Sunday 23 February 2014

Review: Gelicious Hybrid Gel Nail Colour.

Gelicious "Little Prince George" Starter Pack: AU$129.00 (approx £69.66)*

I'm a little late to jump on the wagon but I have always been intrigued by the idea of gel nails. Nail polish that doesn't take hours to dry and that lasts for weeks without chipping? Yes please, us girls have things to do! It can be a little costly to go out to a salon and get your nails done every few weeks though, so when Gelicious contacted me asking if I would like to try one of their at-home kits, I jumped at the chance!

Gelicious are an Australia-based retailer of hybrid gel nail polishes, and most recently they have developed three new limited edition shades inspired by the arrival of our little Prince George of Cambridge. Each shade with it's own catchy little name, the collection consists of 'Hot Mama Cambridge', a metallic raspberry which is as radiant as Kate Middleton herself; my personal favourite, 'Breath of Fresh Heir', a pale, frosted pink which is perfectly subtle for any expecting mother-to-be; and finally the one I received to try out, 'Little Prince George', which is a baby blue shade containing little white flecks- inspired by the blue polka dot dress worn by Kate as she left the hospital.

The Gelicious Starter Set comes with your nail polish shade of choice, an ultra glaze topcoat and a UV LED 3.5W Mani/Pedi lamp which is used to cure the polishes. Application is quick and simple- You just apply the coloured polish in thin layers until opaque, curing each layer under the UV lamp for one minute and then finishing off with the ultra glaze topcoat which should be cured for two minutes, leaving you with the glossiest nails. Wipe over your nails with nail polish remover to get rid of the sticky film, rinse your hands and you're good to do the washing, eat, do your makeup, do backflips... all without having to worry about smudging! Perfect.

Gelicious also claims that their polishes are supposed to last on your nails for up to ten days, which unfortunately is where this pretty colour let me down. I'm no expert so I'm not sure whether it was a flaw in my application or not (if you have any idea how to prevent this, let me know!), but I found my polish peeling away from my nails in the bath after just a few days of wear.

Gelicious ship their products speedily worldwide and they have a huge range of stunning colours and finishes available to choose from which can be viewed here, prices starting from AU$29 (approx £15) with each 15ml bottle lasting for 30-40 applications.

Have you ever had a gel nail manicure? What do you think?
Frances x

*DISCLOSURE: PR sample. All opinions expressed are still 100% honest and my own.

4 comments:

  1. I've had it done a couple of times but its so expensive to upkeep and sometimes mine peeled away when I was having a bath or a hot shower too. I like the idea of doing your own gels though, you'd save so much money.

    Grace x
    grace-gibson.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. Such a gorgeous colour! I really want one of these kits at home, so much cheaper than going to the salon to have them done!

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  3. I've been having these done since Christmas now and it started off really well, but at the salon they file off the old manicure and it's totally destroyed my nails, they are such a mess. The first one I had done was well worth the money, but since then it's not been :( X

    www.justrach.com xo

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  4. What a great review Frances! LITTLE PRINCE GEORGE is a divine colour on you!

    Just thought we'd pass on some of our knowledge about the reasons for early peeling so you can get the great long lasting results you can expect from gelicious.

    There are two main causes for peeling or lifting. It can be due to oil on the nails, or too thick an application. Before you apply geliciousTM it is important to wash your hands and give the nails a light buff to remove any oil on the nail. You can also wipe over with some acetone based nail polish remover (non-moisturising), but make sure they are fully dry before application. Then push back your cuticles to make it easier to apply without touching them. If you do touch your cuticles with colour it can lead to lifting as the nail grows.

    Before applying, shake the bottle well, and then try to wipe most of the product off the brush. Swirling the stem of the brush around the neck of the bottle, then wiping the brush backwards and forwards is a great way to do this. Each coat should be very thin - the first coat will look patchy but the second coat will look great. The great thing about gelicious is that it is self-levelling and won’t dry until you cure it under the lamp. This means you can take your time to make sure you get an even and thin application. It can take some practice to get the hang of really thin coats, and it is worth noting that some of our pastel colours look more opaque with three thin coats. As you apply, sweep the brush across the nail at the same angle, trying not to lift it at the end of the nail. Lifting at the end can lead to a thicker layer at the tip, which can then be prone to peeling. Finally, apply the ULTRA GLAZE TOP COAT, again making it as thin as possible. Try to overshoot the colour without touching the cuticles and lightly brush across the tip of the nail to seal in the free edge.

    The other thing worth remembering is to avoid contact with household chemicals as this can lead to early lifting, so make sure you wear protective gloves when washing up and cleaning. Pool chlorine can also cause gelicious to lift.

    It isn’t unusual for one or two nails to peel or lift before the others, and this is often due to wear on those fingers we tend to use the most. The great thing about gelicious is that you can remove and re-apply just those nails, or you can patch a chip before it peels. For details on how to do this, please see our FAQ page here http://gelicious-store.com/faqs#7

    I hope these tips will help you achieve the long lasting results you can expect with gelicious!

    Happy blogging and nail painting!

    Love the gelicious customer service team x

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