Hey guys! As many of you know, I'm someone who much prefers doing my own nails rather than going to the salon to have them done. I like that I get to save money doing it myself, as well as go at my own pace and watch TV while I polish. The only problem is I can never wait for it to dry. I always end up smudging the nails before I even get to enjoy it. That's why I decided to give myself a gel manicure. It took a while to get the hang of it, but I really enjoy the process now and save a ton of money! So I filmed a tutorial showing you exactly what I do, including some tips and tricks I've learned after doing it for about 5-6 months.
You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UzZZnI6YY0&index=1&list=PLxLwpaoPWsNMLW-9siepzzBVJdvitcHY0
I've tried lots of the at home gel kits and my favorite is the Sally Hansen one, mainly because the removal is so easy. I literally just peel the gel off in one or two pieces when the edges start to lift in a week or two. I'm not sure you're supposed to do that, but its SO much easier than having to remove gel polish the "right" way. I don't feel like it's stripping my nail the way it does when I peel of gel from the salon... so who knows! The only downside is I wish there were more shades of polish to pick from.
I bought my Sally Hansen Gel Starter Kit for $59.00 at Walgreens, but I found it on Drugstore.com here: http://rstyle.me/~7pJGM on sale for $39.00 and free shipping. The starter kit comes in three different versions. They're all the exact same except the polish color is different. "Shell We Dance" is a sheer bubblegum pink, don't let the color on the box fool you, it doesn't look like that. That being said, it's the only shade I've found so far that doesn't come out exactly how it's pictured. You can also get the kit in "Red My Lips" which is a true red or "Wine Not" which is a burgundy. I would recommend one of those, mainly because I don't like how bubblegum but pale the "Shell We Dance" is.
The kit comes with a 6 watt LED lamp with auto-timer, gel base coat, gel nail color, gel top coat, 10 nail cleanser pads, acetone remover, cuticle stick, file, buffer and instruction sheet. The other shades of polish cost anywhere from $7-$13 depending on where you shop. I found them here for $7.62 http://rstyle.me/~7pJYo (I used the shade "Back to the Fuchsia" in the tutorial.) The other products I use in the video are The Deborah Lippman Nail Primer $14.00 (this is the same product I use in the video, but they repackaged it to be a drip top instead of a brush - you just need one drop per nail) and the Lush Cosmetics Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter $17.95
Hope you enjoy!
