OK, I seem to have a lot of visitors to the site looking at my Geleration review so I thought I’d write a slightly more detailed/useful review.

I’ve tried quite a couple of different Gel style manicures and they are my nails of choice for when I want something that looks grown up. My nails look shiny, well kempt and well…expensive. I do a lot of random stuff with my hands which means that the normal manicures (no matter where or what polish) don’t seem to last longer than two days tops. By the third day they look battered, scratched just not pretty any more.

The Good…

For a couple of pounds more I can have the gel layers built up (or the Glitter) in around the same time and have ‘good’ nails for a week – week and a half. They are great for holidays or busy weeks where you know you’ll be photographed and want less time to worry about any unkempt hands. I’m even at the point where I’m debating getting my own set of varnishes and little UV machine.

The Bad….

But – they are a pain to take off. You have to soak the nails in Acetone nail varnish before painstakingly removing the gel and I’ve found if I have them more often than once a month my nails get very weak (hopefully that’s not due to my method of removal). It’s obviously no good as well if you’re wanting to change your varnish quickly to suit your mood (or if you work in an area that bans varnish) and the range of colours tends to be very limited.

The Summery….

Go for it. Don’t believe the places that tell you it’ll last for weeks and weeks. If you’re going away for two weeks then bring along a matching colour for touch ups. I haven’t noticed any difference in longevity between places that charge a fortune and those that don’t so don’t feel you need to pay a fortune.

I love love love having my nails done. It's one of those areas
where if I had the resources I'd have them done every other day. There
is always that inevitable disappointment however when I chip, scratch or
break a nail, and with my millinery work it happens on a depressingly
regular basis. So I decided to try 'Geleration'. Each layer is covered
with a special gel that is then hardened under a special lamp before the
next layer is applied. The result should last 'up to three weeks.' And
then needs to be removed at the salon. 

I figured I may as well try a pedicure and manicure (hell, why
not?) so went in to K:SPA ( http://www.mykspa.co.uk/) to try it with
 an open mind. It's currently only available in Jessica's most popular 
colours and I did see a gorgeous bright red that I loved but bearing in 
mind the first rule of experimentation (no 1: Thou shalt test, knowing you
 can disguise the results if it all goes pasties up) I went with a very 
natural nude shade that looked beautiful when on. The beautician was 
wonderful and did a fantastic job. The gel gives a wonderfully deep 
gloss that doesn't diminish over the week and a half I had them. (Also
 happened  to be the week of my wedding so trust me, it was fully tested 
with the amount of jobs I had on my list)

After 10 days the gels was beginning to curl up away from the
base of the nail where the new nail was pushing up and 12 days in I had
to make an appointment to have the gels removed as they were starting to
catch in hair & stockings etc. I was disappointed that they didn't last
for the full three weeks, but the only fault lay in my nails having a
growth spurt.  After the gel was removed my nails didn't feel as healthy
as normal but they didn't break of split when I had a manicure later
that week.

It is only a choice between a full nail colour or a french
manicure - none of my half moon manicures (but very few local places
will do that anyway), and as mentioned before the colour choice is very
limited. It's not something I think I But next time I know I've a number
of gigs on one weekend I'll be back as they do look fabulous and stay
looking fabulous for a week. Now if only they did half moons.......

http://www.jessicacosmetics.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=GELERATION