SensatioNail Starter Kit - gel nail kit - pics, swatches, before & after, review

Hello, Beautiful!

I love gel nails, as I can always seem to get my nails to look best that way and for the longest length of time. I recently tried the SensatioNail system out, using their Starter Kit. Check out my full review below on my experience, what I thought, and all the product info - after all the pics!

SensatioNail Starter Kit

 

 

SensatioNail Starter Kit Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $49.98 to $59.99 depending where you shop (for Starter Kit). Available at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, and everywhere else SensatioNail products are sold. Click here to find a retailer near you.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

The SensatioNail Starter Kit includes everything you need for 10 perfect applications! Kit includes the exclusive Pro 3060 LED Lamp - designed to safely and quickly flash-cure your favorite gel polish, sealing in the color to a glossy, damage-proof, mirror-like finish. After 10 manicures simply purchase the Essentials Kit and the color of your choice and you're good to go again.

The SensatioNail LED lamp cures gel polish in less than half the time of traditional UV lamps and you don't have to worry about replacing bulbs. The Pro 3060 LED Lamps packs the power of a professional light in a compact size that is easy to store and even easier to use. At the push of a button, the light is pre-programmed to shut off after 60 seconds (with a chirp at 30 seconds, for accurate curing time), so you don't have to worry about over or under-curing.

Aside from the LED Lamp, the starter kit includes your Gel Cleanser to wipe nails clean to prep and wipe your gel manicure to finish. Gel Primer will help your polish cling for up to 2 weeks! Color Gel Polish - which you'll choose your color (I believe only 3 colors available and 1 french manicure option available to choose from for the Starter Kit - I have it in Raspberry Wine). And you'll get your Gel Base and Top Coat - one thin layer strengthens naturals nails, forms a durable bond between nail and polish and prevents peeling and chipping. It also super-seals color for a brilliant, ultra strong chip-free finish and amazing color vibrancy that lasts up to 2 weeks. You'll get some lint-free wipes, files and an orange-wood stick too. Basically, you get everything you need to get started (hence the name, Starter Kit).

The Essentials Kit has the Gel Cleanser, Gel Primer, and Gel Base & Top Coat - plus some of the lint-free wipes. They also sell a Gel Polish Removal Kit, Gel Polish Removal Tool, and Gel Polish Remover. I bought the Gel Polish Removal Tool.

So let's get right into my experience and review...

I've had experience with another gel system, the Knockout Nails system, which is more expensive and the lamp is UV, not LED like the SensatioNail. A lot of my review will be based on my experience with that system compared to the SensatioNail gel kit.

Even though my kit came with Raspberry Wine polish, I decided to use the SensatioNail polish in Steel A Kiss as the polish I test this out with. The shade Steel A Kiss is from their Limited Edition Liquid Metal collection. There are currently 48 polishes in their core line (based on what's shown on their website), plus some limited edition collections, french manicure, and magnetic.

Keep in mind with any gel system (UV or LED) you can always use other brands of gel polish. I have some other brands - like Gelish - that work with this system.

I thought the system was easy and quick to use; I definitely prefer a LED light to a UV light, as the LED light is much faster for cure times and speeds up the whole process.

Once you know how to use your SensatioNail kit, you'll be able to get your nails done in no time at all. Just takes a small learning curve - for any gel nail system - if you're new to it. I personally love to do gel nails on my toe nails because I don't usually change my toe nail polish often and I find it lasts forever on my toes. I can go almost a month with minimal chipping when I use a gel system on my toes (with the Gelish brand of polish; I haven't tried the SensatioNail gel polish on my toes yet).

I did get a full week with no chipping using the SensatioNail starter kit and the SensatioNail Gel Polish in Steel A Kiss, then one of my nails - my pink - peeled off (not my actual nail, the gel polish on my nail - just had to make that clear). I went another week with minimal chipping. I tried it out for a second time, this time using the shade that came in the kit - and I had similar results. I guess I'm not a huge fan of the actual SensatioNail Gel Polishes, but I do love the SensationNail starter kit products - the UV light and all the other items. I just find that I use my other gel polishes with this LED light. However, I will try more SensatioNail polishes in the future to see if maybe a creme shade will last longer.

Overall, I think it's a good starter kit if you're looking to get into gel nails. It's really quick and super easy to use, and you'll find all the instructions with the kit. I love gel nails because there is no dry time and that gets me out the door super quickly. I know SensatioNail just came out with their Fuse System, but that is designed as a one-step process, doing one nail at a time, and the results last only a week as opposed to two weeks with the original Starter Kit from SensatioNail. I may be doing a review on the Fuse System in the near future.

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of the SensatioNail Starter Kit? Have you tried this or is this on your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

Gelish Fall 2013 Under Her Spell Collection - pics, swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

If you love gel nails at home (or in a salon) then you may already be a fan of the Gelish nail brand. Their Fall 2013 collection - Under Her Spell - includes 6 gorgeous perfect-for-fall shades! The Under Her Spell collection is inspired by femme fatale fashion, and includes dark, rich hues and creamy neutral shades sparked by the feminine textures of lace and tulle as well as fabrics like leather and velvet. My favorite out of the collection is My Nightly Craving -- the color reminds me of ballet leg warmers, the fuzzy warm kind (does that make any sense to anyone but me? lol). Check out my full review, including all the product info, after the pics! Also, let me know which shade you want to see on my nails next -- I'll do a blog post and/or Instagram pics!

Gelish - Fall 2013: Under Her Spell Collection
Shades: Want To Cuddle?, I'm No Stranger To Love, Lust At First Sight, My Nightly Craving, Love Me Like A Vamp, A Touch Of Sass

Gelish Fall 2013 Under Her Spell CollectionInfo & Review:

Cost/Availability: $14.95 (0.30 fl oz full size bottle of MINI's). Available at Sally Beauty Supply for in-home use. 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

Gelish soak-off gel polish debuts the limited-edition Under Her Spell fall polish collection, which includes 6 special-edition colors sparked by the feminine textures of lace and tulle and fabrics like leather and velvet. Inspired by femme fatale fashion, the collection includes dark, rich hues and creamy neutral shades guaranteed to keep him under her spell.

Gelish stays on nails for up to three weeks with no chipping or peeling, and soak completely off in only 15 minutes. Cure in a LED lamp for just 30 seconds (per coat) or in traditional UV lamps for 2 minutes (per coat).

All shades in the Under Her Spell fall collection are available as a professional salon service, with average price on Gelish manicures being around $30. And of course, you can purchase individual Gelish MINI polishes at retail outlets such as Sally Beauty Supply.

In the Under Her Spell collection, here are the shade names and their descriptions:

• Want To Cuddle? - creamy greyish mauve
• I'm No Stranger To Love - rich navy-teal
• Lust At First Sight - smokey dark taupe
• My Nightly Craving - creamy greyish pink-lavender
• Love Me Like A Vamp - jeweled black violet
• A Touch Of Sass - jeweled black cherry

Their descriptions are okay, although I see the colors slightly different... here is how I describe them...

• Want To Cuddle? - a milk chocolate brown
• I'm No Stranger To Love - a deep green-teal
• Lust At First Sight - a deep mauve purple
• My Nightly Craving - a lavender mauve pink
• Love Me Like A Vamp - deep purple
• A Touch Of Sass - a blood red

No matter how you describe these shades, I can say that they are perfect for fall! 

My favorite is My Nightly Craving - it's just so beautiful and a stand-out for me in this collection. I've already worn it once and forgot to take photos. If there is a shade you want to see on my nails from this collection please let me know and I will re-do my nails and Instagram pics for sure!

For my Gelish MINI polishes I use my LED lamp because it's faster, with only a 30 second cure time verses 2 minutes with a standard UV lamp. I do find that the Gelish brand of gel polish seems to last the longest on my nails - they say 3 weeks on their website, and I've gone longer for sure, although have had nail grow out usually that bothers me enough to re-do the mani even though I don't always need to re-do it. 

Overall, I am really happy with this collection of colors and would recommend checking them out!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this gel polish collection? Which shade is your favorite? Have you tried Gelish MINI polishes at home or had a Gelish mani in the salon? Discuss in the comments below.

Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel Color in Lily Pink: swatches, pics, review

Hello, Beautiful!

Happy Pink Wednesday!

Today I was out shopping for items for my son's Halloween costume and made a pit stop at Walgreen's (to check for nail polish, of course). Up high on top of a shelf I found the Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel Color. Only four shades were available (all boring shades in my opinion), but I picked the most interesting one to me, which was Lily Pink. It's a medium bright pink; a bubble gum or Barbie-like pink. Did I like it? Read my review at the end of this post to find out, and for now...

Check out my pics, swatches, stats, and review...

Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel Color

Shade: Lily Pink

Shade Description: A medium bright pink; bubble gum or Barbie-pink in description; no shimmer.





  



 



 
























Instructions/Details:

Basic stats for Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel Color:

Formula: a UV-free gel nail color

Coverage: requires two coats

Wear: ?

Shade Info: 12 shades on the Nutra Nail website

Cost/Availability: Cost varies; $10 to $14 depending where you shop. Available at drugstores and on Ulta's website.

Packaging: a 3-step system

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Kisses

Formula:

This is a 3-step, UV-Free gel nail color. Be warned: the Activator is very irritating to eyes! I'll explain more in my review below.

Coverage:
Product states it requires two coats; I would even say three coats depending on the shade or how thin you apply it (and to what you prefer).


Wear:
I'm not sure how long these will wear because I removed them right after I took the photos. I've read mixed reviews so I can only recommend you test drive them yourself before making a judgement.


Shade Info:
When I purchased these at Walgreen's there were only 4 shades, but on Nutra Nail's website there are a total of 12 shades.


Cost/Availability:
I paid nearly $15 with tax for this ($13.99 plus 5% sales tax). I had no clue how much it was because there was no price, but I kind of assumed it wouldn't be more than $10 to $12. I was wrong when I checked out and now I'm mad to see it's less at Ulta (plus I would have used my 20% off coupon, making it even cheaper). I'm returning this to Walgreen's if I'm able to. Not all that happy with the product, and seriously unhappy with the high price I paid there.


Packaging:
This is a 3-step system, which all comes packaged in a box. Includes instructions.


Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel Color Review:
I have to admit that I'm not into the whole gel nails, long-wearing color, trend. I just don't have a need for that because I like to change my nails daily or at least every other day. Sure, sometimes I need a break from doing my nails or I'm going on vacation and don't want to do my nails, but that's usually when I reach for nail strips (like Sally Hansen's Salon Effects or Incoco's nail strips). But I figured this was a great way to try it out because I wouldn't need to purchase a UV or LED light to make it work.

I was excited to try it, especially because today is Pink Wednesday. Let me first say how strong smelling this stuff is.... do your nails near an open window or at least in a well ventilated room! You might not realize how strong it smells until you're done, walk out of the room and come back in (because by the time you're done you get kind of used to it). It's strong.

Not to mention this stuff is very irritating to your eyes, at least to my eyes it was! It's the Activator that really burned them. Everyone will react differently; you may have no reaction or you may be like me and your eyes will water and you'll yell out some curse words.

This is one product where you have to work fast, but not too fast. You work one hand at a time. You apply the Activator to all nails, then go back and apply the color. You then move onto the next hand, doing the same thing, then go back to the first hand and repeat the steps again for your second coat. You also need to clean the polish brush in the brush cleaner. You just switch out the brushes (switch with the cleaner) so you can keep working. You'll need to clean your brush/switch it out every 5 nails to avoid getting it clumpy or applying streaky.

You'll want to apply the color and activator as good as you possibly can. Clean-up afterwards is a real pain in the ass. Once it hardens (which happens quickly; about 2 to 3 minutes) it will take an army of acetone to battle this stuff. Cleaning off your skin isn't too bad, but cleaning up around the nail edges is hell - especially if your polish flood the nail bed, which mine did on several nails during the first coat.

I do have to say that it does set-up really quickly, which was a nice point. It was really chip resistant and dent resistant after 5 minutes. I wasn't worried about messing them up before taking photos of them. The color was nice too; the pink went well with my skin tone and was a pink I personally like.

However, like I said, I'm just not into the whole gel nails thing. I know this isn't truly like gel nails but it's a nice  (cheaper) alternative. It's great for anyone who does like to wear the same mani for a week before changing polish. It's a fun new thing to try, if you're looking to change up your nail routine.

For the price I paid (nearly $15), was it worth it? No, not in my opinion. The amount of polish you get is so small - it's 0.17 fl oz! I mean, seriously?! And let's not even get into how the brush cleaner easily knocked over when I was trying to clean the brush and I spilled half of it. I think the application method is a bit messy, at least until I perfect the way I apply it, but I'm not going to bother with that. If I had gotten this for around $8 to $10 I would keep it and use it in the future, but right now I'm not sure I can justify $15 for a product that wasn't great to me and really irritated my eyes!

Overall I rate this product a 3 out of 5 kisses, right down the middle, because I don't hate it but it's not for me. I hope I can return mine. Anyone know the Walgreen's return policy on opened cosmetic items?

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this polish? Do you own this? Discuss in the comments below.