they are sooooo predicable).
Recently I've been getting into the gel polish. I had bought a SensatioNails kit awhile ago and have been getting used to using it. My first application looked good, but I got it too thick near the cuticle and it started to lift after about a week's time. The next application I did better, but got it too thin on the edges and it started to lift after just a few days. I have since bought the Gelish Basix kit and prefer it to the SensatioNail brand. I goes on better and it seems to last longer. I have mixed the two products in one application and have had zero problems doing so. What I mean by mixing is that I use the SensatioNails colors with the Gelish prep, foundation and top coat. The reason for that is that I don't have many Gelish colors yet ($12 a bottle, so I plan on buying a new color every couple weeks until I have a small selection to choose from).
My most recent manicure I did on myself was a french tip using Gelish "Sleek White" and "Bashful." I really like the white color, but the base color was a little disappointing. "Bashful" is shown as a pale sheer pink that is shimmery. When I get it on though, it is very very sheer beige with golden flecks of shimmer. The end result is that my nails end up looking yellowing. In some light it looks okay, and in other light my nails look just plain fugly. I will need to find a new base color for my french tips, but won't worry about that for awhile. My bottle of "Need a Tan" should be coming in the mail today. "Need a Tan" looks like a light nude color online, we'll see what it looks like once I get it on my nails.
When I do my nails today, I will not be soaking off. I will file the gel down to a thin layer then put the new on right on top of it. I hate the soaking off process as it seems to take forever and dries my nails pretty badly (during the process anyway, as they are fine after). I may have a crappy bottle of acetone (my husband got it from Wal-Mart for me) or my technique may just suck, either way I don't feel like doing it today.
One thing I feel like I should note, is that polish performs better on the gel than it does on my natural nails. I put some glitter polish and a top coat over my gel manicure to change it up some, and it has stayed on remarkably well. I didn't rough up the top of the gel at all, so was concerned about the polish even sticking. This is nice just in case I get tired of my nails and want something different but don't want to do a full-blown gel mani.
I have started doing my girls' nails with the gel polish. I am not really in favor of little girls wearing makeup, but nails can be fun and girly. I wouldn't normally put gel polish on them, but I am trying to get my 7-year-old to stop chewing her nails and my 5-year-old to learn to take better care of her nails. When their nails are painted both girls are more careful with their hands and it helps protect their nails (not as easy to break or so likely to be damaged by chewing). I have promised them if they take good care of their nails that I will buy some fun colors for them (my oldest wants bright glittery pink and my youngest girl wants really dark red, lol they are sooooo predicable).
Here is my mani with polish on top at 10 days of wear. Today is day 11 and I have 1mm of new growth already showing at my cuticle. I will probably never know how long the Gelish lasts before it starts to chip, as I don't think I could stand how 3mm of new growth would look.
Just another shot of my nails, this one is to better show the length they are currently at. This is the length I like the best. It is long enough it looks nice, but not so long as to interfere with daily life. I like the way long nails look, but I hate not being able to use my finger tips.
This is my seven-year-old's nails. This is two coats of SN's "Pink Chiffon" with the gel mani finished. Then I painted regular polish over the top, the color used is Nicole by O.P.I. in "Love Your Life." As you can see, she picks at her fingers a lot and chews the nails down to the quick.
Here is my five-year-old's mani. She picked SN's "Taupe Tulip" color (this is two coats). She isn't as rough on her nails as her sister, and doesn't chew her nails (you can see how much healthier looking her finger tips are). Unfortunately she got my nails; fast growing but very thin and flexible. Her biggest problem was that her nails would get long quickly, break with jagged edges, and she would accidentally scratch herself pretty frequently. The gel should help her nails to not break, and the tips won't be sharp anymore. I will need to redo her mani every week though because of how fast her nails grow.
My new Gelish "Need a Tan" just came in the mail, and it looks really great! I will update this post with a picture of it on later tonight.
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