Sensationail is an at home Gel nail brand. So that you can now do Gel nails at home. The brand itself has been around for a while but this is the first time I’ve done gel nails myself.
The set above is the Sensationail Deluxe Starter Kit which was available at Boots this Christmas at £55. This set normally retails at £110. That’s why I bought it. Also the fact the normal starter kits are priced at £69.99 and only include one colour polish.
Included in this kid is the lamp and a lead, cleanser, primer, base and top coat, two gel colours (pink chiffon and raspberry wine), two glitter puffers, 24 lint free wipes, nail buffer, manicure stick and removal tool.
The two colours included are pink chiffon and raspberry wine. Pink Chiffon is a cute pink polish and Raspberry Wine is a nice red with tiny gold sparkles in it.
Application is simple and explained in the leaflets contained in the kit. I would however advise a few primary steps.
- Wash your hands and then make sure your cuticles are pushed back.
- Once that’s done make sure you smooth the surface of the nail. I’d not use the file that comes with this kit, instead use a nail block and the first step for removing the ridges. A totally smooth surface gives the polish nothing to cling to.
- Use the gel cleanser on the lint free wipes over the nails to make sure they’re clean.
- Use the primer only on the outside edges of the nail. This helps during the removal process but doesn’t affect the performance of the product.
- Apply the base coat very thinly. Make sure you cap the ends.
- Cure for 30 seconds (until the beep) in the LED lamp.
- Apply a very thin layer of colour and make sure you cap the ends.
- Cure for 1 minute (until the light turns off).
- Apply a second thin layer and cap the ends.
- Cure for another minute.
- Apply the top coat, again very thinly.
- Cure for 30 seconds.
- Wipe over with cleanser on a new lint free wipe.
It’s simple and once you’re done your nails are dry.
Tips
- Do the layers thinly. Believe me, the thinner the better.
- Don’t touch your nails during the process. They’re not dry until they’re cured.
- Before curing them correct any mistakes. Make sure there’s none on the cuticles or anywhere else you don’t want it.
- Don’t be afraid to remove a nail if you don’t like it. If you’ve not cured that layer simply wipe it off with acetone, then wipe with cleanser and do it again.
It claims to have two weeks wear and even as someone who has never done gel nails before I did get this level of wear. There were no chips, no scuffs and no fading. I didn’t even get any staining from my hair colour, which happens with normal polish. I did get a chip once. That only happened when I ripped a nail off. Even then it didn’t start to break down
The only thing that’s missing from the kit is removal items. Oddly you do get the removal tool and a guide on how to remove gel nails. I didn’t even bother going for the Sensational kit.
The remover is simply acetone with a couple of conditioning ingredients. It’s far cheaper to get pure acetone from Sally’s. If you can’t get acetone, do use this remover. Acetone nail polish remover is not pure enough. For the nail wraps you can simply use kitchen foil and use cut up cotton pads.
In conclusion I love this kit. It works. As a result my natural nails have never been so long.