Gelicious - Little Prince George

So I really don't think using Gelicious without the base coat works well for me.

I put this one on three days ago.  Lovely colour, I wasn't sure about the white dots at first but now I quite like them - it's like Christmas card snow.

But by yesterday I already had chips.  I had run the clear over the tips of the nail, so maybe I'll run the colour as well.

After this mornings shower I has this.

Bahumbug!

Gelicious - Blaze

I needed red on my fingers because my school teacher choir performed on the weekend.  I went with Blaze which was a bright cheery red with shimmer.  We wear red dresses. :)

I'm on the far left - you can't see my nails.

I again went without the optional base coat.  

This time the gel didn't seem to set. I did it last Wednesday and it still feels a little tacky.  The gel also started chipping by the end of the week, tip wear as well.

You can see the tip wear and a chip in the photo - also see my broken nail!

This colour has the 30 second fast cure and I did put the nails in for 1 min instead but I'm sure that wouldn't have changed it.  Plus it had the normal top coat.  I don't really know what went wrong.

Anyway, only five days in and I already need to replace it.  

I'll try this colour near Xmas just in case it was user error...

Gelicious experiment

During my last Gelicious attempt I left the optional base out of the process on my right hand to see if there was much of a difference.

Turns out there is.  I did use my right hand for the experiment and because it's   my dominant hand my nails did cop it more but by mid-week I had a few chips.

So today 12 days after the mani was done my nails looked like this:

My other hand was barely touched.

So the base coat definitely made a difference in the polish's longevity.

The other thing I wanted to know was how easier it would make removal.

For my left hand I kept the nails wrapped up for a good 15 minutes and still had to scrape.  

You can see where I had to scrape - tiny white peely bits. In a few hours the scrapes seem to buff off naturally but I am worried about my nails' health.

On the other hand, literally, I didn't have to do anything.  I peeled off the wrap and the polish fell off.

So,,, what does this mean for me?

To be honest I love the easier clean up.  I got less mileage out of the manicure but still it was over a week - longer than my normal polishes.  

I think I'll only use the Optional Base Coat when I really need my nails to last the full fortnight.

Gelicious - Dip in the Pool

Ooh so pretty.  This was my previous fortnight's colour, sorry I forgot to post earlier.

I did two coats and although you can sort of see the nail line in the photos in real life it wasn't so bad.

Really did remind me of sun glinting on the ocean.  

Update my current mani - I broke my thumb nail and so had to remove the polish off that nail.  I have a small chip on my index fingers but I have been building furniture this week.

Gelicious - Thankful

'Thankful' is a very nice nude.  I used two coats but on my left I used the optional base coat M&S on the right I just applied the colour.  Both got the ultra glaze top coat.

I want to see if the base coat actually does anything and maybe it will make it easier to remove if I don't use it.

For the last two manicures my thumb nail  chipped on the outer side.  I made sure to give that edge more of a buff so hopefully that will work.

Gelicious - Strawberry Milkshake

In honour of the fact that I often get 'Milkshake' by Kelis stuck in my head* - this time I am wearing Strawberry Milkshake by Gelicious.  

The colour is perfectly named but hard to capture with my phone.  I think this colour has gotten more notice then the other Gelicious colours I have tried.

In real life it isn't as pale.

Unfortunately I have found this one not as durable as I would have liked - this damage is 3 days in. 

As per usual it could be my application or it could also be that I've been extra hard on my nails.

This photo is more like the real colour

I'm on holidays now so was really hoping that this would last the fortnight because I don't have access to all my equipment and polishes so for now Im just going to put a clear coat of normal polish and hope for the best.

*What does that say about me? My husband gets either Papa Loves Mambo or Agadoo which tells me just how camp he really is under all that male testosterone.

Peripera and Gelicious - Bubblegum yum

I realised today that I hadn't shared my latest haul and subsequent manicure!

A while back, I bought two polishes from Peripera and had told myself that I would buy more, but never got there. It was in my eBay watch list though!

A few weeks ago chocolatencappucino put her Peripera's on sale so I bought up. 

Ohhh, so pretty!

 

They came with samples... yep... I was pretty stoked.

  

I'm such a cat lady...

I just love how cute Korean cosmetics are. I need to get me some more cute stuffs - so much of my eBay watch list is TonyMoly etc stuff.

And here is my mani.  

Base colour - Gelicious - Bubblegum Yum

Glitter - Peripera - 040 Sparkle Gold

Usual top coats for both layers. I put two layers on my index fingers.

I find that the Peripera polishes dry really quickly, and really aren't all that different from your 'normal' polishes quality wise.  This glitter polish stayed on my nails for a week.

 

This purple chipped before the fortnight was up, but that could have been the because of the extra nail polish on top,,, or because of my dodgy application. 

I think I've cracked how to remove the gel, I give my nails a quick once over with a file before I let them soak in the wraps for about 10 minutes. I then take them off one at a time and use an orange stick to push of the loose stuff. I then scuff the surface with the orange stick and then reapply the wraps with a little extra remover. This seems to get it off pretty easily.

But I am worried about damaging my nails - they are dried out after I clean everything off (obviously) and I already had some peeling before hand so I don't want it to get out of hand. Anyway, I'm giving my nails a break for a week and have just applied clear normal polish. But of course, I've already split one on the side. Doh!