At Home 'Gel' Manicure

I found a tutorial on Pinterest for an at home gel manicure and decided to give it a try. It worked pretty well, and after a few tweaks of my own I’m really happy with it! I still don’t think it’s as nice as going to the salon, but it’s pretty darn close. I have to be honest; I haven’t always been the best at painting my nails. It’s taken me a lot of practice, but I’m finally getting better at it!

First things first, you will need Gelous Nail Gel (you can find it at Sally Beauty Supply). This is what will make the manicure “gel” like. You will also need whatever color nail polish you wish to use, my favorite brand to use is Essie. For this tutorial I used the color "Cute as a Button".  You may also use a top coat if you like, but you don’t need one.

1.      Clip and file nails to the shape you like.

2.      Put a coat of the Gelous Nail Gel on and let dry completely.

3.      Repeat step two again…trust me.

4.      Paint your nails with the nail color of your choice and let dry completely. It’s really important to let the color completely dry or you may get little bubbles on your nails.

5.      Put another coat of the Gelous Nail Gel on and let dry completely.

6.      Paint a second coat of the nail color of your choice and let dry completely.

7.      Now you can either put on a top coat or finish up with one more coat of the Gelous Nail Gel. I’ve done it both ways and actually prefer the Gelous Nail Gel.

Side note: If your nail color only needs one coat then you can skip steps 5 & 6.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it really doesn’t take long and the results are great!