As you guys know, I'm a huge fan of gel manicures, but they really are pretty pricey and now that I'm working most of the time just getting to the nail salon can be a struggle. I posted not too long ago about a few of my favorite at home beauty products, and I have to give a huuuuge shot out to my readers Los and Darianne who both recommended the Gelous nail polish for at home manicures. Let me tell you how I use it (and what else I use it with) and how it has changed the game for my at home manicures!
- File and shape nails, wash and dry.
- Apply base coat of Gelous polish.
- Apply coat of nail color polish.
- Apply another coat of Gelous polish.
- Apply 2nd coat of nail color polish.
- Apply one last coat of Gelous polish.
- Top with Seche Vite polish.
As I type that out it sounds like a lot, but I barely give any drying time in between coats (just the time it takes me to finish both hands). With the Seche Vite as a top coat my nails really are dry to touch within a couple of minutes and completely dry (like I can go to sleep and not wake up to destroyed nails) within a half an hour. The best part is that with this routine my nail polish really does last at least 2 weeks (through all of our hospital hand-sanitizing and washing) without chipping at all. Usually after a week I'll add a fresh coat of Seche Vite to get the shine back, but that's about it! I don't think I'll ever have to go back to real gel manicures now that I've figured out this routine, yay for saving money and still having nice looking nails!
PS- I'm wearing Essie Case Study in the photo above! One of my favorite nude/grey/olive shades that's unfortunately no longer available :(
