Traditional Polish Over Soak Off Gel

Thanks to everyone that's entered to win my Katy Perry Collection give away which ends this coming Friday...!!!  If you haven't already entered, you can find out how HERE!

Can I just say how nice it has been being able to send personal replies to the individuals that are NOT set as No Replies.  I can't tell you how much I love that feature!  Remember, it's a super easy automatic entry!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled nail post.

I've been conducting a little experiment on how long traditional polish will last over the soak off gel nails.  I applied two coats of OPI Black Cherry Chutney back on the evening of the 23rd with no base coat and followed by two coats of  Seche Vite and a bit of sillyness on the tips that you'll see in the pics but pretend isn't there because it didn't come out at all pretty.
This is what my nails looked like Saturday night.

I think I can safely say that the super high shine/slick surface of gel nails keeps traditional polish from adhering as well as it does to acrylics.  Obviously I have a high flex point on my index finger even with the additional strength of the gel.

Surprising enough the tips don't show much wear.  Of course it was a bit worse on my right hand but that's to be expected since I'm right handed

I removed the polish with non acetone remover and was thrilled with how simple the removal was.  On my right index finger I did discover this though.

As scary looking as it is, it's only gel deep.  Upon removal of the gel (which was blissfully easy in comparison to acrylics) I found the damage to my nail to be minimal.  

So so far I am pretty happy with the gel nails.  I am concerned that they aren't providing enough support though.  I have found my nail edges get rough quickly and I've developed a couple of snags.  That's not good since I chronically pick at them if I don't have a file handy.   I'm going to continue to work with them though to see if I can get them to work better for me since as of now I prefer them over acrylics.   My next test will be to see if by using a bonding base coat traditional polish will last longer.  I'll let you know.

Show and Tell

A reminder to enter my Katy Perry Collection give away here.  It ends this coming Friday.  

Now back to the polish

I wanted to share with you some of the traditional polishes that I got along with my gel kit which I already shared with you. 

 Color Club Volt of Light and Feelin' Groovy which as you can see look fabulous under the China Glaze Crackle polishes.  Speaking of which...

 China Glaze Crackle!  Broken Hearted, Crushed Candy, Lightning Bold and Fault Line.  (Since I already have Black Shatter I passed on the black)

 Serena Williams duo by OPI  Simply Smashing and Black Shatter

 OPI Royal Rajah Ruby and Black Cherry Chutney

 OPI I Vant to be A-Lone Star (Texas Collection) and Nicole by OPI's Step to the Beat of My <3

 Another two of OPI's Texas Collection I wanted.  San Tan-Tonio and Suzi Loves Cowboys

 On clearance at Ulta I got OPI's Parlez-Vous OPI? and Done Out in Deco two very pretty lavenders.

 Here we have Orly It's Up to Blue and Razzle

And finally, last but not least Austen-tatious Turquoise and Revlon's Not so Blueberry

I would like to thank the IRS for making this polish shopping possible.  Hopefully this will hold me through my polish diet until I can afford to shop again.  :)  Thanks all for stopping by.  Take care. 

Soak Off Gel Nails

I've mentioned on several occasions that I keep a thin layer of acrylic over my natural nails to keep them from breaking.  While this is a bit of a stigma in a nail world that pushes "natural",  without this support my super thin nails would keep me at down to the quick nubbins so natural isn't the best option for me since I prefer some length.
 
I'd been discussing gel vs acrylic with the guy at my nail supply store and he recommended I try the newer soak off gels since they would add strength without the bulk and they are supposed to cause less damage. (I'm on the fence on this one since acrylics cause minimal damage if done properly.)

Since I do my own acrylics I couldn't see putting my nails in the hands of the great unknown of a nail salon for gels (too many scary videos on YouTube about improper practices, unsavory personal experiences with salons, and just too much $$) so I figured if I ever got a UV lamp I'd give it a try.

Here is the video I found for the product I decided to use.

Yesterday I took the plunge and picked up the stuff for a basic gel mani,  a lamp at Sally's and dove in.

 My supplies: 

Light, Nail Prep (from the makers of Gellish brand) Gelac base coat, Snow Fall and Top Coat.

Here's what I'm hoping to get from gels

• Simpler application and removal
  
• Strong yet more "natural" looking nails (ie not as thick as acrylic and minimal growth ridges)
• No lifting at the edges or popping up at the nail base
• Cleaner/easier removal of traditional polish

For starters I love that you can just brush this stuff on like you would polish.  No shaping, filing etc like you do with acrylics and for me at least it takes significantly less time.

Now I know there are some glitches here but they were my first attempt so be kind, but I really am liking the gel so far.  Obviously it isn't as thick or ridged as the acrylic so I'm having to get used to having some flexation (is that a word? Who cares, it works here)  of my nails.  And the shine is quite simply amazing.  Like nothing I could hope to achieve without umpteen layers of top coat.  I'm really interested to see how it works with wear and removal of traditional polish over the top of it.

Pardon the flubs, but look how nice and thin. 

So this is day one with gels, time will be the judge on how well they wear, if they actually protect my nails the way acrylics do.  

Jobe nail stickers with Seche Vite top coat

I would say that each hand takes about 20 minutes from prep to top coat cure (It would be 10 but they recommend doing the thumbs separately) and since I always had one hand under the light I have to do one at a time.  Still, less than an hour for gorgeous shiny nails...  I'm totally down so far. 

Do any of you do your own gel nails?

Oh, and just a quick reminder if you got all the way to the end of my post here.  Don't forget to enter my 100+ follower give away.  The entire Katy Perry collection is up for grabs!  

100+ Follower Give Away!!!! - Closed

Ok Ladies...Um and maybe Gents ~_^  Let's get this show on the road shall we?

courtesy of zazzle

Welcome to my 100+ follower give away.  

Up for grabs is the New Katy Perry Collection complete with Black Shatter.   This IS open internationally!!

You want??  You know you do.  

You have to be a follower to enter but here's how you can win!!

1.  If you are NOT set as a No Reply, meaning I can reply to your comments via email, that is an automatic entry.
It also means you don't have to leave me your email address in the comment body for everyone and their pet gerbil to see and I'm all about privacy.  
No Reply, what's that, you ask? Dirt basic info is on my right sidebar "I Love Comments" note.  It's a deliciously handy tool and well worth using if your serious about blogging.  

2.  Comment on this post telling me how very much you love my blog or how much you want to win...or whatever.  :) That's another entry.

3.  Blog about my give away or  post me in your sidebar, then come back and give me the link (Yes, I will be checking) That's yet another entry.

4.  Twitter about my give away, leave me a linky (again, I will be checking)  That's another entry!


So that's it.  FOUR chances to win! Easy schmeasy right? ...Of course you can always bribe me with chocolate...Juuuust kidding.  I think, I really do love chocolate.  :)

I'm going to let this run until the end of next week, so  March 4th midnight, mountain time is the final cut off to enter and I'll announce the winner that following Monday. 

Just so you knows: 

I am not affiliated with OPI in any way.  These polishes were purchased by me with my own hard earned money, that's how much I love you all. 

Shipping.  I always go for the lowest rate so don't expect it next day.  Also, once it's out of my hands and in the hands of the post office, that's where my responsibility ends.  I'll pack it up pretty and safe but I'm not responsible for damaged or ( heaven forbid) lost items.

I reserve the right to add items to this list as I see fit.

A Little Peek

My head and chest cold turned into a massive sinus infection.  I have been so out of it I have really neglected my poor nail blog and lovely followers, Let me show you how I plan to make it up to you though.
 
This is what I'm planning for my 100+ follower give away.  It's on order from a local supplier who loves me for a killer price I can't mention and should be here next week, gotta love a good deal right? 
Ok, onto the goods. 

Drum Roll Please!

Do you see that bit of lovely in the back???

Oh yes it is!

That would be the full Katie Perry Collection.  :)  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So stay tuned Peeps and you could get these grand goods!  Thanks for reading and sticking with me.

An Almost Belated Happy Valentines Day

it's been a week and my cold is still hanging on like mad.  I think it may be almost time to go visit a Dr. UG!  I did get sick enough of my bare nails to dress them properly for the holiday, and you get to see my rarely seen right hand today.  Rarely seen because well... I'm right handed so it usually doesn't look as good as my left. It's seen it's share of accidents the worst being a massive slamming of fingers in a door, trip to ER never looked quite right since and lastly because when I try to take pics with my left hand they usually come out shaky.  So be kind because for some reason my left hand turned out really poorly while my right hand was quite good as right hands go. That being said...

I think Black Shatter over The One That Got Away is great whether for Valentines Day or "Singles Awareness Day"  whichever you observe.  Since I had to work this weekend (I need the money so I just went and holed up in my office so as not to pass this crud  onto anyone else) my sweety and I plan to celebrate next weekend.  Meanwhile I'm writing him love notes on the bathroom mirror with dry erase markers.  :D

 I really like this combination.  I haven't tried the others but this seems that it would be the most dramatic combo of the collection.

 You can see how I started out with a fairly thin coat of Black Shatter on my pinky then as I figured out how it worked I gradually applied thicker coats.  My thumb is my favorite.

This was two coats of The One That Got Away in case you were wondering.

This collection pretty much speaks for it's self.  I can't think of anything to add to all the reviews that have already been done so I won't try.  Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines/Singles Awareness Day!
Thanks for sticking with me this week with my short and sweets, give me another day or so and I'm sure I'll be back in the game.

OPI - Friar Friar Pants on Fire!

Love me some OPI

 Two coats.  The top pic is color accurate. 

This bottom pic shows the gold shimmer pretty well.  So pretty!