Love getting gel manis but hate shelling out up to R300 a pop? You’re going to love Sensationail; it’s pretty much all you need to give your gel mani chica the bye bye hand. Possibly. I mean, if you’re a bit rubbish at application like me you’re probably still going to want to hit up the nail bar. Also, that way you’ll have loads more colours to choose from. But ja, getting back to the awesomeness that is Sensationail…

Sensationail’s starter kit includes everything you need to do your own gel nails at home. Alles. Like the LED lamp, colour, top and base coat, everything. The best bit is that it’s only R995 at selected Edgars and Red Square stores so it kind of pays for itself after three or four manis!

Here’s how it works: You first prep your nails by swiping the Gel Cleanser over them (it kind of looks like acetone and if I ran out I’d pretty much use just that to replace it) before applying a thin layer of Gel Primer (which looks/feels like sticky water) to your nails and let it air dry. Ready to paint? Slick on a thin coat of clear Gel Base & Top Coat (which looks just like clear polish) and then stick your nails under the lamp for 30 seconds.

It makes a beeping noise after 30 seconds and auto switches off after 60 so you don’t need a timer. The next step is to apply a thin layer of gel polish to your nails and cure it under the lamp for 60 seconds.

After that, you’re to apply the Gel Base & Top Coat once more and cure it for 30 seconds. After that it’ll be BONE dry but will have a slightly sticky residual layer on top. Simply remove this with a swipe of Gel Cleanser and BOOM, you’re done!

Since getting the kit, I’ve done loads of manis for both myself and a couple of friends (way more than the ten you’re supposed to get out of the kit) and would recommend it to anyone. The actual polish, in my opinion, is just as good as salon brands like Shellac and Gelish in that it creates a super shiny rock hard mani that, if applied correctly, sticks around for up to fourteen days and even longer on your toes. However, application is everything girls. If you get it onto the skin on the sides of your nail or don’t seal your handiwork by running the brush along your nail tip it will end up chipping or lifting off entirely.

The only downside is that Sensationail’s colour selection is very limited; 12 shades in all. Still, I bought a few Gelish shades off eBay for R90 a pop including delivery and found they worked just fine with Sensationail’s Gel Base & Top Coat. In fact, there have been days where I’ve lazily skipped out on the Gel Primer and used plain old acetone in place of the Gel Cleanser and got great results.

In all, if you’re into wearing gel on your nails, slap this baby on your Christmas wish list; it won’t disappoint. You can also buy other shades of Sensationail Invincible Gel Polish separately for R159. For more info, visit Sensationail’s website over here.

Love, love

Leigh

P.S. To soak it off, I first lightly buff at the top layer of the mani. Next, I saturate cotton pads with extra strength nail polish remover, place them on my nails and then secure them in place by wrapping each fingertip up with tin foil. After 20 minutes I gently scratch at the polish with an orange stick and it literally crumbles right off.