Nails Inc. Gel Effect - Round 2!

Happy Friday! Today I have my second attempt at Nails Inc.'s Gel Effect formula. My last attempt wasn't the greatest.

New Oxford Street is a dusty, greyed out purple creme, the colour is really great. The formula and application of the polish was awesome. It is very opaque and although I used two coats, one thick coat probably would have been fine.

Since when I previously wore a Nails Inc. Gel Effect shade it did not last very long on me I decided to wrap the tips of my nail to see if it would help the polish last longer. I was also sure to swipe each nail bed with some polish remover before applying my base. Unfortunately, by day two... again... I started to get some chipping. The first chip was on my pinky finger nail, which is odd, because I usually start to chip on my thumbnails or pointer fingers.

I want to blame it on cooking, you washing, preparation and cleanup, but I have been able to do this with other polishes without this kind of wear to my polish. I was really disappointed that this polish started chipping so early again. It's not like all my nails chipped at once, but once a few start to show signs of wear, I am usually ready to move on to another polish.

I am seriously considering returning the full set because I believe that they have falsely advertised their product as a "gel" equivalent, which in my mind is long lasting and durable, when in fact my regular nail polish lasts longer on average.

Old Bond Street

I have a new to me formula today from Nails Inc., their " Gel Effects" line. I was given the "Be Gelous Collection" gift set as a Christmas gift and was curious to try these out. I chose to wear Old Bond Street first.

Old Bond Street is a deep navy blue creme which appears darker on the nail than it does in the bottle. The formula is smooth yet thick and easy to apply. It can easily be opaque in one coat, but I decided to go with two slightly thinner coats for full coverage. I really love the look of this polish, even without the topcoat of Seche Vite I added on top, it really shined and was super glossy.

I find branding on this product to be a little bit confusing. The term "gel" leads me to believe that this polish is glossy and long lasting since gel polish typically is. However, nowhere on the box or on their website to they refer to the polish as long lasting, only, and I quote: "formulated with revolutionary plasticizer technology to create a high shine, super glossy finish—without the UV lamp".

I am mentioning all of this because while wearing a shade from this collection, Old Bond Street, I was surprised that I started to receive chipping within 24 hours of application! What a disappointment. Could it have been because I didn't use the Nails Inc. base and topcoat? If this was a must, I'm sure it would have been mentioned somewhere or at least included in the set. Could it have been my application, were my nail beds not cleaned well enough? I also did not wrap the tip of each nail with the polish, could that be a factor? I will have to try out another shade to really be sure. Stay tuned for another post soon.