L'Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque 1-2-3

I love me a gel manicure. So much so that I do them at home. But the time that I need to set aside to do the mani and the time needed to soak the polish off is sometimes hard to find. I recently came across this new product system in CVS. It boosts having the look of a gel manicure: "No UV Lamp required. Quick Dry. No appointment necessary" and "Quick and easy removal" (removes with regular nail polish). So it sounds to me that this polish system is supposed to have the look of a gel mani-- shiny and thick. They make no mention of this product mimicking the long wear of a gel mani which, to me, is a major draw of the gel manicure in the first place.

Extraordinaire is a 3-step system: primer, color and glaze. You can purchase the primer and the glaze in a "kit" then the color is purchased separately. The step 2 shade I picked up is Brilliant Thinking 704.  I applied the 3-step system on Monday. Each step seemed to dry quickly, true to the claim. The finish, after the step 3 glaze dried, was very shiny but doesn't really appear to resemble the "volume" that you notice with a UV light-cured gel mani. The finish reminds me of Seche Vite without the shrinkage factor. It's now Thursday and my manicure pretty much looks the same-- no chips, no dulling, no noticeable wear. This, I like.

I will continue wearing this mani because I'm curious to see how long this manicure will look fresh. I will report back if there is a surprising outcome. So far, so good!

Love,

Michele