Sensationail Polish To Gel Kit

Whoever invented gel polish is a genius. The shine, the longevity, the ease – gel nail varnish is absolutely amazing. However, as someone who has a collection of hundreds (…and hundreds and hundreds…) of regular nail varnishes, I am always slightly put off gel nails as it feels like I’m spending a lot of money to duplicate my whole nail polish collection. When I buy a new dress or a pair of shoes I already know that I can look through my nail varnish drawers and find a match – I don’t want to have to go out and buy the exact shade in a gel format, even if it has a better finish and will last a lot longer. Then I was sent the *trumpets blare* Sensationail Polish to Gel Kit.

The basic concept is that is will turn any regular polish into gel. There are two ways you can do this, according to Sensationail.

The first method is the one that I am reviewing, which is the most simple and (what I think will be) the most popular. You paint your nails as normal with a standard nail varnish. I chose Chanel ‘Frenzy’ (the old formula, not the newly released ‘gels’) as it was notorious for its terrible longevity. I can barely get two days out of this polish without it chipping so I thought this would be the ultimate test. Then comes the annoying part: you have to wait for the polish to properly dry before you can apply the gel topcoat and cure it. The instructions say to wait 30 minutes for the polish to dry before applying the top coat, but I would recommend waiting a good two hours just to be sure. I was impatient and only waited 30 minutes and the polish puckered and went lumpy when I applied the top coat. Not good. I took it all off and started again and the manicure below is the result.

The shine is the same as a gel manicure, the finish is good (not perfect but I might need more practice) and the photos show this Chanel polish manicure on day nine. DAY NINE. That is unheard of for this polish.

Obviously in order to make the polish last, you have to do your manicure as though you were doing a gel manicure. You can’t just slap the polish and gel topcoat on and think it will last as long as a salon manicure. You have to make sure your nails are primed before the manicure (see my nail care 101 post HERE for potential manicure mishaps you may be making). Wrapping your tips is KEY or gel nails will always lift and chip within days.

The lamp is small so it doesn’t take up much room, but you can comfortably fit your fingers in. PLUS it has a USB cable so you could easily do your nails at your desk/take it away with you/do your nails in the car if you so wish!

I haven’t tried out the other method as it sounds like such a faff and I don’t think people who buy this kit will do it for that exact reason. First you apply the gel primer base coat. Then you take the small mixing dish in which you combine 1 part regular polish to 1 part gel top coat. You then apply this to your nails, cure, repeat, cure. Just… FAFF. I would rather do a proper gel manicure than mess about doing all that! Maybe the results are even more long-lasting with this method but I am an inherently lazy person and the first method works well for me so I don’t see the need to try the second one. If you’ve tried it do let me know in the comments! This kit is £49.99 and you can buy it HERE.

I am so impressed that this product exists, filling such an obvious gap in the market (and I already have my eye on some similar products that I need to try…) I can’t wait to try out some other polishes that I never wear due to their terrible staying power: GOSH ‘One Night Only’ Holographic polish I am coming for you!

What are your thoughts on the Sensationail Polish to Gel Kit? Will you be treating yourself or would you rather stick to standard polish or traditional gels? Would you like me to update this review with a trial of the second method or do you feel tired just reading about it? Let me know in the comments!

Lex

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