You’ve read a lot about gel manicure and ready to be a do-it-yourself gel manicurist. Or maybe you are looking for a gift for a gel polish fan. Whatever your reason is, this article will let you know about three Gel Nail Polish Starter/Intro Kits from the most popular brands in the market. They are CND, OPI GelColor and Gelish.
For starter, buying a kit will cost less than buying individually. The kit also has all (most) everything you need to do gel application. It helps you starting your gel manicure without getting panic because you miss something important in the middle of your manicure.
GELISH COMPLETE START KIT
Like its name, this kit has the most complete set including a mini (pretty small) LED lamp. The whole kit comes in a small box that weighs only 2 lbs.
Gelish Soak-Off Gel Polish in Gossip Girl and June Bride (15ml/.5 fl oz each)
Brochure.
The Gelish MINI Pro 45 LED Curing Light
It is especially designed to efficiently cure Gelish Soak-off Gel color and products from the Gelish MINI System for a beautiful manicure that lasts up to three weeks. Its compact design is great for at-home personal use and cures 4 fingers at a time. Cures faster than regular uv lamp.
Features includes:
a preset forty-five second timer and three 2 watt LED bulbs that never need to be replaced.
The compact ergonomic design allows for both comfort and to save table space.
The MINI Pro 45 has consistent power and performance from the first second out of the box through to the 50,0000th hour.
International customer needs a plug converter.
Update May 2014: Just arrived! Gelish Pro Kit, a starter kit that’s similar to Gelish Complete Starter Kit, but with larger 5-45 LED Lamp that cures 5 fingers. Read Gelish Pro Kit for details.
CND SHELLAC NAIL STARTER KIT
CND Shellac Gel Kit contains all you need to start right away. This is the only kit packed in a retail box, directly from CND. So the colors are pre-selected. Don’t mistake it with many Shellac kits that are custom selected by seller, which are many on Ebay.
The trial pack doesn’t include a Shellac UV lamp (Shellac is only cured under a UV Lamp). The lamp is sold separately.
There are 2 color options, Chic or Trendy. These have 4 different Shellac colors. The rest are the same.
OPI Gel Color Starter Kit has everything you need to start a gel manicure. It includes 6 iconic OPI gel nail polish colors, a uv base and uv top coat and accessories. It is the only kit from OPI that includes a Base and Top Coat while other kits have none.
OPI Gel Starter Kit
OPI Gel Polish Kit
The Icons GelColor Intro Kit includes:
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel Bubble Bath
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel OPI Red
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel Pirouette My Whistle
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel Vampsterdam
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel You Don’t Know Jacques!
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel Princesses Rule!
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel Top Coat
12.5 mL – 0.43 fl. oz OPI Gel Base Coat
15 mL – 0.5 fl. oz. BondAid
120 mL – 4 fl. oz. Expert Touch Lacquer Remover
120 mL – 4 fl. oz. N.A.S. 99
Blank Nail Palette With Chain
Reusable Cuticle Stick
GelColor By OPI Tabletop Instructions
GelColor By OPI Instructional Brouchure
GelColor By OPI Window Cling
OPI Gel Color also has 6-gel colors kit that has no LED Lamp. Usually the kit has 6 seasonal gel colors but without Top and Base coats.
So which one would you choose among the three if you want to invest in doing gel manicure yourself? Please leave your comment below. I would be happy to read each one of them.
What, why and how? Those are the questions we still get until now about soak off gel nail polish application and removal.
Our fellow blogger, Andrea from Chickettes.com has written a post titled “SOG Gel Polish FAQ’s“. It explains some common questions with helpful information, such as how to prevent shrinkage, wrinkle problem, to nail care. She is an avid user of gel nail polish and frequently uses Gelish and Ink gel polish.
Nail Harmony has released some Gelish Nail Kits that are packed in a manufacturer’s retail box plus an LED lamp. CND also just released a new Shellac Nail Kit, known as CND Shellac Trial Pack, to replace its discontinued Intro Pack.
These kits are wonderful gift ideas to people who love to have professional-salon-looks nails and like to do their own nails. The Gelish and CND Shellac Starter kit have everything needed to start doing manicure or pedicure at home, except for CND Shellac, you need to purchase the lamp separately.
Purchasing a starter kit will save you money and time compare to buying the products separately.
It’s available at Esther’s Nail Center. The price is $159.99 at this time and includes free US standard shipping. Sometimes they offer sale and discount to lower the price.
Ikonna 36-watt Tunnel UV Lamp, which is included in the kit, has 1 year limited warranty from the manufacturer. If something goes wrong with the lamp within 1 year of purchase, simply contact the store to have it repaired.
I hope this would help you in choosing what gifts to give for your loved ones. Gelish and CND Shellac nail products are available at Esther’s Nail Center.
I’m happy to let you know that we have House of Gelish Collection in-stock. We have nearly all colors except Strutt Your Stuff. Visit Gelish Gel Nail Polish to see all the colors or place your order.
Another great news is we lower the Gelish price from $15.95 to $14.95. We still have the 6-ct Gelish Polish set where each is only $14. Moreover, if your total order is $99 or more you’ll get free US Shipping.
Let’s go back to House of Gelish. I include some picture below for the swatches.
The light grey is Cashmere Kind of Gal, the dark grey is Fashion Week Chic, and the blue is My Favorite Accessory
Gelish Backstage Beauty Swatch
Gelish Cocktail Party and Diva Polish Swatch
Photos are from Chickettes.com nail blog, a new great nail blog I just found recently. Visit this blog to see some wonderful Gelish swatches.
Gelish and other gel nail polishes are available at EsthersNC.com.
It’s not uncommon that any gel polish will get thicker over time. Doing the steps in this article “How To Care For Your Gel Nail Polish ” will help to lengthen the age of your gel polish.
However, if you still notice that your gel polish is too thick to apply smoothly, we recommend to use a gel polish thinner, such as Gelish Thinner by LaRosa Cosmetics or Gelos Gel Thinner by LeChat. It’s a must product for a DIYer Gel Polish users.
Gel Polish Thinner
The Gelish Thinner can be used for any gel polish. Its size is 30ml (1 oz). And it comes with a glass dropper.
Gelos Gel Thinner by Lechat
How To
Use the thinner with the dropper.
Shake your polish.
Drop a little thinner into the bottle.
Shake again.
Repeat if necessary (if you feel the polish is still too thick). You can compare its thickness with a newer polish, to know if you should more or not.
We’ve used it for a while and from our experience the thinner works better if the gel polish has started to get thick but not in a hard solid state.
Gelos Gel Thinner is available at EsthersNC.com your online source for Gelish, Daisy and CND Shellac gel polish. It’s on sale now for $9.99
It is not uncommon that gel polish may get thicker after a while. Here are a few suggestion on how to take care your gel nail polish. These suggestion are from CND website for caring Shellac but I think it works for all gel nail polish.
Shake the bottle thoroughly before each use to disperse the solvents which helps prevent evaporation and thickening
Close the cap firmly when not in use. This will prevent solvent from evaporating in between services. It may be necessary to clean the neck of the bottle after use to ensure a tight closure.
Do not expose the bottle to light without the cap firmly in place. Exposure to light can begin the curing process, this includes sunlight and table lamps.
Replace the cap any time you are not actually applying the product. This limits evaporation as well as exposure to light.
Use Shellac when the bottle is at room temperature. This will insure good consistency for application and eliminate fast evaporation of the solvents.
When in cold temperature, gel polish tends to be thicker than usual. Therefore, before application, let it stand in a normal temperature for a while. Also another suggestion is to wrap it in a warm damp towel. Warm the towel first in microwave. Or you can also soak the polish in a warm water in bowl and wait for about 15 minutes.
So do you have any experience with thick gel polish or know the solution to it? Please share with us by leaving your comment below.
This spring, cure your sugar cravings with Gelish Candy Land, a collection full of sweet temptation. Candy-coat your nails with a selection of 6 shades so sweet such as Sugar N Spice (hot pink), Sugar Daddy (blue), Orange Cream Dream (orange), You’re So Sweet You’re Giving Me A Toothache (pastel pink), You’re Such A Sweet Tart (light green), and Don’t Be Such a Sourpuss (lemon). All colors are creme.
Gelish Magneto Combo Kit is now available at EsthersNC.com. Comes in 6 new colors: red, blue, green, gold, pewter and brown. This combo kit includes 1 Gelish Magnetic gel polish and 1 matching color nail lacquer with just $19.95.
About Gelish Magneto – Magnetic Gel Polish
Explore the laws of Attraction with Gelish Magneto, a collection of EFX Magnetic Gel-Polish and Nail Lacquer that instantly transforms your manicure from natural to extraterrestrial. The metallic particle enriched nail colors fuse with the magnet to create nail art that is truly a force to be reckoned with. The two easy to apply formulas are currently available in six unique ATTRACT-ive shades.
How Does Gelish® Magneto Work?
To create the magnetic EFX design pattern, while the nail is still wet, immediately place the cap that contains the magnet directly above the nail for 3-5 seconds (Place the lip of the cap just above the cuticle area allowing the magnet to be positioned perfectly above the nail).
If using the Magnetic Gel Polish, cure under the LED 18G light for 30 seconds or a UV light for 2 minutes. If using Magneto Lacquer, let dry completely and finish with a top coat.
