About a week ago while browsing for a basic red nail polish, my eyes
glistened when I spotted something entirely new, and my direction of
spending just around $5.00 on basic red nail polish, quickly ended up
becoming a $30.00 purchase. This was because my eyes quickly spied a
display rack at the end of the isle featuring a bunch of brand new Sally
Hansen Gel Nail products.
The first thing that bothered me about Sally Hansen's all new gel
manicures, was that everything was all too confusing on the display
rack. I had to really read the packages, because you can easily
accidentally buy just Step 2, without realizing this entire new concept
requires a bunch of other products in order to get the end result. A
base coat, a gel color, and a freaking top coat! Oh, but that is not
all, you will also need to purchase an LED light in order to cure the
gel.
I became quickly overwhelmed with exactly what I needed, so instead I
went with their Salon Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit. Basically I had the
option of purchasing the nail strip version, or the much more expensive
nail color version. I opted for the lesser. However you can simply buy a
gel color, and use it with this kit, if you do not like working with
nail polish strips. I am seasoned in how to apply them, so I had no
issues with that.
I did however buy an additional gel nail color to use at a later date.
Anyway, with that out of the way, you are probably wondering what the hype is all about when it comes to gel nails.
Basically it is a mirror shine, chip resistant manicure that will last
up to 2 weeks, with a finish as stunning as you would receive from a
nail salon. I can vouch that Sally Hansen's nail polish strips alone,
without the glitzy gel top coat, lasts me for a month. So I imagine now
that they are covered in the gel topcoat, they could last as long as I
do not remove them.
It sounded great, but for the price of nearly $30.00, which is about
the price of a gel wrap in a salon, I had to wonder if this kit was
worth it. Or if I got suckered into another cheap gimmick.
The Salon Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit:
In the box you have 2 packages of standard nail polish strips. Trust
me, you can use any nail polish strip from Sally Hansen, you do not need
to purchase the higher priced Gel strips. They are exactly the same, it
is basically the top coat that does the magic.
You also do not need to purchase a base coat, when using the strips, and this kit did not come with one.
If you use polish strips solely, you do not need the base coat. If you
use gel nail color, you will need to purchase a base coat to go with
it.
Anyhow, in the kit, 2 packages of nail polish strips, which only
include enough strips for 1 gel manicure. However if you are clever, and
your nails do not require an entire strip per nail, you can get 2
manicures out of it. It's a little disheartening to have spent that much
money realizing that I would only get enough strips for 2 uses,
meanwhile in the topcoat gel polish, there is enough gel polish in the
bottle to last for quite a bunch of gel manicures.
In the box you will also find a nail file, a mini LED light to cure
the nails, 2 nail wipes, which are nothing more than pads soaked in
alcohol, and your gel top coat.
To Apply:
First and foremost, make sure your nails are free of dirt and oils, so go ahead and wash them paws!
Next you will be applying each nail polish strip, which is the most
time consuming annoying process in the entire ordeal. I am able to get 2
nails covered with 1 strip, as my nails are only semi-long. For those
with much longer nails though, you will need to use an entire strip.
Your nail length will literally determine how many manicures you can get
out of the Salon Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit. For me, 2 manicures. For
others, just 1.
Once you go through the annoying ordeal of applying the nail polish
strips on each finger, you will then apply a thin layer of the gel
topcoat. You can only do one nail at a time, but thankfully the cure
time is literally just 30 seconds under the mini LED lamp that is
included with the kit.
The lamp turns on with the press of a button, and will auto turn off
after 30 seconds. You can then move on and polish the next nail until
the process is finished, and you have applied a thin topcoat to each
nail.
Now the oddest part about this gel manicure was that after curing
under the LED lamp, the nails were still tacky, and I thought they
needed to dry for longer. No matter how long I waited they were still
tacky and wet feeling.
Well, it turned out I was wrong, the nails are supposed to be tacky
after they cure, this is when your mini alcohol soaked pad comes in to
play. You will need to use it to wipe the nails clean, the tacky feeling
vanishes and wallah, you are left with gorgeous mirror shine nails,
with a shiny finish, and a thicker healthier feel overall.
Overall:
I like the finish, my nails look as if I stepped out of a nail salon, only with the convenience of doing it myself at home.
But Is Salon Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit worth the money?
I would say yes, as it is in fact just a starter kit. You have the
possibility of getting 2 manicures out of it, and you will have plenty
of top coat left over to purchase either new nail polish strips to use
with the leftover topcoat, or you could go out and buy a base coat and
gel polish color to use.
The LED light that is included is also included, and it is not battery
operated. It plugs in, so you do not have to worry about having to buy
batteries on a constant.
All in all, I like the result of my nails. I have had the red color
strips on for a week now with absolutely no signs of wear, chipping, or
fading in the mirror shine.
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