Ladies, get ready to take your home manicure to the next level! I have been so so excited to share this with you, but it's taken me a few weeks to finish writing and you'll see why as you read on..
This is the Sensatonail gel nail polish kit by Nailene. I recently went for a gel manicure in the UK and as lovely as it was, I kept thinking in my head- I reckon I could do this...Yeee looks like I could do that... Okay I could definitely do this! So being the crafty, home made, thrifty person I am, I set to work searching for a potential home manicure kit and came across this!
So this is the Sensationail starter kit in te shade "Raspberry Wine". The kit comes with:
- LED Lamp
- Cleanser
- Primer
- Gel Base & Top Coat
- Raspberry Wine Gel Polish
- 20 x lint free wipes
- 1 x orange stick
- 1 x nail file/ buffer
- Instructions!
It retails in boots for £69.99 which in my opinion is quite a lot, so I had a hunt on good old eBay and managed to pick up a kit for £48. Bargain? Perhaps not, but it's still a fair bit cheaper than Boots. Plus once you have bought the started kit, buying additional colour polishes or replacing products won't be so expensive, with other colours retailing between £12.50 and £15. It's the lamp that's expensive.
This home kit works out pretty cheap to use at home as opposed to a £20 manicure. The polishes claim to last for 10 manicures so with the starter kit RRP at £69.99 a £6.99 manicure isn't bad at all, not forgetting that if you purchase additona colours after at £12.50 that's a £1.25 manicure- bargain or what?! The question however is- does it last? This gel system claims it'll last for two weeks without chipping and is "invisible". Let's put it to the test! Below are photos of my manicure two days after application. Usually after painting my nails with a regular polish it will have chipped after a day or two! I'm rather hardy on my hands, being a regular arts and crafter.
Two days after application
So, onto using it. I've used it once so far and found it a very easy system to get to grips with. The instructions were really easy to follow and it took me roughly 30 minutes to complete, finishing with totally set, hard nails! I do however need to work on my brush work as I went a little too close to my cuticle area which can effect the bonding effectiveness. If any of the gel cures on your skin or cuticles it'll interfere with the manicure and can cause lifting of the polish, thus shortening it's longevity. To remove gel from these areas you simple wipe it away before you cure the gel- simples!
Two weeks after application
So that's the results two weeks on and I think it's lasted really well! I've been gardening, washing up with out gloves (ooooh craaaazy), dealing with pets, cleaning and general crafting and it's really withstood the test of time! I guess the only disadvantage of the system is you're wearing the same colour polish for two weeks but for me that's no problem at all. I'd much rather have a long lasting manicure than have to faff with chipping nail polish!
I'm intrigued to try the system with a regular nail polish as I've heard it's possible to use our own in conjunction! If it does work that'll be awesome as I have quite a few colours. In fact if any of you guys know, comment below. Saying that there are a fair few colours I want to try from Sensationail, in particular "Wedding Pearl" as I think it'll be perfect for the wedding!
So, what do you think? Are you a converted home gel manicurist or do you prefer old fashioned nail varnish?
Kat
xxx
