I love the durability of having a gel manicure. The fact that it lasts as long as three weeks at a time and not having to worry about a chipped nail or your nails breaking is awesome! But on the other hand – what I dislike about gel nails is the fact that you have the same manicure for up to three weeks – because A. you have paid for the product to last that long and B. you can! So the flexablity of gel nails is what I dislike about the product oh AND the soak off time! As a working professional, sitting in a salon for 20 minutes while the therapists scraps off my gel polish is time wasted.

So when I came across Essence new gel nail polish products – I was very curious! Nail nails at a fraction of the price, an array of stunning colours and no soak off time! I was sold… but how long will the product last?

Their new range comes in a base coat and a top coast that you apply in addition to their gel colours. Although it takes longer to apply then the usual two coats of polish to each nail and you are good to go, the product is applied on like normal nail polish and requires no lamp. But you have to apply four coats to one nail (base, two coats of gel polish and the top coat). If you are anything like me and hate having to sit still waiting for your nails to dry and often get impatient and ending up smudging one – the cost is high – because their are another four coats to redo!

In terms of the finish of the product – I am a huge fan. The product produces extreme shine giving it a professional look and they feel amazing.

But how long does the product last? The products states it has 60% better lastingness. Well if you are anything like me – hard on your nails; crafting, fingers often in your mouth, etc then the product lasts five to seven days without touch ups.

Just long enough for me to want to change the colour of my nails. With the cost of the base and top coat nail polish just under R100 with the gel polishes retailing for R26 or so. I am a huge fan and have already built up a nice collection of these polishes.

I experimented with their pastel range and a stunning glitter polish which I paired with the Izabelle Hammon Africa decal pack (see my last post about these decals here).

Featuring:
Essence the gel nail polish base coatEssence the gel nail polish
Essence the gel nail polish top coat
Essence the gel nail polish ‘our sweetest day’
Essence I love Trends nail polish – the nudes ‘pure soul’
Izabelle Hammon Africa decal pack

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