Easy (and affordable) at Home Gel Manicure Kit

Since we won't be getting to the nail salon anytime soon, there's no time like the present to perfect your at-home manicure skills. #selfcare, right? 

 Even though I'm a mess at doing my nails, I also recognize how much time (and money) gets spent going to the nail salon. After some practice, I found I can easily do an at home pedi, but when it comes a manicure, that's another story. I always end up with more polish on my hands and fingers then on my actual nails. Also, I usually will get normal polish on my toes which is simple to do at home, but for my manicure, I like to get gel. Gel not only lasts longer, but it dries almost immediately and rarely chips. Gel also requires a UV light. 

I had looked at some at home gel kits, but was only coming across ones that were very expensive, and had mixed reviews. I eventually found this one on Amazon, and actually purchased it about a month before we were asked to quarantine ourselves/shelter in place. It not only received 4.5 stars with over 700 reviews, but it's affordable (under $50). The the first time I tried it, I was shocked how well it worked and how easy it was to use. It comes with everything you needed to start your own at-home salon! The kit includes the following: 

1. 48W LED UV Nail Lamp

2. Six Gel Nail Polishes 

 3. No Wipe Top Coat and Base Coat 

4. Cuticle Oil 

5. Nail File 

6. Nail Buffer 

7. Nail Brush for Hands 

8. Nail Brush for Toes 

9. Cuticle Fork 

10. Cuticle Pusher 

11. Nail Clipper 

12. Nail Separator

It also comes with step-by-step directions on how to use the kit, light, and the polishes. The only modification I make to their directions is the dry time/time under the UV light. They recommend 60-90s for the base, polish, and top coat, whereas I've found it's better to do 120s for each coat.

For anyone that's had gel on their nails, they know the benefits of it (dry time, two-week no chip guarantee), but it does come with a downside - the soak off. The polish has to be soaked off in acetone, and takes about ~10 minutes or so.  They buff your nails to get the shiny coat off, then they’ll soak a cotton ball in acetone, place the cotton ball on your nail, and cover with tinfoil. The polish is then easily removed with an orange stick (the small wooden nail sticks). 

At home you follow the same steps, but I recommend ordering these Polish Remover Clips (pictured above on the bottom right). They’re under $10, and are a quick, clean and efficient way to hold the cotton ball/remover in place. Trying to get tinfoil individually wrapped around all your nails is an arduous task, so this is a game changer. 

All in, the price of the kit and the remover clips is only $57.98! A great deal.