*PR samples

Hi everyone,

As you probably know I have an extensive nail polish collection. That's great but since I've entered (well more like had a peek into) the nail industry I got fascinated by gel polishes. Unfortunately having a big collection of gel polishes would come at a great cost so when I've learnt about Gelibility few months ago I knew I had to try it.

Gelibility is a gel polish system that allows you to mix ANY regular nail polish with it and transform it into gel polish! Just the idea of being able to transform any nail polish into gel colour and save a lot of money was very exciting for me. I got in touch with nail technician Brandi Hensley, the mastermind behind Gelibility and she was happy to send me a set to try. It was right before my two-week summer holiday so the timing was perfect.

I have decided to wear Gelibility and OPI Coca-Cola Red throughout my holiday and to test its application, longevity and shine. Here's how the nails looked straight after application:

Gelibility system consists of Gelibility Stick It!, soak off bonder and Gelibility Fix It! soak off gel. I also got a palette to mix the polish in but you can also use your regular .50p palette from a craft store or a piece of foil. Click here for a very nice step by step instructions and picture tutorial. I would just repeat it here ;)

I've picked OPI Coca-Cola Red because I knew it's well-pigmented. It got diluted quite a bit because I've used one drop of Gelibility and one drop of OPI. Now I know that I can use up to two drops of polish and one drop of Gelibility and it will improve the opacity of the mixture and it will still work fine.

I've applied two coats of the mixture over the Gelibility Stick It!, soak off bonder. It doesn't say the nails need to have shine taken off (lightly filed over with a nail file) which is obviously very good for the natural nails as you don't cause extra damage. The colour was not 100% opaque but it was enough so I left on just two coats.

I've worn the polish for 14 days in total and I've it put through a lot and rarely used cuticle oil. Let's have a look how my nails did...

Pretty good, huh? The cut on my index finger is from a razor blade when I was shaving so that is not fault of product. I've experienced a very minor tip wear towards the end of two-week period but otherwise nothing! Zilch! The nails were still glossy and smooth. Gelibility delivered better than I thought so I am very pleased with it. It was also easy to work with and I think you could easily do nail art with it as well. I still can't get over the fact that now I can turn any of my polishes into gel polishes! It's genius!

The removal is same as with other gel polishes so just use the foil method and acetone, soak the nails off for about 10 minutes and then gently remove the leftover product with orange wood stick (you can sill cause damage if you're not careful!). If it didn't soak off properly put the foil on again for further 5 minutes.

Gelibility system is available at their website, priced at $37.95 for the set of two but you can also purchase them separately.

*PR samples

Hi everyone,

Last Sunday, I was invited to a nail workshop hosted by Nail Hair & Beauty Training Academy UK in sunny Tunbridge Wells. The brand we were taught about and practised with was Bio Seaweed Gel.

Let's start at the beginning...

Waking up at 7am on Sunday wasn't very pleasant but I was so excited that it almost didn't matter. I got ready, set my sat nav and I was on my way! Apart from encountering some ridiculously bad drivers and needing to pee urgently for the past hour of my journey all was fine and the day started with a lot of sun.

I finally arrived to the Mercure Hotel where the workshop was held and to my surprise there was a small wedding fair that day...that's why there were the fancy cars outside...

The room was already set up when I arrived so I had a chance to take pictures and browse all the Bio Seaweed Gel colours and products. Each of us had a little station set up with everything we needed but I obviously went after the colour wheels first! There are two basic Bio Seaweed Gel polish lines - the one-step and the three-step lines. Each has different colours so there is plenty to choose from. If I remember correctly, there are almost 200 colours in total.

A little bit about Bio Seaweed Gel (BSG) brand:

BSG is a Canadian family business that has "the nail industry’s fastest and most gentle soak-off. Removal in just 5 minutes, with zero dehydrated, weakened or stained natural nails. The healthy decision for everyday beauty.

BSG is the healthier gel choice. Regardless of the frequency of wear, BSG will not cause damaged nails while still performing as a professional gel for weeks of chip-free high shine nails. Our products do not stain, weaken or dehydrate the natural nails.

Why?

We started the seminar with getting familiarised with the brand, products, learning about the unique properties and the quirky sun-curing capability. I must say I was very impressed with the whole philosophy and ease of use of the products so I'll definitely will be doing some more nail art with them.

As I've mentioned earlier, there are two Bio Seaweed Gel polish lines - the one-step and the three-step line. I've learned about both and also how to use and apply them. I will be posting about the differences and how to use them in the future as I think this deserves a special post.

I've also practiced overlay and sculpting with BSG Builder Sculpting Gel and a French manicure using their gel polish. It is super easy to paint French with their gel polish because unlike normal nail polish, you can clean up your lines easily with a brush.

Then we've tried some nail art with the BSG colours and this is me working (I didn't want to practice on myself so I've used nail trainer)...

As you know I'm a real gel polish nail art newbie but once I learned some basics of how gel polish works then creating nail art was quite easy. Here are some practice designs I've done at home following the Sunday work shop.

I've used Bio Seaweed Gel polishes only plus BSG No-Sanding Base Gel Polish and Diamond Shine Top Gel.

Bio Seaweed Gel availability:

HERE is a list of distributors around the world, UK distributor is Nail, Hair and Beauty Training Academy UK and you can purchase at http://bioseaweedgel.co.uk

I've also done a pedicure on myself using BSG but I'm a bit hesitant to show pictures as I know many of you hate feet pictures. Would you like me to do one post with pedicure pictures in the future provided I would announce beforehand that there are feet pictures in the post? Let me know!

So that's how I spent my Sunday :) I've learnt quite a lot and discovered a great gel polish system that does not damage natural nails - how fab! Have you tried Bio Seaweed Gel before? I know it's huge in Canada and United States but it's quite new to the UK. What is YOUR experience?

Have a lovely day! Lucie x

*I have not been compensated for this post financially. I have been provided with products to play with and have been invited to the workshop