1. I had a set of gels done some years ago and it was a 4 hour fiasco with the nail tech and then they all popped off within a few days.
2. It just seemed to be a tedious multi-step process that I wasn't keen on going through
3. The expense.
Well I watched many a video/tutorial on You Tube and kept finding myself drawn back to the idea of doing my own gels if for no other reason then to just be able to say that I had tried them and had some knowledge to draw on. I found a tutorial on You Tube from NSI that showed the process with their Illusion Soak Off Gels and it seemed simple...simple enough for even I to think I might be able to attempt it. So I did some online research and happened upon NSI's kit for the illusion soak off gels at Beauty West's online store. It was inexpensive and included everything I would need save the brush which Beauty West also sold separately and inexpensively so I purchaswed everything and awaited their arrival. I tried it as soon as I got it and... I love them! It really is simple and I find them to be pretty durable and a bit thinner in terms of finished product thickness than acrylics thus more natural looking. Following are the steps I took to create my gel nails. This time I used glue on tips and cut and filed them but in the very near future I'm going to attempt sculpting them fully with nail forms.
1. You simply prep your nails as usual for fake enhancements, including primer.
2. Glue on tips
3. Apply one thinner layer of base gel and cure in UV light for 2-3 minutes
4. Apply thinner layer of "Dove" white to tips (for french manicure) and cure 2-3 minutes
5. Apply another layer of base gel just a bit thicker than the first and concentrate a bit on the stress area and cure for 2-3 minutes
6. Wipe off dispersion layer.
You can buff or file lightly if needed to even out the surface just like you would with acrylics but only light filing or buffing is needed...not heavy filing or e-filing to remove bulk as with acrylics because this gel is self-leveling. Apply "glaze and go" uv gel sealer (another NSI product) as your topcoat and cure or just apply a ail polish top coat after buffing and filing and voila! Your done.
I found I have a visible line of shadow where the nail tip is glued to my own nail that shows on some of my nails but that's not due to the product as I get that with acrylics as well. I haven't figured out what I'm doing wrong in my applications yet that's causing this. So you will see this on the enclosed pics but just know that it's not due to the product but the tech. :o) Let me say that I've had them on a week now and I have had no that's NO lifting! Also there is absolutely NO offenive, painful odor during application. I love that as I have compromised lungs and I also have a small bird in my home so I cannot use acrylics in the winter. Yes I've tried odorless acrylics and they truly are odorless (at least NSI is) but the odorless liquid makes the acrylic less workable when doing 3d nail art (at least that's been my experience). I wore my gels as created (french mani) and then I painted them...with my new BB Couture polish (check yesterday's post for that). I simply use a non-acetone remover to remove the polish and they're perfect underneath. I just couldn't be more pleased. I even did a gel french overlay on my daughter's toes over the weekend and she's very pleased (I'll post pics of that soon). So overall, a good buy on the NSI Illusion Soak Off Gel system, simple to do with a great finished look. I recommend this product. Please keep in mind that this was my very first attempt at doing gels...and on myself, so I am very aware they are not even close to perfect but I'm ok with that. I'll get more precise with practice. I also purposely didn't make them uniform in length because in reality...my nails are never all the same length when I grow my own. So those disclaimers being stated....here ya go.
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| you can see the little white line on my pinky nail in this pic that is the shadow of where the tip is glued to my natural nail |
Until next time.
very pretty!
ReplyDeletevery nice....I think it could be the tips...Have you tried using other tips? White or clear tips with the half moon cut out?
ReplyDelete@Tesia: Yes I usually use clear tips w/ half moon. I get this shadow sometimes when I use acrylic too. Maybe it's the glue and the way I'm gluing them on. Perhaps not getting all the air out.
ReplyDelete