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.