Getting Gel Nails at Home*

*Press Samples

You already know what a nail noob I am. Shortly after declaring this fact loudly and not so proudly to the world, L'Oreal dared me by saying, "Come on...you can't be that bad?!" and taunted me with their new Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque 1-2-3 Polish* line. I wanted to laugh in their face and say "YES I AM! and not even you, L'Oreal, can save me" but it's possible I might have met something that even I can't mess up.

This line doesn't make any claims about increasing longevity but it does promise super "plumped up nails" and "ultra glossy shine". The Step 1 Primer and  Step 3 Glaze Kit ($12.99) are the bread to your Step 2 nail color ($8.99) sandwich. No lamp necessary and basic polish remover is all you need to abandon your color choice.

Application wasn't bad. The brush has a nice tapered flat face but I found the polish got thicker in the bottle as it was left opened while I applied color to one full hand. Sometimes I had to reshake it mid-hand. If your nails have ridges, the primer doesn't do anything to smooth them over. Even after four layers of polish, the ridges on my thumbs are quite visible and it ruins the effect of having perfectly done nails.

As for wear time, if you let every layer dry properly, up until day 4.5 I had just slight tip wear. At day 5.5 there's a bit of chipping and I'm ready to switch up my color. I don't think I've ever worn a color 5 days straight...I'm more than a little amazed. At this point my nails would usually have looked like I've been breaking rocks by hand. My friend has gotten a good week's worth of wear but I've also heard people getting less than 4 days.

Day 5.5

Welp, I have to say L'Oreal does live up to their promises. I get a super thick layer of color (but who wouldn't after four coats of polish) with some very obvious shine. There are some great colors in their line up and I'm eyeing a coral one that my friend had on the other day. In general, I'm liking how these have worn so far and the brush has been one of the better ones out there. Worth checking out!

Do you get shellac or gel manicures?

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