Nutra Nail Gel Perfect Kit:
So, I'm like 90% sure I wrote some type of post, whether it was a first impression or an actual review, about this a while ago. My experience with it wasn't the greatest and made me extremely cautious about drug store gel nail kits, especially when it doesn't need a UV light. If you have short nails be extremely wary about using this product because you definitely need to seal the color on the tips of your nail, and when you do, you run into the problem of placing some of the activator on you actual skin. When that happens, you need to go in with 100% acetone based nail polish remover, and if you don't it'll be somewhat painful to separate your skin from your nail.
When it comes to application, it's a somewhat tedious process. You have to switch back and forth between the actual color and the brush cleaner, and you need to work quickly because the activator (which is the base coat) needs to be wet when you apply the color. This leads to an uneven application and even when you go in for a second coat, it's difficult to actually build an even single layer. Another reason why I don't care for this product is that if you wanted to paint your nails a different color, you'll need to go out and buy yourself a new kit, you can't just pick up a color. Why? It's because you need to use the brush cleaner that comes with it to provide a smooth application. If you don't, the color will gunk up on the brush and make application extremely difficult. If you can make this work, I'm jealous, because as much as I wanted this to work, I couldn't.
Revlon Gel Envy Nails:
This was the first gel nails kit that I tried from the drug store that was a two step process. I was extremely excited because there was such a variety of colors and it looked like an actual kit, like you couldn't use the color without the top coat and you couldn't use the top coat without the color. I picked up the color Pocket Aces, which is a beautiful vibrant coral color and the application process is extremely easy. It's just like painting your nails with any other nail polish.
I noticed with the top coat it would loose it's shine/glossy appearance after 2 days, and you'll also see little imprints from your hair or bedding (even though it's completely dry). If you read my full on review of this product, you'll know that I did a little experiment and I don't want to go too in depth with what I did, here's the gist: You don't have to use these two things together! You can use the colored polish with any other top coat and you can use the top coat with any nail polish. For me that kind of kills the whole point of coming out with this. I was expecting the nail polish to have a somewhat dull appearance and it'll be brought to life with the top coat, and if it was like that, then it would be worth paying the $7-$8 per bottle, but for me it's not really worth it.
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel:
Sally Hansen does have an actual gel nails kit that comes with the UV light, so I was very excited to see a light-less kit available. I love Sally Hansen nail polishes because they're such good quality, and I was expecting the same type of high quality product. When it came to the color application, I wasn't disappointed, I purchased the kit with the color Street Flair (a nice muted/gray-toned lavender). With a single semi-thick layer of polish, I had an opaque application and I didn't need a second layer. My issue with this comes with the top coat. The top coat applies nicely, but my issue is how it dries. With one semi-thick coat you get that glossy appearance at first, but then it kind of fades. Don't get me wrong, you still get a glossy appearance, but when you look closely you can see it's somewhat dull and a little streaky.
Like the Revlon Gel Envy, I wanted to see if the top coat and the color had to be used together or if they could be used separately, and it can. So in reality, you don't need to buy the top coat if you want to use the color and you don't need to buy the color in order to use the top coat.
Overall Impression / A Better Alternative:
So far, I'm not impressed with any of these gel nails kits; however, I really love the colors that both Revlon and Sally Hansen came out with, in my opinion the colors are very unique. From the Sally Hansen kit, I really like the color Street Flair because it's neutral (very office friendly) but it's not one of the boring taupe, brown, gray, etc.
You don't have to buy the top coats that come with the Revlon and Sally Hansen kits, unfortunately with the Nutra Nail kit you have to buy the entire kit. If you want a cheaper, more affordable option as far as top coats are concerned, then check out Sally Hansen Dries Instantly. This is a more budget friendly fast-dry top coat, and with one semi-thick layer, it dries to high gloss finish and will last just as long as the Revlon and Sally Hansen top coats. The great thing about using this top coat is the fact that you can use any nail polish you want and turn it into a gel like nail! Overall, I would've enjoyed these gel kits a lot more if the colors needed the top coats in order to work and become gel-like. I would say if you're not wanting to purchase the top coats that come with them then check out Sally Hansen Dries Instantly (it's in an actual package and not in one of the regular nail polish displays).
Have you tried out these gel kits? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comments down below or on Twitter @ciaociaoreview!
Until my next post,
Stay Beautiful! <3
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