Beautasy.: May 2016

Gelish Manicure (How To, Thoughts, Experience, Price, Difference) | Part 1

beauty Monday, May 30, 2016

Hi guys,

In this post, I'll be sharing how I do my gelish manicure on my own. Going to the nail salon to get gelish done can be rather expensive, so I decided to purchase the machine and get it done by myself. In my opinion, it's not very difficult to do it by yourself. It's like applying normal nail polish except that this instantly dry and it's needed to be cure under LED/UV lamp.

What's the difference between LED and UV lamp? Which is better?

	LED	UV
Cost	More expensive.	More affordable.
Curing Time	30 seconds.	2 minutes.
Bulb Life	Last forever, do not need any replacement.	Doesn't last forever, need replacement every 6 months.
Polishes	ONLY cure polishes that is LED formulated.	Cure ALL polishes whether it's LED or UV polish.

Personally, I prefer LED lamp because it cures in 30 seconds which means there's no time wasted. I'm very impatient so I would like if my nails dry quicker. On top of that, I don't have to change the bulbs AT ALL. I can just use it forever without wasting money to buy bulbs. It's kinda troublesome to buy the bulbs and change it on the UV lamp. But the bad point is that, LED lamp ONLY cures polishes that are LED formulated. If your polish isn't LED formulated then it can't be cure and that, UV lamp will do the job.

When I first did gelish manicure myself, I was surprised by how easy it was! My mum was also pestering me to do it for her HAHA and so I did! It lasted about 2 weeks on my nails. I even had it on for a month because I was so lazy to remove it. Some manicurists told me that it's not good for gelish/acrylics to stay on your nails for a month because it will cause your natural nails to be yellow. I'll always try to remove my gelish after having it on for 2 weeks.

I did a lot of research before purchasing the machine and polishes. I really love gelish because my natural nails are kinda brittle and "soft". After having gelish on, I find that my nails are very hard and strong. The good point is that, my nails rarely chip when I have gelish on! I hate having chip nails because then 1 nail would be super short and the rest would be super long, it's just so uneven. I don't put fake nails on because my natural nails grow quite fast and it's always long. I LOVE LONG NAILS HAHA

What's the difference between Gelish and Acrylic? Which is better?

	Gelish	Acrylic
Cost	More expensive.	More affordable.
Appearance	Very natural & glossy looking.	May look unnatural depending on how you apply it.
Application	Apply like a normal polish, easy to apply as well.	Apply using acrylic powder mixed with liquid, slight harder to apply.
Lasting Power	2 weeks.	Generally last longer than gelish.

Gelish is to be cured under LED/UV lamp in order for your nail to harden and "dry". For nail extension, you can use sculpture gel and nail form to create the kind of nail you want. Sculpture gel is thicker than normal polish and it's slightly difficult to apply.

Acrylic is actually applied using acrylic powder mixed with acrylic liquid and it will air dry. For nail extension, you can glue fake nail onto your natural nail and fill up the gap between your natural nail and fake nail. Another way is the same as gelish, using the acrylic powder mixed with liquid and nail form to create the kind of nail you want.

I have never gotten acrylics done before because I heard from some manicurists that acrylics is actually bad for health. Oh, if you're thinking to get acrylics done, it's NOT recommended for pregnant lady. Generally acrylic nails give off fumes when they are applied and it can make you feel sick. Whether you're pregnant or not, breathing in the fumes is not very good. That's why I prefer doing gelish since it's more practical and easy to apply.

OPI GelColor, What's The Hatter With You? :

I bought this color recently and I'm in love with it!

Items are bought with my own money.

Tools that I used :

Nail Buffer (100/180 Grit, Half Moon) :
Use what you have, I bought mine from here:
$2.90SGD : QOO10 SG

Sand Block :
I like to use a sand block to buff my nails just because it's easier and not so harsh.
$1.80SGD : QOO10 SG

Nail Cutter :
Use any nail cutter you have :)

Cuticle Nipper :
You can choose whether or not to cut your cuticles. I have the habit to cut my cuticles for the perfect smile line. You can also use an orange stick or cuticle pusher for this.

Kabuki Brush (Optional) :
I just used an old brush for this. Just to wipe off the dust on my nails after buffing. You can also just wash your hands or wipe off with remover or something.

This is to cleanse the nail for preparation and wipe off the tackiness of the nails after you're done.

Gelish Nail Cleanse :
$12.90SGD : QOO10 SG
$7.14USD : AMAZON
$8.29USD : EBAY

Lint-Free Wipes :
It's EXTREMELY important to use lint-free wipes because normal cotton pad will stick to the gelish where as lint-free wipes would not.
$2.30SGD : QOO10 SG (100 pieces)
$2.14USD : AMAZON (325 pieces)
$2.48USD : EBAY (1000 pieces)

These are the nail polishes that I'm using.

Gelish Foundation (Base Coat) & Gelish Top It Off (Top Coat) :
Bundle Promo $17.80SGD : QOO10 SG
$23.85USD : AMAZON (Seller 1)
$26.80USD : AMAZON (Seller 2)
$24.95USD : EBAY

Gelish Nail Color (I'm using "What's The Hatter With You?" by OPI GelColor) :
$40SGD : OPI SG
$16.40USD : AMAZON
$15.49USD : EBAY (Seller 1)
$15.94USD : EBAY (Seller 2)

This is totally optional. I'm not using it because I just want to have plain colored nails today haha.

Rhinestones :
$4.90SGD : QOO10 SG (1.5mm - 4mm, 1200 pieces, silver)
$2.33USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (3 sizes)
$2.68USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (2mm - 5mm, 200 pieces colorful)
$1.99USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (1.2mm - 4mm, 400 pieces, silver)

Pearl Stones (Basic Half Pearl) :
$4.90SGD : QOO10 SG (1.5mm - 4mm, 1200 pieces, white)
$1.29USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (have to choose the size at the website)
$2.48USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (1.5mm - 4mm, 1200 pieces, white)

Nail Glue :
$3.60SGD : QOO10 SG (10g)
$1.99USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (10g)
$1.08USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (3g)
$3.17USD : BORNPRETTYSTORE (7g)

This is the machine that I'm using, it's a LED lamp.

The wire cords. It's a flat 2-pin plug.

It has 3 timers. 10 seconds, 20 seconds and 30 seconds.

Gelish Machine (48w) :
$161.40RMB : TAOBAO
I use EzBuy to purchase because I can't really read Chinese so.... EZBUY SG
$58.68USD : AMAZON
$45.99USD : EBAY

Here's a video I film for easy guidance :