Gel II Blue Blue

Happy Monday my loves!  I hope you had a good weekend and that everyone is all dug out for the time being :)  Our snow is melting today *sad panda* but the temperature is supposed to drop again tonight and start snowing :D  Woohoo!!!

Today I have something a little different for you guys.  My sister-in-law works for the company that produces and sells Gel II gel polishes, LA Palm Products out of Wichita, Kansas, USA.  A while back she messaged me and her boss wanted to send me some samples to promote on my blog.  Sweeeeeet!  Now, I know what you're thinking.. yes I change my polish ALL THE TIME, but I thought "why not try it?!"  She told me to look at the site and send her a list of 10 (yep, 10) colours that I liked and she would send them to me, along with everything I needed.  WOW!!! Way more generous than I was expecting, and so thankful!!  So I've been pretty excited about this, and she sent them to me while she was up here in the Great White North visiting with her daughters over the Christmas holidays.  I know, I know.. what took me so long, right?!

The light that she sent wasn't working so well for me, so I found one on Saturday while I was shopping (and spending way more money than I had anticipated in one day!) and as soon as I got home I tried it!  The colour I wanted to use first, of all the ones she sent me, is called Blue Blue.  Let's take a look at the pictures first and then I will go into the details.

Yes, I filed my nails to nubbs again.  My ring finger was starting to peel off at the corner, so they all had to go!

What it is:

With Gel II gel polishes, unlike other gel polishes, you do not need a base coat, bonders or primers.  They have developed the polish so that it is as easy to use at home as regular nail polish.  It is also developed to help make your nails stronger while wearing it, so we will have to look back when I take this off in a few weeks and see what the results are :)  It is advertised that this gel polish will last 3-4 weeks, so I will also be testing that out.  I'm thinking (and hoping) my nails are going to grow out before this stuff chips :)  I work on a computer all day, and am not overly "gentle" to my hands and nails unless the polish is still wet ;)

How to use it:

First off you will need to remove any polish you have on.  Then, with a 300 grit buffer, lightly buff the top of your nails and wipe with 70% alcohol and allow to dry.  They also do sell a cleanser, but the alcohol works just fine if that's what you have on-hand.

Paint on one thin coat of your colour, doing your best to avoid getting it on your skin around your nails as you can't clean this up as you would regular polish once it is cured.  Do not apply the gel polish as thick as you would a regular polish.  Basically, as you are pulling the brush out of the bottle, you want to continuously move it back in forth in the neck to get the excess off, and you will only have a little bit on your brush at the end.  If I had a video camera I would consider doing a short video on how to do this, but I don't :(  This coat will look a touch streaky, but have no fear, it will look beautiful in the end :)

After you have polished all your nails on one hand, carefully put your hand inside your light.  You can use either a UV light (minimum 35 watts), an LED light (minimum 18 watts), or a UV/LED combination light (minimum 12/12 watts).  The one I got over the weekend I found at Shopper's Drug Mart for $79.99 + tax.  It is a Nailene brand UV only lamp.  It is 36 watts and it's big enough to fit your entire hand, and then some.  I will have to take pictures of it tonight and edit this post.  If you have a UV light, cure for 2 minutes.  If you have an LED light, cure for 1 minute.

When you have cured, if the light has a built in timer, it should go off when it's done.  Take your hand out of the lamp.  *IMPORTANT*  When you are done curing each layer, the gel will still be slightly tacky to the touch.  This is completely normal :)

Apply another thin layer of gel polish.  You will now see that your colour is fully opaque.

Cure again for the time according to your lamp style.

Take your hand out and apply a thin layer of the gel top coat.

Cure again for the time according to your lamp style.

After you have cured your top coat layer, soak a cotton ball or cotton round in 70% alcohol (or Gel II Cleanser) and wipe your nails down.  This will take the stickiness off of the nail, and you are DONE!

I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but once you do it, it really isn't that much different than using regular polish.

So, the pictures above show 2 thin coats of Blue Blue and a coat of top coat.  Though they may not be the best-done gel nails ever (there are a few spots on them I want to fix that probably aren't noticable in the pictures), but for my first successful attempt I don't think I did too bad :)  And this colour is gorgeous!  It really is that bright!  It's a bright sky blue that definitely stands out, but it's not a neon (I have a neon too, and can't wait to try it out!!).  It's going to be fun doing nail art on top of this colour!

How to remove it:

So you need a polish change, or want to change the colour of your gel.  Taking off Gel II is just as easy as putting it on.  I haven't taken Blue Blue off yet, but with the unsuccessful attempts at this that I have had, I have removed the gel polishes a couple times ;)

Lightly buff the top coat to "break it up" with your buffer so that the remover can penetrate it and loosen the gel.

Soak a cotton ball or cotton round in 100% pure acetone, or Gel II Remover.  Place it on the nail and wrap with tinfoil.  This is the same method as for glitter removal, but with one difference which I note in a little bit.

Soak your nails for at least 10 minutes.  Take the foil and cotton off the first nail your wrapped, and using a cuticle pusher, very gently try to scrape the gel polish off.  This should not be difficult to do - removing the gel should not ruin your nails!  If the polish does not scrape off easily, simply re-wrap it with the cotton and tinfoil and allow to soak for a little longer.  On the Gel II site, it is recommended to wrap your hand(s) in a hot towel too.  I did not do this step, so I don't know that it is 100% necessary, but you could always do it to help the acetone work.

Lightly buff your nails when you have removed the gel, and you are ready for your next mani!

After your have soaked the gel polish off, I strongly recommend slathering your cuticles with lotion/cuticle oil or balm, or petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to restore the moisture to them before re-polishing.  Just make sure to wipe down with acetone or alcohol to remove the oils from your nails before polishing so that the polish adheres to the nail :)

In both the application and removal processes, I find that it is easiest to work on one hand through the entire process, and then do the other hand.  Yes, it may be more time consuming that way, but it will prevent some frustration in the end :)

The application of this polish is super easy.  It applies just like regular polish :)  The only thing I found "wrong" with it was that the brushes are wider than I am used to and it's a little tricky for me to do my pinky, but that's a really minor detail.  Brush sizes vary depending on polish brand too so it's nothing really, just thought I would mention it :)  Other than that, I will be using these often because I cannot get over how much I love them!  Look out regular polishes....

You can find all of this information, and more, on their site - www.geltwo.com.  Also, make sure to check out their Facebook page as they have little contests and posts for their new upcoming colours :D

The polishes and top coat retail for $14.99 USD each, the Reaction colour changing polishes are $16.99 USD each, and they can all be purchased on the Gel II online store.  Shipping is not included in this.  If your order is over $75 and you are in the US only, shipping is free.  If you are in the UK, shipping is a flat rate of $25 USD; if you are in Mexico, shipping is a flat rate of $20 USD; and if you are in Canada, shipping is a flat rate of $15 USD.

You can check out all the colours they currently have on the Try-It-On page so you can see what the colour will look like :)  This is where I went to pick all my colours :)

Let me know if you have any questions about this product.  I am really new to it, but I will do my best to answer anything, and if I don't know I will find out for you :)