I
have been trying out at home gel nail kits for the past few weeks, after spending
a lot of money in salons on OPI gels. I am addicted to gel nails now as you don’t
have to worry about chipped nail varnish and they look so shiny!
The
two kits I have used are both under £70 - Belle Gel Starter Kit (£59.95) and
Sensationail Starter Kit (£69.99) which my friend Gemma owns. I tried at least two different colours for each kit, so it is a fair analysis. Before
testing at home kits, you must make sure your nails are filed equally and
roughly (so the gel can stick to your nail), cuticles pushed back and trimmed
if necessary. This will ensure your nails last as long as possible. I also
protected my nails with hand cream and cuticle oil to make the manicure last as
long as possible. Both manicures lasted two weeks, without any major chipping which
is excellent for home kits.
Here’s
a bit more about each kit:
BelleGel Starter Kit is an at-home gel nail care range that provides a shiny and
strong finish, creating a professional gel manicure or pedicure that unlike
many other techniques will not damage the natural nail. The gel will shield
your natural nails and allow them to grow and strengthen. The gel is as easy as
applying nail polish and provides a long-lasting high gloss colour and can last
for up to 2 weeks without wearing or chipping.
The
SensatioNail™ Deluxe Gel Nail Polish Starter Kit contains all the tools you
need for 10 beautiful gel polish manicures. The gel nail kit includes the
unique Pro 3060 LED Nail Lamp, which has been specially designed to set and dry
your favourite SensatioNail™ Gel Polish in no time – safely locking in the
colour to give your nails a glossy, long-lasting finish. I love the range of colours
as well Sensationail offer for just £10 in Boots and online, lots of choice!
Belle Gel colours are limited to just a few colours.
The
Belle Gel kit looks fantastic and I love the gel nail pots and separate
brushes. This ensures you can always keep your brushes clean to get the best
finish. The formulas are also solvent-free and contain no Toluene, Formaldehyde
and Dibutyl Phthalate, providing a gentle gel polish that is kind, preserving
the integrity of the natural nail without sacrificing quality. This is
important to me as that’s one of the reasons why I like the OPI gels as they don’t
damage your nails at all.
However
the main big downside to the Belle Gel kit, is the time it takes to do your
nails. It takes AGES! If you look at the step by step guide below you will see
each step, per hand takes 5 minutes! I was nearly 2 hours doing my nails and
that’s just too long for me to spend on my nails. Other kits like Sensationail
only require you to spend 30 seconds maximum curing the nail, each step. That’s
a huge difference.
So
my final conclusion of the two kits I tested:
Best
for your nails – pick the Belle Gel nail kit
Quickest
and best range of colours – choose Sensationail
What
do you think of at home gel nail kits?
