Best Gel Nail Polish: Your Ultimate Buying Guide
Whether you are looking to provide manicure services professionally or are looking to start doing it at home, the best gel nail polish can give you the flawless, glossy, and lasting manicure.
There is no doubt the market is flooded with a wide range of gel nail polish, and getting the best can be a challenge, more so for newbies. But that shouldn’t worry you. We took the time to look at the best nail polish brands on Amazon and assorted them based on users’ reviews.
How Gel Nail Polish Works
Like paint, the normal nail polish is the hardened lacquer after the solvent mixed with pigments evaporates when exposed to air. Gel nail polish works differently – the drying process is a result of a chemical reaction that is triggered by UV lights.
For this reason, the gel nail polish will be packaged in opaque bottles, which block out light that may harden the lacquer inside the container. As such, if they are selling you the nail polish in a transparent bottle, you better look for another vendor.
Reviews of the Best Gel Nail Polish Brands
- Creative Nail Design (CND) Shellac
CND is renowned for innovations in the market, and the Shellac gel nail polish is no exception. While some gels will require you to rough up your nail before applying, CND Shellac is ready for use even on smooth nails.
Besides, Shellac is easy to apply, leaving a thin layer of gel nail polish on your nail, unlike the thick layer that some people go for. For these reasons, this would be the best pick for first-timers as well as those with thin nails.
The CND Shellac is available in 128 colors perfect for a variety of manicure styles. You will also love the durability of the gel on your nails. Most users said it lasted more than 14 days. The CND UV lamp is preferred, but you can get desirable results using most UV nail lamps on the market.
- Modelones Gel Nail Polish Set
If you only knew Modelones for their top and base coat sets, you want to add polish on the list as well. This glitter nail polish set comes in several colors to help you achieve your perfect look. What’s more, you can choose either their holographic, magnetic cat eye or the temperature changing variants.
The brush in this polish is compact and small to ensure you only apply a thin layer of the product. The curing time is pretty decent, so you won’t have to wait for long before it dries up. The catch to getting the best result is to read the application instructions keenly. A little experience will also go a long way when applying, meaning it won’t be the best choice for first-timers.
Included in the polish set are six differently-colored polishes – three smaller and three bigger sparkle glitters. If you follow the instructions on application, you can easily have the polish on for two weeks.
- Gellen Gel Nail Polish Set (16-pieces)
Gellen is a brand you want to be familiar with, especially if you are looking to start going your manicure at home. This 16-piece nail polish set is available in 300 colors to choose from with an option to buy the polishes individually. You also get a top and based coat in this gel nail polish kit.
Matching your nail polish with different themes is a thing for many ladies, and this set can help you bring out your best. You can get the Gellen set in themes for Spring, Summer as well as pictures varieties in nude. Besides, they include glittering, holographic, color-changing, and magnetic polishes.
Since it is a thin layer of polish, you will probably need to apply about two to three layers to get the right opacity. This polish is known to last from 14 to 21 days, depending on how you apply and how busy your hands can get.
- LeChat Perfect Match Soak Off Gel Polish
The purchase of the LeChat gel nail polish comes with an additional bottle of a traditional nail polish base in the same color. How cool, right?
With this, you get a wide variety of options, including quick touch-ups when you notice small chips, especially when doing an entire redo is just too much for you that day. Given the fact that these two polishes are the same in color, you will also have the option to match your pedicure and manicure without necessarily applying the gel on your toes.
Applying the LeChat doesn’t require any prior experience, so newbies should have an easy time. You will, however, only remember to apply a thin layer of the gel polish since it is thicker than most other brands reviewed here.
You can almost be sure that your polish will last for more than 14 days, beyond which it will continue to last depending on how good you are at babying your nails.
- AIMEILI Gel Nail Polish
To close our list of top 5 best gel nail polish is the AIMEILI soak off nail polish. This quality product comes in more than 50 different colors, most of which change based on lighting and temperature.
Affordable is one of the desirable attributes of this nail polish that doesn’t sacrifice on boldness to give you a look you want to compliment your outfit. Compared to most other cheap nail polishes, AIMEILI is arguably the most long-lasting. It can withstand a beating and still make it past the 14-day mark.
The application procedure is not complicated and should be easy for newbies as well. The polish is thin, meaning you will need more than a coat to get the right opacity. So, for reliable nail polish with vibrant colors on the budget, this will be the best pick for you.
Conclusion
There is no problem with you doing your manicure at home. All you need is a quality gel nail polish with top and base coats as well as an LED or UV lamp. The thing about going to the salon is that professional gel nail polish you are likely to find there will last longer. It still doesn’t beat the fact that you can get a whole two weeks from the manicure you do at home.