Post by Jolevette

Gel polish has become a must-have beauty item. With long-wearing staying power, a variety of colors, and the ability to do it yourself at home,  it’s hard to resist the allure of this perfect manicure. This week, I am reviewing the Nailene Gel Kit with the French manicure.

NOTE: Please follow the instructions in the kit properly. Too much primer and gel base will cause the gel not to form properly on your nail and hold.

Step 1 – Clean and buff your nail; a self-manicure essentially. I do this with my mini-manicure kit that I purchased at Sephora for $5.00.

Step 2 – Use the gel primer. Do not over use as a little bit goes along way. To avoid putting too much on, dab the brush against the inside of the bottle.

Step 3 – Time to start cooking! Place your hands in the provided LED lamp for 2 minutes. Do thumbs last.

Step 4 – Next, the gel base coat. Again, place a thin layer on your nail and place your hands under the LED lamp for another 2 minutes.

At this point, you should be able to see your nail start to shine. Feel free to touch the nail. It should be glossy and smooth.

Step 5 – As in Step 4, brush on the gel polish of choice. For me, it was the French Pink. Place hands under LED lamp.

Step 6 – Apply second coat and replace hands under lamp for 2 minutes.

By now, this might be redundant to place your hands in and out of the LED lamp so many times, but this is order for the gel to set and give you that shiny gel perfection.

Step 7 – Last time! Please the gel top coat and get back under the LED lamp for your final 2 minutes of baking.

Step 8 – Using some rubbing alcohol or the one provided, take a cotton ball or a napkin and gently rub your nail. This removes any excess coating and creates that shine. This also ensures that the gel has set properly. If you find the gel still wet, go back under the LED lamp for two more minutes.

Now,  I have given instructions for the normal color. I am going to add the extra steps for the French.

The French kit comes with separate tips that must be applied after the gel has set. If you are doing French, DO NOT follow Step 6. Go right into applying the white tips. The tips are rather sticky; you must be very careful when using them….they stick to anything! They stuck to the table that I was working on and they are very hard to remove. So, be sure you have paper towels or a newspaper under our hands when working. It was very difficult to select the right size tip for my nail which caused me to have to trim and take extra time to get the French just right. After you have selected your tips and they are on (hopefully you didn’t create a sticky mess like me!) you can apply the top coat.

Overall, this is a great product when using a solid color. I would re-think the French kit. The tips should not be so sticky or add a small bottle of white polish so that the user can pick their own size and have less stickiness to worry about.