Thursday, August 15, 2013

A Gel Sandwich Test and Review

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I received a package from Bio Seaweed Gel Last week with some samples to share with you! Here is a little background on the product from their site:

Bio Seaweed Gel is a professional gel system. Gel polish is applied to either natural nails, artificial nails or even acrylic nails just like regular nail polish but with many more advantages. Gel cures (dries) instantly under UV/LED light so there is no more waiting time as per regular nail polish. Gel is designed to be durable and more suitable for the busy everyday life, created to last 2+ weeks with no chips, lifts or cracks. That is essentially the difference between gel polish and regular nail polish.

Now, you ask yourself how is Bio Seaweed Gel is different than all other competitor gel polish brands? Our brand offers a distinct value and difference because: No dehydrators to thin or stain the natural nails – regardless of wear time. Created to promote natural nail growth. FORMALDEHYDE, TOLUNE, DPB, SOLVENTS & BHA FREE Safe and gentle both during application and removal: no sanding, buffing, primers or bonders needed for application. The industry’s quickest soak-off removal in under 10 minutes.

Versatility: A separate Diamond Shine Top and No-Sanding Base Gel Polish, as well as a Strengthener Builder Gel to complete tip and sculpture extensions.

User-friendly: simple steps and self-leveling make Bio Seaweed Gel quick to learn and a pleasure to work with, our products never shrink or wrinkle – ideal for nail art (140+ colours!)

Innovation: UNITY All-In-One Gel Polish is the original professional top, base, colour & strengthener all-on-one bottle, with no cleansers needed! (the colours dry to the touch with no sticky inhibition layer unlike any other).

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They supplied me with two coloured UV gel polishes, one UV diamond shine top coat gel, a coarse nail file and some fun nail art stickers! I will be testing the wear of the UV gel polish on my toes with the UV gel base (purchased by myself) and UV diamond top coat. On my fingers I wanted to try something a little different. I've always wondered what the wear would be like of a regular polish sandwhiched between a UV base and top coat. What better time to try this then on my vacation right!? I will be testing the wear for a full week and report back with the results when I am back. 

On my toes: 

Base Coat - 1 coat, cured for 2 minutes
Summer Peach - 2 coat, cured for 2 minutes
Diamond Top Coat - 1 coat, cured for 2 minutes

On my fingers: 

Base Coat - 1 coat, cured for 2 minutes
Son of a Peach - 3 coats with LOTS of dry time
Diamond Top Coat - 1 coat, cured for 2 minutes


Sweet Peach is a tad off, it is not as pink/red. more of a bright coral.

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My matching nail art lol. I am wearing this on my vacation ^_^

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I had some issues with the application of Son of a Peach that may have been due to the reaction with the base coat. I applied three coats to even it out the best I could. If doing this again I would apply a topcoat right after the base, cure and then apply the regular polish and finish off with another UV top coat to seal it all in. The key here is to ensure the polish is 100% dry before applying the top coat and curing.

 Bio Seaweed UV Gels are easy to apply, the formula is thick but easy to manage and the colour options are awesome!

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I will report back after my vacation to let you know how the mani and pedi stood up to a week on the beach!

4 comments:

  1. Hmm, this is interesting. I didn't realize they actually had 2 different systems with the all-in-one and the 3-step base, colour, topcoat. I wonder why they offer both, there must be some major differences as far as finish/wear time? I've tried a gel sandwich before and it didn't last a week but some girls have had better results with it. I believe I tried it with base/topcoat/regular polish/topcoat. Please do a review on the Unity polish - I looked on their website and they claim that it can cure in sunlight in 2 mins or less. There are a couple of things on their website that I question as well and I just want to point one out specifically: There is a specific paragraph you have taken straight from their website that says 'No dehydrators to thin or stain the natural nails'. First of all, dehydrators do not do either or those things. Secondly, in their application instructions they say 'Wipe natural nail plates with alcohol'. Alcohol IS a dehydrator. Not sure whether to shake my head or lol. I really want to support a canadian company but I also only support companies that I believe really understand the industry and products.

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    1. Great points you bring up, You've really done your research! I think they market the Unity all in one polishes to use on it's own, but they do offer the top and base which I recommend using. I tested out the all in one on it's own on my toes and the wear wasn't a long as I'd hoped. I do prefer a good base and top coat for any mani, regular or gel, I think it helps the mani last longer for sure.

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  2. How many days does this nail polish looks well?

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    1. I will be posting an update to this post tomorrow (Wednesday August 21)

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