Pink smoothie

After an all important internal wrangle regarding Gelish versus Regular Manicure - I went for Gelish.

Gelish is basically the same as Axxium, Shellac et al - it's all the same concept and a similar process - and that means a 2-3 week manicure that should remain shiny and chip free.

I first got this at the beginning of the year at a place called Vy's in Earls Court - the best nail place in London FYI :) - and have a few things to say about it:

a) It makes acrylics look like a relic from the past - this new generation gel treatment is kinder to nails and in my opinion, looks a lot better than acrylics. And we all know that I used to love acrylics ;)

b) It's a slightly tedious application process - maybe it's just me but after a while the whole UV curing process gets a bit dull....1 minute under the light here, 1 minute under the light there....time seems to pass soooo slowly when you are waiting for the gel to cure. The removal process is also tedious - soaking the stuff off and then preparing the nail for more...good job it's worth it! :) 

c) Don't have it all the time - I know quite a few people on Twitter and Blogger have said that it's not damaging and I do agree but I have also been told by various manicurists not to wear the gel all the time. It's great for a a couple of applications but then give yourself 2 weeks off before you go back for more. I think that seems sensible.

d) It (sort of) lasts 2-3 weeks - when my nails were a little longer, the Gelish quickly chipped away. I batter my keyboard and am quite...active?....with my hands (that sounds weird) and whilst it does strengthen the nail it does not make it invincible. In my experience, it tends to last longer - and look better - on short nails. Also, as a sidenote - Gelish seems to last longer than Shellac - at least on me.

e) You will feel guilty - the guilt will only hit those with a decent sized nail polish selection. If you do then you will feel like you are being disloyal to all those pretty bottles. I had such guilt that I even went on ebay to buy my own UV lamp and UV Seche Vite - enabling me to use my collection and get some benefit of a gel finish. That didn't last long - all the tools in the world don't disguise the fact that I am cack-handed when it comes to applying polish.

f) The colour range on offer is a bit pants - this is one of the most frustrating elements of the whole gel genre. It expands all the time but the salons that I have been to have, at most, 20 colours. Compare that to regular manicures with the likes of Essie and you start to feel a bit hard done by.

g) When you do choose your colour, choose wisely - I once got Go Girl applied to my nails: an obnoxious pink. The technician at Vy's really didn't want to apply it and I think she had a sixth sense because her warning rang true - it really started to piss me off after a few days. If something is on your nails for 2-3 weeks then make sure it goes with your skin tone, your clothing shades and your mood.

For that reason I went for a safe and lovely pale pink called Pink Smoothie this time. And I am not yet bored with it.

 Another colour recommendation is below - this (I think - it's been about 6 months since I had it applied) is Taffeta and was my first sojourn into Gelish. I just loved this natural cream. It's pretty sheer but that helps it remain non-offensive:

As I mentioned I get this done in Vy's in London and Tips and Toes in Dubai.

Phew - that was a lot of nail chat, wasn't it?! :)