Gel Mani wannabes!

Left to right: Revlon Gel Envy Lady Luck, All or Nothing and Diamond Top Coat

I have a slight obsession with finding a gel-like nail system that doesn't require a UV light and has the same wear as a UV gel mani. This might be impossible: if you can removed it with just a swipe of acetone vs having to soak it off, you're probably not going to get the longevity of the UV gel mani with the products that are currently on the market. I've tried a few but none truly hold a candle to my beloved, time-consuming UV gel polishes: Sinful Shine with Gel Tech, L'Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque 1-2-3, and Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy Nail enamel.

You can see my review and thoughts on the L'Oreal system here. I haven't done proper testing of the Sinful Shine Gel Tech because the shades that I chose weren't really colors that I would wear long-term (i.e. more than a few days). Recently I did pick up a couple of shades from the new Revlon line: Lady Luck and All of Nothing. This is a 2-step system: color and top coat. No base coat-- I noticed some staining with the coral pink shade when I swatched it and left it on my pinky for a day, so I'm almost positive that this will be an issue for the darker shades.

I gave All or Nothing, a little milky pink shade, a few weeks ago. I applied on a Monday evening and wore it through Saturday: 2 coats of color and the the clear top coat. First observation is that it took a really long time to dry completely (cure). I did my mani a few hours before bed but I still woke up the next morning with sheet marks. The next day, I already notice a chip and some tip wear. The next few days were all pretty much the same. Then Friday I started noticing more chipping around the tips and I removed the color on Sat-- I hate to have a messy mani!

From my week of testing, I would have to say that this system isn't much different that a regular nail polish. It's not bad-- it's a nice quality but the wear and shine aren't the same as a UV gel manicure. I only got really got 4 day of wear before it had to be removed. Any during those 4 days it didn't look perfect like a UV gel mani. And the fact that there's no base coat irks me. I feel like their would be better staying power with a sticky base coat (like Orly Bonder, maybe?) and it would also prevent staining with the darker shades.

I hear that Sally Hansen is coming out with a similar system called Miracle Gel, also a 2-step system (info here). Since this seems to be a never-ending quest, I'll probably try this when it's available in my area. We'll see but for now I'm just going to stick with doing my UV gel manis.

Love,

Michele