The woes of my brittle nails have followed me like a bad habit for as long as I can remember. Because my nails lean on the thin side, manicures never last beyond a few days, as chips and cracks usually invade by day three or four. With my hectic schedule, I don't have time to reapply polish on a regularly basis much less get manis every week. So yeah, I'm pretty much always out and about with a full blown nail catastrophe on my hands. I've gotten gel manicures before and loved the results but don't have time to keep going to the salon for reapplications. So, when I heard that Red Carpet Manicure had come out with at home gel manicure kits retail that can garner the same natural, shiny and long-lasting results of salon gel manicures, I was elated and had to try it. My saving grace!
A full system, available at all Ulta stores, costs just $57.94 and can be used for more than twenty applications, a bargain compared to the prices of in-salon gel manicures. The kit comes with the needed basics-portable LED light, various gels, and 36 wearable and trendy polishes!
My inaugural Red Carpet Manicure session was not for a red carpet event but for my friend's wedding. The entire session took about 45 minutes, which should reduce with each session. The instructions were simple and easy to follow. Basically, I applied three different coats of polishes, placing my fingers under the LED light for a few minutes in between each application. The products didn't smell carcinegous and the polish brushes were small and easy to maneuver. You do have to be careful when applying the gels as any residue that land outside the nail beds become hard to remove due to the curing of the LED light. After the session, my nails looked and felt like gel nails! Of course, due to user error and carelessly, they don't look completely flawless but I'm sure practice will make perfect!
If you'd like to find out how my gel nails are holding up, follow me on twitter!