Mani: Gelish Up In The Blue

At-home gel polish kits are popping up everywhere you turn, from Sephora to CVS. And it’s no wonder why – saving you both time AND money, they’re a no brainer! Gelish® MINI’s at-home gel polish system provides the long-lasting color you crave, and at just $90 total, it’s a fraction of the cost of most other at-home gel polish kits on the market.

The Gelish® MINI formulation lasts up to 3 weeks, does not damage the natural nail bed and comes in a wide array of eye-popping colors. Gelish® MINI is available atSallyBeauty.com. Please feel free to reach out for additional information!

Today I've got on a gorgeous shade that's giving me Spring Fever!

Harmony Gelish Up In The Blue (2 coats)

Last year I purchased the Gelish starter set and light so that I could try out this new fad. This set is very user-friendly and it didn't take much for me to feel like I knew what I was doing! The set comes with an instruction book, which is very helpful, as well as a DVD, although I haven't watched that.

Here's what comes in the starter set, which is about $50 at Sally's, or $45 if you have Sally's club card.

The starter set does not come with a color, allowing you to choose your shade. Gelish colors are $15, or $13 with the Sally's club card.

And this is the light I use. I read all the reviews on this light and it seemed like a great way to go to begin. The light retails for $25, or $23 with the Sally's club card. Note: I don't use this with batteries- I read that you get a stronger light if you use a power adapter, so I just use one I found laying around from a walkie talkie set.

A few tips:

1. It's not really necessary to use the Gelish Cleanse.... once I run out of the starter bottle, I'll use the higher percentage Alcohol and it will work just fine- I think it's 90%. You just don't want to buy the 70% Alcohol because it won't work as well.

2. I use an old t-shirt for my lint-free cloth to wipe the cleanse across my nails- you do it twice- once before you start, and then at the end to remove the sticky residue that remains after curing.

Disclosure: Although the shade pictured above was provided to me for review purposes, I purchased the starter set and light myself.

Gelish Info

Back in August Polish Insomniac posted about at-home gel nails, something I had been thinking about trying, but just hadn't gotten around to. At that time, Sally's was running a special on the Gelish mini UV light and the Gelish starter kit, so I went for it. I am SO glad I did!



Here's my first try at a full mani- this is two coats of Harmony Gelish Star Burst. I actually purchased Star Burst on Amazon because it seemed to be the cheapest option for full-sized bottles.

Here's what comes in the starter set.

And this is the light. I read all the reviews on this light and it seemed like a great way to go to begin.

A few tips:

1. One thing I read was that even though the light uses batteries, it is better to use a power adapter because the strength of the light goes down as the batteries go down. But if you use a power adapter, the strength of the light is constant and it works much better. So that's what I've been doing- we have tons of power adapters lying around from toys, so I just grabbed one of those and just plug it in each time I use it.

2. It's not really necessary to use the Gelish Cleanse.... once I run out of the starter bottle, I'll use the higher percentage Alcohol and it will work just fine- I think it's 90%. You just don't want to buy the 70% Alcohol because it won't work as well.

3. I use an old t-shirt for my lint-free cloth to wipe the cleanse across my nails- you do it twice- once before you start, and then at the end to remove the sticky residue that remains after curing.

Have you tried at-home gel nails? I am having fun! I do have to say I practiced a bit using it to mend tears before I tried a full mani. I followed Loodie Loodie Loodie's tips for using gel polish to mend a tear.

My first Gelish mani!

Harmony Gelish in Starburst (2 coats)

This is the first full Gelish mani I have done. I'll post details later on the products I got and what I think about DIY gel polish manis- the short version is I really like it!