Belle Gel Nails: Cerise

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all well! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been so busy (and tired) with work lately. Anyway, I have scrounged together time to give myself another gel manicure - this time with a coloured gel.

The people from Belle Gel were kind enough to send me a few more colours to try out *happy dance* and so here I am! The biggest issue I had here, was deciding which colour to go for...

A typical problem chez Nails and Tales haha!!

As we are scrounging the last few days of Summer out of September, I had to go with the gorgeous bright pink: Cerise! I am often a wishful thinker, and so bright nails might encourage bright days... You never know! If we have some additional sunshine, you can thank me haha!!

 

(Just for funsies, at this point, my PC went FUBAR. So I apologise for how late I am in posting of any description, but I have been trying to retrieve all my stored pictures. I started this on Tuesday morning. It's now Friday...  Make sure you back your shiz up people, I am very lucky to have not lost everything. And very lucky that I have a spare laptop for my blogging / Internet fun!)

So, on with the gels! If you read this post, you will have already seen my initial review of the product and application. I'm not going to bore you with the same text over again, I'm just going to show you some pretty pink nails!

 

Very shiny, yes?

 

The pink itself is very lovely - it's bright, and blue toned, and just an extra hint of red. I've been wearing them since Monday, and they look fab! The colour really suits my skin tone! I find this shade to be fun, but still elegant - which is great for work (for me anyway!)

 

The application guide suggests a coat of clear, two coats of colour, and another coat of clear. This leaves for a very glossy finish! My only slight, concern was that the coloured gel seemed to shrink on top of the still tacky clear gel, as you can see from the few gaps I have. I don't think it's massively noticeable; I noticed because I had taken extra care when applying the colour to cover as much nail as possible! By the time curing had finished, it had shrunk! 

The next time I try a colour application, I think I'll try to cure the clear base for 2-3 minutes, instead of 30 seconds, to see if that helps the colour stay put a bit better! I think that this is the type of thing where practise really makes perfect, if you are a complete perfectionist. On the other hand, I'm not sure everyone would scrutinise as much as me, and just be glad of a chip free mani for up to two weeks!

Despite this, I have definitely enjoyed wearing the Cerise gels for the last few days. I love the colour, I love the glossy finish, and I love the simplicity of application. The only thing I don't love, is this:

 

That's a 70% gel lift on my left thumb nail. I went to bed last night, and it was fine. I wake up this morning, and there is a slice across my nails where the gel has split. Upon further investigation, most of it had lifted.

I would LOVE to know what I did in my sleep last night ;)

Now I have the dilemma... re-gel my thumb, or accent nail time??!

So, if you have any ideas why my gel lifted, or what the hell I did last night, let me know! I don't want to make the same mistake next time haha!

Regardless of the lift, (which I know can happen with a professional application too), I'm still a bit in love with the Belle Gel kit. I love this colour too - and if you are a fan of pink, buy it now!! I can't stop looking at my nails, and marvelling at how glossy they are. I'm not bored, even after 5 days - so you know it has to be good!

I personally can't wait to try the other colours... Yes Mocha, I mean you!

Love Charlotte x

Additional Info:

Starter Kit £59.95 from www.bellegel.co.uk, currently with free postage and packing on orders over £40.

Additional gels (12 colours available including Cerise) at £12.95 each.

 

The gel sent to me was a PR Sample, but as you can see, all thoughts and reviews are my own. I am not affiliated with anyone, nor do I ever intend to be anything other than 100% honest.

 

 

Update: Belle Gel Nails

Hi Everyone,

It's been just over a week since I applied my Belle Gel gel nails, and I am still very impressed. I can not recommend them enough!!

I have had a few incidents with my nails - a few little chips here and there, and two minor peeling occasions on my right hand - which were applied with my almost useless left hand. I will be blunt - I put this down to my own clumsiness at work, and my own errors during application.

I could have buffed my nails better. I don't like doing it, as my nails are relatively thin anyway. The file supplied would take chunks out of my nails. Scary! Next time - and there WILL be a next time, I will use my own buffer.

I overlapped onto skin. Rookie mistake - this is simply what happens when you go over skin. The skin moves and it secretes oils, the gel will lift.

I should have done thicker coats - I am clumsy when I'm stressed and busy, so really, a thicker gel would help protect them. I lost maybe three tiny chips from my nails, one of which came away leaving the gel intact.

And during the daily paint, I may have accidentally used polish remover with acetone in once. That's really silly of me. Oooops!

To summarise, these nails have endured:

7 days in hell busy retail
Hair washing -  even straight after application
Shower scrubs with oil in
General housekeeping, cooking and cleaning
Polish application and removal
All sorts of moisturisers and beauty products


I have been cruel to these nails, when you think about it. But they have still been good to me. They have withstood test after test and survived - mostly. These have lasted equally as well as the gel nails I have had applied in salons in the past. I'm going to take them off today, but only because I want to play with other goodies. I WILL be using this kit again (and again) - in fact I already have a few ideas up my sleeves!

The Belle Gel kit is brilliant. My poor colleagues have had to hear me ramble on about how much I love my gel nails on a daily basis. Most of them are male. If you have been considering it, I urge you to try it. And still, awesome packaging!

Starter Kit £59.95 from www.bellegel.co.uk, currently with free postage and packing on orders over £40.

Additional gels (12 colours available) at £12.95 each.

 

If you get a kit, I hope you love it as much as I do,

Love Charlotte x

This update is all, as always, from my own thoughts and opinions. I have not been paid for this review, not am I affiliated with Belle Gel. I just like to give my readers as much information as possible!

Nails and Tales Review: Belle Gel

HI Everyone,

Today I would like to share a new product with you from Belle Gel, which I have been asked to review by the lovely Beth.

She has been with her trusted manicurist for many years, and that is a rather happy relationship... which means that she wouldn't really have the opportunity to do this justice herself. (Her manicurist... awesome, by the way...)

I have not purchased this kit, and I am not being paid for this review - nor am I affiliated with Belle Gel in any way. All thoughts are my own, and 100% honest.

Anyway, Belle Gel have created an affordable, at home, gel manicure kit - which is perfect for anyone who is looking for a longer-lasting manicure, or something to help their natural nails grow longer for an event. According to the website, the formula has been designed to help preserve the natural nail underneath. This is great to hear, as when I gave up having my nails done with gel at a salon, the natural nails underneath were trashed.

Also, a nice thing about doing it yourself at home. is that you can have your mani done at any time of the day or night! It is not always possible for people to get to a salon, and also, when you include backfills and removal costs, visiting a salon can be rather expensive over time.

So... down to the kit itself.

I know that this is hardly a make-or-break factor, but I really like the fact that the packaging has been well thought out. The drawers make it easy to see where everything is, and I like that each product has a home. Sad, I know, but to me it makes a difference. It's easy to put away (rather than fighting with a box and KNOWING it won't go back in the way it came) which means I'll be able to store it neatly with my many other nail based beauties goodies necessary items.

 

I started by cleaning and filing my nails in preparation for applying the gels. All polish was removed, cuticles pushed back and the nail itself  gently buffed to remove shine and help the gel stick.

Gross, eh?

I then used the sanitiser spray to ensure that there were no oils, dirt or dust on my nails! You need to use this with paper towels, rather than cotton pads, as the cotton can leave lint behind. We don't want that trapped under the gel for the next two weeks!

An odd thing to add, but I really like the smell of the sanitiser...!

I chose to use the clear gel, as I foresee that I will end up painting over the gels within a few days. The kit also came with a red gel too, so I can vamp it up in the future should I wish :)

Once I was ready, I applied a thin coat of the nail primer over each nail, and allowed it to dry for around 30 seconds. Then, I was ready to begin with the gel application.

In all fairness, it was much easier than I had anticipated. The gel is really malleable, and applies easily. It is just like painting your nails... and I'm guessing we can all manage that! Using the clear, it was harder to see if I had managed complete coverage of the nail (whilst avoiding cuticles and bare skin) so I have got a few tiny gaps near the cuticle. It's not noticeable though, unless you are really close, and only I get that close to my nails! And lets face it, it's hard to be perfect on your first go!

The clear gel requires three coats in total. This can be pretty time consuming, especially with all of the curing involved.

Step One: Apply the gel to the little finger on your first hand, and cure it under the lamps for 30 seconds.

Step Two: Apply to the ring finger, and cure both nails under the lamp for 30 seconds.

Step Three: Apply to the middle finger and cure the three nails under the lamp for 30 seconds

Step Four: Apply to the index finger and cure all four nails for 30 seconds.

Step Five: Do your thumb! I would suggest doing the thumb on your opposite hand, then you can cure it with your fingers on your first hand!!

Essentially, it's rinse and repeat three times, and after your last time, you give your nails a five minute cure! The lamp itself will switch itself off after five minutes, so don't worry about timing it!

I applied relatively thick coats to my nails. The instructions don't suggest whether they should be thin or thick, so I went with my personal preference.

After the end-curing stage, wipe off any sticky residue using the sanitiser and a paper towel.

 

Then you are ready to add the supplied Supergloss Top Coat. It is recommended that you use the top coat provided, as this will protect the gel from staining, and your own top coat may not provide the same benefit.

Shiny, but still a bit gross. Yellow... ew!

I am not a huge fan of seeing my own bare nails, even under a protective gloss of gel, so I free-handed some white tips, and covered with top coat.

Much better!

Overall Conclusion:

The kit is ideal for at home use. It's simple to use, easy to apply, and gives great results.

The Bad Bits: (get this over with first)

Erm...  No indication as to whether it can be used in conjunction with false tips and the bulb in the UV lamp could have been stronger. Really, nothing bad, unless I want to be persnickety!

The Good Bits: (best for last!)

The price (especially compared to going to the salon), the simplicity, no foul smells or mess, the choice of colours included (and more available on their site), tidy and well thought out packaging, great brush for applying the gel (a bad brush is always a nightmare) and a fantastic finish to my nails.

I will come back to you and update this regarding wear time when I have had a chance to give them a good testing.

Roughly ten minutes after applying these, I had to wash my hair. Not something I would normally have done, but I had not planned my day sensibly haha. To be fair, they withstood that with no issue at all! I'm feeling confident that these will last really well!

So far, Nails and Tales recommends Belle Gel at home gel nails kit!

Additional Info:

Starter Kit £59.95 from www.bellegel.co.uk, currently with free postage and packing on orders over £40.

Additional gels (12 colours available) at £12.95 each.

So, do you like having a gel manicure? Would you, or do you already do this yourself at home? Let me know!

Thanks for reading, 

Love Charlotte x

P.S. If you want to check out Beth's new blog, she is telling it like it is over at www.lifebybeth.com