Why I love shellac/gel nails

I've been meaning to write this post for ages as I'm a total gel nail colour addict. Those of you that know me will know that I am very rarely without colour on my nails and I'm not happy unless they are bright and beautiful!

I first tried shellac a couple of years ago. I heard that it had really good staying power and as I was going on holiday, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try it out. I went to the salon and paid about £15 to have my finger nails painted in a nice bright pink colour. It all took less than an hour and I was impressed because the colour lasted a whole week  of sun, sea and swimming pool action. After that I became a bit of a regular at the salon, paying £15 every few weeks to have my nails done. 

That was until I saw an amazing offer in my favourite shop Boots (is there a post I've written that doesn't have Boots in it?!) they had the Sensationail gel starter kit with a colour and UV lamp on offer for about £50. I thought this was totally bargainous so picked one up and haven't used a normal nail varnish since. You need to set aside about 1hr if you want to do your nails properly but it is so worth it as, if you paint your nails following the instructions, they won't chip and can last for 2 weeks (mine have even lasted for longer than this!) 

The Sensationail colours are about £15 per pot but they will last ages and none have them have clumped like nail varnishes can. I have bought most of my colours from Boots but you can also get cheaper versions from the internet. I have recently tried two of the Bluesky colours which worked out at about £5 each. They're ok but the quality isn't the same as the Sensationail polishes. Excuse the terrible photo but this is my nail kit below. 

My main reason for loving the gel polish so much is that they last, I only need to paint my nails every couple of weeks. Also, with gel there is no waiting around for your nails to dry. You just pop them under the uv lamp to harden for up to 60 seconds at a time and they're done! Because you don't have to wait for your nails to dry, there is also no risk of smudging - there is nothing more frustrating than spending ages on your nails for them to smudge or chip 5 minutes later, argh! My nails also grow very quickly underneath the gel. 

The only problem that I have really noticed is that, if you are a bit naughty like me and don't remove the colour properly by soaking them in nail varnish remover (I pick mine off). You can peel off some of your nail, making them weaker than normal. I don't think that this would be a problem if you followed the instructions though. Oops!

So that is a little review on gel nail varnishes. I know there's lots of kits out there but I would recommend the Sensationail kit for quality and price. Also, if you've never had them done, try it at a salon first to see what you think. 

This is the colour that I will be wearing for the next couple of weeks which is Kitten Heel. 

I hope this post was useful. Thanks for reading!

Becky xx