9 years ago by
What’s it called in French, again? Une manucure au gel? Hang on, let me Google it… Yes! Manucure gel.
I should have known, because frankly, gels have been around for a while. Alex was already getting them three years ago. But at the time, when she told me how you take them off, I shouted: Gels, Me, Never!
I stuck to my guns until the day I visited Chris’ family in South Carolina, and his stepmom welcomed me by inviting me to go get a manicure with her. Super cute, I have to say.
I don’t know if it was something in the Southern air, or the look of the women in the salon (bouffant hairdos and chocolate manicures)(yes, chocolate-colored) or maybe it was the general kindness of everyone there, but when my manicurist recommended I get gels and said it was “super easy to take off, all you have to do is dip your hands in acetone and it comes off all by itself!” I didn’t feel like resisting.
Oh, well if all I have to do is dip my hands in acetone, phew! Easy! Where do I sign?
I also thought to myself that whatever happens, like, if my fingers were to disintegrate entirely, it would make for a blog post. Welcome to the twisted mind of a blogger.
Anyway, I said OK, and the gel was a go. I picked out a nice bright red, and let the manicurist do the rest.
I might as well tell you right away: I loved it. First of all, you have to know, I hate manicures, especially the dreadful moment when I can’t touch my phone for 15 minutes because the polish has to dry.
Spending a moment all alone reflecting on your life in a nail salon? Ugh.
But with gels, kids, drumroll please… No drying time.
Marvel of marvels. You put your hands in a machine that solidifies the polish and in the time it takes to smile at your manicurist, your nails are dry, and as hard as Kayla Itsines’ abs.
Ok, it does take several layers, but in less than half an hour, you’re back outside with supernaturally bright, shiny nails. My sister thinks gels are a little thick-looking, but I have to say, it doesn’t bother me at all.
It’s so pretty!!!
Epilogue: Live from Instagram, I’m spending my day looking at my nails in the back of the car.
And the great thing is, a week later, it looks exactly the same. The red is bright and shiny, there’s no sign of chipping. It’s perfect.
I feel like this could last several weeks, but at one point last week, I decided it was time to take off the polish, because:
1/ I was wearing a red dress to the Omega gala – didn’t want to overdo it with the red, NICOLE KIDMAN wouldn’t have approved.
2/ Apparently my nails grow really fast, so even though it probably still looked fresh from a distance, when I looked at my manicure up close, I could see a gap between the gel and my nails as they started growing out.
3/ Bright red – you don’t just get tired of it, you get f#&*$g tired of it after a while.
So I decided to have them taken off at the salon below my house. For 5 dollars, a lovely professional will do to your fingers what you could have done at home for a higher price (since you’d have to buy a whole liter of acetone). You dunk your hands into a bowl of acetone, and you can’t do anything during this time other than look at the neon lights overhead (so, yeah, those 15 minutes of drying time you gained getting them put on? You lose when you take them off) (Gah, life sucks, you just can’t win! ;)
And that’s when the manicurist started scraping, and I got ready to make the face I make when I hear fingernails on a chalkboard. She sees it’s not quite ready, and signals to me (remember, we don’t speak the same language) that I’ll have to wait a little bit. And voilà! Five minutes later, and the polish starts flaking off all by itself. Boom. The manicure jumps right off my hands. Much less traumatic than I had imagined.
Underneath, my nails don’t look like they’ve suffered too much. They still have good color and look healthy. I almost stopped wearing colored nail polish altogether because my nails absorb the color and will stay red for days after I’ve taken the polish off, but with this, they look perfectly clear.
As for the texture, though, I have to say… They seem slightly…less smooth. A little grainy. I wouldn’t be surprised if a layer of my nail came off along with the bright red. Urrrgh.
My manicurist assures me with big gestures that’s not the case (or maybe she’s trying to give me her recipe for apple pie, I’ll never know) but I figure that with my fragile nails, I probably won’t be getting gels every day. I’ll stick with my Sugar Daddy by Essie (my favorite boring rosy beige polish) and save gels for special occasions, like apple pie.
On the other hand, if I want color, I’ll do gels for sure. Especially on my toes, since they grow back so slowly you can probably keep the gels for three weeks.
So there you go. My verdict? I LIKE.
What do you think about gels? Do you have any idea what happens to your nails if you get them done often?
————–
P.S. The hands in the photo are not mine, since I had the gel removed before writing the post and I am not so organized as to shoot a post before I write it (I should totally be, seriously) they’re Elle’s beautiful hands!
Photo: Erik Melvin
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From the Archives: Tonal Dressing
…i also like gel – my “specialist” even has a special technique, she puts transparent adhesive something on nails, then gel and in 2 weeks i remove the nail polish like colorful floor petals from my nails.
Pour ma part, je n’ai jamais testé le gel parce que j’aime les couleurs flash et surtout, j’aime changer régulièrement de teinte en fonction de mes tenues (un peu cher donc pour le peu de temps que je le garde…)!
Et puis, j’ai toujours le préjugé du “ça va m’abimer les ongles”. J’ai une amie qui a eu les ongles complètement déchiquetés (ils se dédoublaient tous) après avoir expérimenté le gel. Après, je suis d’accord que tout dépend de la qualité du vernis, du “dissolvant” etc mais ça ne m’a pas du tout rassurée!
Il faudrait que je teste un jour, mais pour le moment, je ne suis pas encore psychologiquement prête!
Bises
Belle soirée
Petite and So What
Ouch, I tried it once a couple of years back and, although I couldn’t stop admiring the incredible shiny shiny shine of the gel (it was also this bright red color) I never repeated the experience.
First of all, they looked sort of fake. I know, nails painted with a regular nail polish in bright red do not actually scream “natural”, but this was as if I was having… plastic nails? (shivers) They are so thick!
And the removal process…. (shivers times 3)… I don’t even like to think about that! The thing is, I hate going to manicurists (truth) and I plus didn’t have time that day (excuse), so I ended up removing it by myself following a Youtube tutorial. Ooooouchhh! It took ages and liters of acetone and a mild acetone evaporation poisoning and definitely a layer of my fingernails to take it all off.
I definitely felt my nails were more vulnerable and weak afterwards. I started spoiling them with nurturing oils (for a day, afterwards I got to lazy and concluded that they were fine by then anyway) and stopped even considering gel manicure, Ever. Ever. Ever again.
En français, on dirait plutôt “vernis semi-permanent” et c’est vrai que c’est bien pratique!
Moi, j’aime bien le faire sur les mains de temps en temps. Effectivement, sur les ongles fragiles, vaut mieux ne pas le faire tout le temps, car le retrait à l’acétone, ça fragilise quand même un peu les ongles.
Par contre, j’avoue adorer sur les orteils parce que ça dure 1 bon mois facile, c’est le pied! (désolée, pas pu m’en empêcher #blaguefoireuse)
En France, cette technique existe depuis à peu près 2-3 ans aussi. J’avais même fait un post sur mon blog quand j’ai découvert cette petite révolution de la manucure:
https://bonnie-garner.com/2013/03/03/le-vernis-semi-permanent-cest-le-mal-ou-pas/
…and I lived with my chipped nail polish happily ever after.
Love gels because they wear like iron and your nails always look nice! I wear them all the time though…maybe 8 months out of the year. I just put them back on. The manicurist I go to is super creative with colors and this time I have sort of a greyeige thing going on because she combined two polish colors. When the weather gets colder I’ll do browns and reds. As far as the soaking off goes, my salon will take cotton with acetone on it, wrap it around your nail, then wrap foil around that, but before they close it up they squirt a little oil on your cuticles to protect and moisturize them. They let you sit for a full ten minutes and by the time they unwrap the foils, most of the polish stays with the cotton and there’s almost no scrapping. I would never remove my own.
Il existe même encore mieux que le gel : le vernis semi-permanent sur patchs ! Après avoir testé le gel classique et vu mes ongles bousillés par la dépose, j’avais juré “plus jamais ” !
Il y a six mois, ma manucure m’a proposé une nouvelle technique qui consiste à poser sur chaque ongle un film transparent autocollant taillé à la forme de chaque ongle.
Puis on applique dessus le vernis semi-permanent qui est polymérisé dans un appareil et voilà, c’est nickel, beau et brillant pour trois semaines.
Le retrait se fait en soulevant un bord du vernis car effectivement l’ongle pousse et c’est bien la seule raison qu’il y a à le retirer. Ca se retire en douceur comme un autocollant !
Donc fini la dépose à la ponceuse qui massacrait les ongles.
Evidemment, on évite d’enchaîner en permanence ce type de technique pour laisser respirer les ongles mais comme pour du vernis classique.
Je viens de retirer un sublime corail sur les mains et je garde encore le même sur les orteils ( posé le 26 août !!!).
Bref, j’attends avec impatience une nouvelle occasion pour poser un rouge noir plus automnale …
Au printemps, j’étais sur un kaki assez aventureux !
Je crois que ma manucure utilise le vernis semi-permanent sur patchs Pronails.
Baci
I love them but am worried about the UV. I’ve been thinking of investing in UV gloves to get them done or even applying sunscreen before my hands hit the lights – perhaps a bit neurotic of me.
You’re not neurotic. From NPR ~ http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/05/01/308365116/love-that-gel-nail-polish-but-know-it-doesnt-come-risk-free
“The problem is there’s no regulation of nail lamp exposure,” Adigun told me. “For patients who aren’t concerned about the melanoma risk, do know about the photoaging that comes from UV exposure.”
I noticed how bright and shiny your manicure was at the Café last week, and I was wondering why my manicures never turn out like that! I guess I’ll have to try a gel manicure… mystery solved :p
I too love the convenience of gels – not waiting for them to dry, two to three weeks of perfect, chip-free polish. And I find that afterwards, my nails are super hard. A gel manicure before a vacation is a must. As for the growing out process, some colors look kind of cool. I chose a white polish for a two week trip and as it grew out, it just looked like a cooler variation on a french manicure. But I do feel like I need to give my nails a break between gels (although my friend only gets gels and her nails are fine0.
I found that it looks great but it destroy your fingernail…..
it was not for me!!
xoxo
Yael Guetta
http://www.ftwwl.com
I love what you said about red nail polish. Yes!
And I love this:
“Spending a moment all alone reflecting on your life in a nail salon? Ugh.” Sounds like the start of a metafictional short story. Love it!
Analog House
http://theanaloghouse.blogspot.com/
C’est drôle, je me disais samedi dernier que les écrans tactiles de smartphone avaient révolutionné les séances de manucure :-)
OK, so i discovered gel about 3 years ago and i used it non-stop for about 1 year.
Pros: they look like professional photo shoot nails and they look the same even after 3 weeks, so i never had a problem with washing my hair or the occasional dish, it’s not painful, it takes quite a reasonable time to have them done.
Cons: my nail also grow very fast so after 10 days maximum it was time to take them off (since i travel a lot with my job and some of the times the travel can extend up to 3 weeks i discovered that if i buy the same color nail polish i can actually apply it over the gel and get one more extra week – even if my regular nail polish chips, underneath is the gel layer so it actually doesn’t show); my nails are also quite fragile, so my specialist actually had to reapply the gel coat over coat – she actually filed the top coat, but not all the way to the nail, so after the second time she applied the gel, the nail looked kind of thick; after finally taking off the gel, it took about 3 months for my nails to be their former self.
Conclusion: i still wish for gel sometimes, but i think if you decide to go on that road, you need to make sure that every other week you – and your specialist – is available for a re-do. Plus, the colors they have now for gels are amazing!
C’est sympa le gel mais je trouve mon ongle un peu mou quand on le retire…
C’est top mais pas possible à chaque fois pour moi!!
Bizzz
Ça y est maintenant j’ai envie de tester !!!
C’est vraiment super beau !!!
Amélie
https://charlesrayandcoco.com
J’ai testé le gel, il y a 2-3 ans et j’en ai gardé un très mauvais souvenir… ce n’est pas une couche de l’ongle que j’y ai laissé mais toute l’ongle, mauvaise qualité ou manucuriste pas douée, je ne saurais jamais :)
Bisous
Vanessa
http://www.littleboho.fr
Oh the gel!
A true love story between us for 1 year now and my boyfriend (who is already super fan of my hands) loves it even more :))
Not that he does it for himself lol, but he hated the smell of classic nail polish each time I had to do some “retouches” at home. Because, of course, there are A LOT of retouches with a classic manicure, not to mention the drying time.
So I jumped into the gel 1 year ago, and since then I’m like the perfect American girl when it comes to hands (I have this silly idea of American girls always perfectly manucured). My hands are always ready to go out lol
I had problems with the removing phase, but tadaa! 4 months ago, I had a manucurist crush (like a good shoemaker, when you find the perfect one, you know it and you stick with her/him!) and she gives me a lot of advices. For removing the gel, very simple: take a good and gentle classic remover, soak small pieces of cotton of it, apply the cotton on each nail and then cover your nail with a piece of aluminium foil and make sure you close well your nail withe the foil. Wait for 5/10 min, and remove the cotton pads+foil… Voilà! It’s gone!
You can nourish the nails with almond/castor oil afterwards, and they will stay (and grow) perfect!
Cela fait trois etes que je fais mettre du vernis semi- permanent sur mes orteils avant de partir en vacances. D’habitude, au bout de 2 jours de plage, la manucure est flinguée, alors qu’avec ce vernis, c’est nickel jusqu’au bout des vacances. Parfait.
Vraiment pas!!! L’épaisseur ne me plait pas du tout car j’ai déjà l’ongle courbé et fin.. alors ça accentuerait trop donnant l’impression de faux ongles. Mais ce qui me rebute le plus c’est d’avoir à laisser tremper mes doigt dans un bain d’acétone… !?!?! Je comprends par ailleurs les avantages en terme de durée… Conclusion: c’est pas pour moi!
I don’t like gel manicures. I have done it three different times for red-carpet events and it looks fantastic that night and for the next two weeks. Afterwards is a different story. It takes months for my nails to recover after taking them off. They turn brittle and peel, it is horrible.
I love the way gels look, but after a few rounds of doing them my nails were wrecked. I’ve since switched to CND Vinylux polishes– they are like a hybrid between gels and regular nail polish. Vinylux dries super fast without UV light, wears well (7-10 days with no chips), and I can take it off myself with regular remover. I order the Vinylux polish and topcoat from Amazon and DIY or bring it to the nail salon with me.
I love gel because it’s so convenient but it killed my nails
http://hashtagliz.com
Not gonna lie, gel on nails freaks me out a little. It looks thick and unnaturally glossy. But I can understand why women like it so much….
http://www.peppermintswing.tumblr.com
I agree with Kim! If you go to a salon that removes by soaking a cotton ball in acetone, setting it in the middle of your nail bed and then wrapping each finger in tin foil, the polish practically pops off 5 min later. Scraping really does damage your nails, so you want to go to a salon that tries to avoid it as much as possible. With this technique, the technicians can be much less aggressive when removing.
Well, maybe I need to give them another chance.. I’ve tried gel polish manicure just once and it staied shine just for day or two, then the gel chipped. I think it is not possible and I was a little bit diseppointed. Maybe I didn’t find the right manicuriest and right gel polish :-/
While I like the idea of fast drying and long lasting, I’m not sure about the damage to the nails not sure I will try this one.
I’m not a fan of gel manicure, either. Or fake nails. But that’s mainly because I’m a DIY kid of girl. I like doing my manicure at home, traditional style. Plus, I love changing colors according to my mood, so I would probably clear the nail polish before it even chips :))
http://fashiongrinch.com/
I love gel for when I go on vacations or need it to last longer than a normal manicure. If I do too many gel manicures in a row my nails start to flake and become damaged.
Keri
http://www.thestylestudiobykb.com
I have been doing gel nails for 3 years! They are wonderful! Natural light pink or French manicure last 2 1/2 to 3 weeks and then I get them FILED down and she starts over. My nails always look nice and don’t split, peel or break like they used to in my very dry climate. They grow well and are healthy and happy under their coats!!!
The best thing to damage your nails.
I love GEL but it can really hurt your nails !
I get my gel nails done before I travel so I can freely enjoy my holidays with impeccable manicure.
Than way I don’t have to carry my nail-polish around or spend time doing my nails when I can be out in the beach
Right ?
To those that mentioned UV lights, if you use the Harmony product called “Gelish” the light used is LED not UV, so no worry about the exposure. I read an article about UV vs. LED use in “Allure” and apparently UV is almost obscure now because LED cures the product at a much faster rate.
Ahhhh, the red gel, a favourite of mine! But it is for special occasions, mainly because it’s too much hassle to make a trip to the salon to taken them off. But I truly love it on my toes. I got gel pedicure in the middle of June and only took it off last week. It was a lifesaver on holiday.
Ana
http://www.champagnegirlsabouttown.co.uk
Ps. Kyla is great- I’ve been doing her first guide for the past 4 weeks and can’t believe the difference it has made so far! :)
J’ai testé cet été, sur les orteils c’est génial, les mains c’est bof, l ‘ ongle souffre tout de même.
I’d have to say you’re actually talking about gel NAIL POLISH which isn’t even near to gel nails which is actually to get your own nails extended with clear or nude gel that comes in little jars and you apply it with a paintbrush. I’ve been doing my own nails at home for two years now and there’s a distinctive difference. My nails wouldn’t hold on to regular nail polish and even a gel one, they only tolerate hard gel which is taken off only by scraping and filing it. Brutal, I know but my nails are horrible anyway, I was cursed with worst nails in the world and gel is the only thing that keeps them together.
En fait il s’agit de gel semi-permanent, à ne pas confondre avec le gel ‘tout court’ qui ne s’enlève pas à l’acétone et donc abîme les ongles à la dépose. Je suis tout à fait d’accord, le gel semi-permanent est un super compromis qui dure 2 semaines minimum ! Le rêve quand on reçoit (vaisselle et
I love my gel nails. It gives me a continued confidence to know that my nails look groomed at all times. My nail lady has me put on UV protective gloves with the top part of the fingers cut off to limit exposure. I am not sure it works but it seems like a good idea. My nails are naturally week and thin and prone to splitting so this doesn’t negatively hurt them at all. This just makes them look better than they ever would.
Stopped when I read that the process is derived from baking on car paint!
After three not consecutive applications, it took me a year with oils and Dior apricot cuticle cream to restore them back to normal.
I love shellac manicures, they last and don’t look ridiculous
http://lifeandcity.tumblr.com
I’ve been thinking of having them done. ..but there was always on the way. Now i think i’ll give them a try :)
http://lifestylebyola.blogspot.com/
Yes, I agree gel manicure is perfect when on nails. They elegant and I can’t stop looking at them when I wear it. Unfortunately after one wearing my nails are damage, weak and I need to condition them for the next few months :(….
I never get tired of reading your posts, Garance. You have such an entertaining writing style that does not come across as TRYING to be funny and entertaining, which is the worst. You could write about popping pimples and I would be enthralled. You are really something special! :)
I’ve tried gel once and hated it. Bright pink no less. After few days, it looked good from a distance, but I could see tiny cracks, like old enamel. I was not smart enough to have it removed at a salon. I bought the acetone, dipped my fingers in it for at least half an hour, and it still didn’t come off without considerable scrapping (by my poor husband). I had few stubborn spots that couldn’t remove even with all the scrapping. Worst decision ever! I’ll stick with Essie too from now on.
I got gel nails not so long ago, thinking it was the most amazing thing ever! I don’t get manicures cos mine always chip (I’m a DIY girl who isn’t afraid to pick up a jigsaw, so keeping nice nails never happens). I got a pale pink and they were so pretty! No chips, not even a dent after a week… until they started peeling on the sides and getting caught on things. So I decided to take them off.. that’s when I decided I would NEVER get gels again. My nails were ruined! Only months later did they go back to looking healthy again.
YES GARANCE!!! I am SO happy you joined the gel train :) And I have to say, I’ve become even more of an addict since then and now I have my own gel kit at home so if you need a touch up, you know who to call ;)
Garance, a layer of clear undercoat will prevent regular nail varnish bleeding into your nails! I swear by it!
So glad you found the Gel. It is an amazing thing really especially for all us working girls who find it hard to fit in some pampering time. Great invention and it lasts up to 3-4 weeks for me. xo Sarah
C’est parfait pour les vacances, on jubile, on est toujours impeccable avec des ongles chatoyants… MAIS de gros inconvénients sur la fin, deux semaines plus tard. Comme l’ongle pousse trop vite c’est assez bizarre, et pour ma part j’ai détruit mes ongles car le gel a fini par se decoller sur les bords en s’accrochant un peu partout. Résultat on a l’impression qu’il suffit de tirer pour l’enlever en entier, ce qui le cas. Mais toute la surface de l’ongle part en même temps. pas d’acétone mais ongle décapé à mort. la fois d’après j’ai tenté la “dépose” (helas pas pour 5 dollars en France c’est tres cher) et… même chose, ongle entièrement râpeux et complètement abîmé, rien que d’y penser ca fait mal. la ruine pour juste ruiner mes ongles. Depuis l’ongle se dédouble des qu’il repousse c’est la cata. je trempe mes doigts dans l’huile d’olive, met des bases reconstituantes ca ne change rien. on m’a recommandé le soin Heraume pour les récupérer, je vais essayer.
There are gel polish and there are gel polish…Always choose CND Shellac if you want an easy removal. 7 minutes! Really! Make sure to use Nourishing Remover (acetone base enriched with oil). You can buy it at a CND salon. By using a CND trained nail tech, you are sure to get a treatment from a professional. You have to pass both a written and a practical exam to buy products. And there is no harmfull chemicals in CND Shellac! Personally I like to use another brand, because it lasts longer (3-4 weeks), but true – it takes longer to remove. Does it damage your nails? 99% no – if removed properly! And be carefull when the nail tech uses an electric file. Ohhh, the damage you can do in a second with that machine! And remember that a professional treatment costs…Pay peanuts….and so on. And no… I have no affiliation to CND. I have just done my homework and like to know what is done to my nails????
Justement je n’en fais jamais à cause de cette fameuse repousse et du problème pour l’enlever. Mais là, tu m’as presque donné envie d’essayer. Qui ne change jamais d’avis, hein ?
I have Opi gel on my nails since 1 year and my nails are as healthy as they were a year ago.
They are sooo comfortable, you don’t have to constantly be careful that there are no chips etc. I changed the gel every three weeks and I think that is just ok. After this three weeks they are still sooo shiny and “fresh” but little bit too long for me. Now on my nails: Opi “Wooden shoe like to know”, pretty coffee-brown.
The gel is a wonderful idea for the times when you’re on vacation, far away from your nail “specialist”! For all the other moments, I prefer the classic nail polish!
http://fashion-soup.com/
I believe you tried out a semi-permanent gel, which comes off easily with acetone. I have a permanent gel, or a technical manucure (i chuess it’s called this way) that lasts up to 4 weeks without any cracks. After that I just go for maintenance, the girl takes the colour off, cuts the nails (or gel…), gives them a nice shape, and I’m off for another month. I believe it must be harmful for the nail to prevent it from breathing for so long but my nails look terrible and I can’t stand it so I had to make this compromise. I get bored of them sometimes but there”s nothing I can do, can’t take them off by myself…
-maria
http://thestoryletters.com/
First of all- LOVE the photo of you and Nicole! Who needs nail polish with THAT RED DRESS!? You both are gorgeous. O.K.- for the gel part- NOPE, NOPE, NOPE! Yes, I´ve tried it- many years ago here in Norway. I have a great manicurist who swears by the gel- but, after using it- I had to keep it up because my nails would chip away without it on. I was doomed to keep having new gel on. But, I got tired of all the work with it all so I stopped. My nails were so unhealthy, brittle for a while and took many months to grow out new healthy nails with help of oils and leaving them alone to heal. And it´s logical- they can´t breath with the gel! Gel is great for special events but I don´t think it´s good to use all the time. Think about all the chemicals you guys are unnecessarily exposing yourselves to? Isn´t that with everything in life? Too much of anything isn´t necessarily good for you. I don´t even think all the regular nail polish is healthy for us either- with all the chemicals. (I do still use it for special events and love Dior´s polish because it stays on!) I know of a few “organic” nail polishes, but have yet to buy them. I think that we all should be more careful with all this “stuff!” It´s all about what we focus on. Why don´t we focus on what we can do with our hands in society, rather than spending so much time “soaking, polishing and admiring” them all the time? (Just asking-myself included!)
I found gel and shellac to be damaging to nails. I used to work at a spa, and we offered both. Even when we did the soak in acetone to remove, you still end up having to file down the nail a little bit. It’s OK if you do it once maybe, but if you keep doing it, I have seen the healthiest nails turn brittle and thin, and just awful. Plus, soaking in acetone for that long, or when we removed shellac we would use a different solution (still not the healthiest thing to absorb through your skin), is not only bad for your poor cuticles, but I always think of absorbing it into your body. And then the UV light, I keep thinking of how it will cause brown spots on the hands… So for me, even if gel and shellac may last longer and stay shinier, they are not worth it. I always tried to steer my clients away from getting them done. Also, with gel and shellac on the toes, maintenance and upkeep is definitely key! Toe nails are more susceptible to nail fungus than finger nails, especially if there has been some damage to the nail and nailbed (overbuffing for example), so you just have to keep an eye on them. So anyway, for me, it’s a no when it comes to shellac or gel or acrylic..
Je n’ai jamais essayé, j’ai toujours trouvé cela épais, un peu grossier. Ce n’était pas comme sur la photo qui illustre ce post ;)
Garance, j’avais exactement le même problème avec les vernis que j’affectionne particulierement (mains et pieds 365 jours sur 365) : la plupart du temps, des le vernis enlevé, l’ongle etait soit jauni, soit coloré.
Mais ça c’etait avant ! Avant que je découvre les deux produits suivants de chez Mavala : Barriere-base, base protectrice à mettre avant le vernis et Mavadry, à poser apres la couche finale, qui rend le vernis sec en quelques secondes (fini le quart d’heure éprouvant d’attente…) et lui donne une belle brillance. Celà fait des années que j’utilise ces deux produits et mes ongles les remercient. A essayer !
Bisous et belle journee d’Automne.
Sophie from Paris
Je n’ai jamais essayé , c’est tentant :)
Bonjour Garance,
Il s’agit plutôt de vernis semi-permanent que je porte très régulièrement.
Je le fais comme une grande à la maison et c’est hyper simple (aussi simple qu’une pose de vernis classique) et surtout rapide. Pas besoin d’attendre bêtement que le vernis sèche sans pouvoir utiliser sont téléphone !
J’ai le kit Alessandro disponible chez Sephora et c’est génial car pas de dépose avec acétone, il suffit simplement d’ôter le vernis comme un “autocollant”, la base étant “peel off”.
C’est assez bon marché car le kit coûte 100 € avec un vernis alors qu’une pose chez une esthéticienne coûte près de 40 € en France.
Mes ongles ne sont pas du tout abimés. J’adore ce vernis semi-permanent qui permet d’avoir toujours une manucure bien faite et de pouvoir partir travailler (banque) l’esprit serein.
Bonne jounée
Hélène from La Roche sur Yon, Vendée, France
Wait ….. You mean we’re all really going to sit at our computers talking about gel manicures and no one is going to mention the fact that Garance looks svelte and lovely even while STANDING NEXT TO NICOLE KIDMAN?
Thing is that you use UV rays to make gel dry and this causes cancer. So a big NO for me. We all try to avoid sun, use sunblockers, do’t use tan beds and then stuck our hands in UV lamps. This is dangerous.
Je le porte tout le temps) bien sur que je fait des pausé chaque 2-3 mois où je ne porte rien et je met des tonnes d’huiles et de masque, mais c’est tellement génial de pouvoir porter le gel pndt des semaines! :)
Confession du mercredi: je garde mon gel aux pieds plusieurs mois… et c’est nickel ! Ahahaha ????
Je deteste acetone! Highly toxic for us to absorb acetone in our skin- turns nails yellow over time! And if you think nail varnish is bad for nails, gels are worse as they do not allow nail bed to breathe. Let’s speak after you’ve had a few more sessions. Ps. Never remove gels at home. I tried this once an it proved to be an arduous nightmare.
Same here. I got convinced to try out the gel last summer. I ended up being addicted to the thing..
Je l’ai fait 4 fois d’affilée, et mes ongles n’ont jamais été aussi longs et durs.
Par contre la dernière fois où j’ai “décapé” le vernis, j’ai réalisé que mes ongles étaient dead.
Ca a pris 6 mois avant qu’ils redeviennent en santé, (le temps de repousser au complet en fait) ils étaient tellement fragiles qu’ils s’effritaient carrément…
So i’ll leave it for big occasions, or for when i’m going on vacation..
Entre temps, moi aussi je reste
Fidèle a essie ;)
J’ai testé pendant un an ! J’alternais de temps en temps avec du vernis semi permanent pour soit disant laisser “reposer” mes ongles mais c’était plus psychologique qu’autre chose… Par contre le résultat n’a pas été catastrophique au bout d’un an : certes j’ai remarqué qu’à force d’en faire, le gel ne tenait plus aussi bien (alors que c’est du gel quand même !! …). Mais s’agissant de mes ongles ils étaient juste un peu mou mais après une semaine de vernis réparateur (présence de calcium dedans) et bien ils étaient comme avant !
Belle journée