I love the long-lasting qualities of gel nail polishes and have been going to a salon recently to get mine done. However, at over £25 every fortnight (roughly), it may be too pricey for lots of people; so I wanted to investigate SensatioNail’s at-home gel nails kit and polishes to see how well they perform in comparison to a professional job.

I tried SensatioNail’s sister brand Fuse Gelnamel over a year ago and didn’t completely like it. It’s a one-coat hybrid between a gel polish and a normal polish that’s supposed to last a week, and it was disappointing- you can read my review here. Since then, I’ve been keen to try the main SensatioNail brand.

I’ve been using the SensatioNail Pink Chiffon Starter Kit Gift Pack (£69.99 from www.sensationail.co.uk) and their new Peachy Keen pastel sorbet polish too. With this gift pack you get their starter kit (which includes the lamp, a sample-size polish and everything else you need) plus you get to choose an extra full-size polish shade of your choice  It’s a great way to get started and get a feel of the brand.

You get detailed instructions with the kit, and it is very easy to do as long as you work carefully and take your time. You can’t rush, as you need to make sure the polish doesn’t get on your cuticles or skin as it will just start to peel off if it does. It’s quite a lengthy process until you get really familiar with it.

You begin by filing, buffing and cleaning the nails; before applying a base coat and curing it with the lamp. You then apply two coats of your coloured gel polish and cure each. I chose to apply some feather nail transfers after this step, so on top of these I applied and cured two coats of the clear top coat instead of the recommended one coat. My manicures with SensatioNail have been lasting chip-free for 9 or 10 days, so it hasn’t been as long-lasting as the 2+ weeks that in-salon gel manicures give me, but you do get good shine and it’s definitely a more cost-effective option.

I’m going to continue using SensatioNail and cut back on the number of salon gel manicures that I get; but for a special holiday or occasion, I’d still rely on a professional’s services for longevity and ease.

Have you tried SensatioNail before?

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