I've always had trouble with manicures. I have weak nails, and nothing I do seems to help. In spite of using rubbing alcohol before application, and using quality nail polish and the best top coats on the market, it's been pretty customary for me to get my first chip within a day of application. Last year, I tried an OPI Axxium manicure for my European vacation, but severely damaged nails after removal have since kept me away. I attended London Drug's Fall Beauty Preview Event last week and Red Carpet Manicure's gel polish starter kit was included in our bag of goodies to try. It promised the longevity of a salon gel manicure with the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing it yourself at home. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
{contents of the portable starter kit}Each kit comes with everything you need to get started (except batteries and manicure basics like a nail file, buffer and orange stick), and easy-to-follow instructions are included. With that in mind and an hour of free time last Friday, I plopped myself down in front of the TV and got to "work".
{nails on Thursday, 6 days after application}It has been one full week since application, and I couldn't be happier with the results! I've washed dishes every day, typed, and even swam with these nails (my regular manicures always chip when I swim) and they remain un-chipped. They definitely better than anything I could have achieved with regular nail polish.
I also loved not having to wait extra time for polish to dry; after the final curing process, I was all set to go. One word of caution, though: be very careful with your application (and I would recommend curing just a couple of fingers under the light at once). I applied a top coat that was a bit too thick and as a result, it didn't cure properly. The product adhered to my skin and shortly after, some of the polish peeled off (see photos below). Because of this, though, I was able to try my hand at removing the polish. This step requires patience, as it did take me about 15 minutes to get it all off. However, I'm happy to report that my nail remained in good condition after removal!
{left to right: bad first attempt, wrapped foil for removal, nail after removal}If you have struggled with nail polish staying on, I highly suggest checking this product out. Let me know if you have questions in the comments below and I'll try my best to answer.
The portable introductory kit, seen here, is $79.99 CAD /$59.99 USD. It is good for 20 manicures, working out to a little over $4 a manicure with tax! There are 57 additional shades available at $12 each.
*Phew! That was a long post. I just want to say as a disclaimer that I was not paid or obligated to write about this product. This is not a beauty blog, and I certainly do not claim to know an extensive amount about anything of this nature. However, I do know my own needs as a consumer and what I want. And every so often, I come across a product that I like so much that I feel the need to share!
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In completely unrelated news, I just wanted to let you know that today is the last day to enter to win a leather gorjana clutch here!