Applied this yesterday after noon. It was very easy to apply. The activator gel does have a harsh smell. When I first opened it, it burned my eyes. However, this is pretty easy to apply. You do have to work fast. So if it takes you a while to do each nail, this may not work for you. This took longer then the 5 minutes to dry completley. Maybe 15 minutes. It was very shiny, but was not very even. My nails feel very hard. The activator gel is thick and you can see the uneveness. It was very shiny until I showered. It was noticably duller. One of my nails were chipped right out of the shower. This morning, 2 more nails had chipped and every nail had hairline cracks in them. Thye look awful now... lumpy, dull, chipped and cracked. I would not recommend. I hope it comes off easily.

I do my nails every 5-7 days and wanted a product that lasts at least a week. Bought Fire color because I thought it would be nice to have a red that last longer than a few days without chipping and also with a high shine as described on the package. The product sounded great as I do not want to spend a lot of time in a salon getting Shellac nor time in removing gel polish.


Application was easy but the bottles are so small and flimsy they almost tipped over a few times during application. The shine was pretty good. Chipped in two days.


Removal was a nightmare and I ended up sanding off the top layer of my nails to get the remaining traces off. My nails are definitely weakened by the removal. You have to use 100% acetone and that also damaged my cuticles and surrounding skin.


This is the worst manicure product I have ever used and I have been polishing my nails for 30 years, every 5-7 days!

Well i found this product at Big Lots for $4.50. Knowing how expensive this stuff is at all other drugstores, i decided to give it a try.
Im on ay one of wear, so far so good. But the smell of the activator was very strong. I really think this stuff is superglue, because after reading the removal process with acetone, i remembered acetone is the only stuff that removes superglue. Ill come back in a week and let yall know more about how it went as far wear and tear, and removal. *****UPDATE*****
11-23-12
So its been 6 days since i put on this polish. Its holding up quite well. I see a bit of wearing on the tips where i rustling with paperwork in the office. No drastic chipping or cracking, i have long nails in case anyones wondering. The shine has worn off, but its not horrid or dull.I read on another site that ANY polish can be used as long as you use the activator as a base. So the next thing im going to try is a french mani. Ill keep you updated!

I have never written a review in my life, but I felt the need to create an account just so I could write a review on this product. Long story short, the prior reviews are completely TRUE. This is one of the most expensive nail products I have ever purchased, and it was a complete waste. I applied the product exactly how the directions stated. However, it is near impossible to keep the activator off of your skin. After I finished, my fingers felt like rocks and the polish/activator would not come off my skin. The only saving grace in this situation was that I purchased the remover pads prior to applying the product, so I was able to take the polish off quickly and easily.

Long story short: DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT! You are better off going to the salon and getting the Gelish manicure.

The color i purchased was in FIRE...the directions are really easy to follow and the product i found also easy to use. The price was high, i think i paid around 10.00. If you use this i recommend using it outside or have a fan on it smells like superglue, i put it on and it looked amazing. By the next morning it was cracked and chipped, and all i did was sleep, and wash my hands after restroom use. I was pretty upset with the product, so i returned it to my local Walgreens, and the lady told me that she has had another returned also, so i was not the only one. It was very hard to get off of my nails and it almost seemed like i had a layer of nail glue on them, this cant be good for your nails. Im sticking to Shelac at the salon. Hope this helps.

No, No, No, No, No!

Difficult to apply properly. Looked beautiful and shiny on, and did indeed last a long time. HOWEVER, when it came time to remove this polish, even following their instructions, this DESTROYED my nails. Way worse than if I had gotten acrylics and peeled them off instead of using remover. My nails had to completely regrow (which takes mine f-o-r-e-v-e-r) before they were any good again. I wish I could give this a 0. Buyer beware!

I was quite excited to try this and my excitement continued when I finished application. It looked pretty nice, but I had a hunch that the activator formula was just diluted nail glue. It made my nails feel brittle, not strong and flexible like good gel nail should. Later that night, I started to notice hairline cracks just below the surface. The next day, I could already tell I was in for a mess. It was a pretty low-key day; I was just standing around a friend's engagement party and the most trauma my nails endured was shaking people's hands and holding a glass of wine. But looking at my nails, you would've thought I had been immersing them in water or doing major carpentry or something. Chips galore! It was embarrassing as I was meeting a lot of my friends' families for the first time, and I think a neat manicure is apart of a good first impression. I was not happy. This stuff isn't cheap either. It was about $15 at my local Walgreens (in Chicago). I wouldn't recommend this whatsoever.

Gel Perfect... it is not.

I wash my hands a lot and have been searching for a polish that will stay for a long time. I read most of the reviews for this product and decided that since most of the issues were application related I would try it anyway. I have a LOT of experience with application of all types of products.

I read the instructions twice and following those I got perfect application. The gel coat wasn't thick, it was nice and even. The activator did have a pretty gnarly scent from the formaldehyde, but I just put cotton in my nose. The result was a very even, shiny nail. (More about the color in a minute) It dried fast and I went to bed 30 minutes after applying to test the 'OH SHEET' portion of the commercial.

When I woke up the next morning, no dings, scratches or smudges. It really looked impressive. I had used Sheer Pink, understanding it was sheer... but the picture on the package looked like there would be no white tip show through. I was wrong. But since everything else was looking good I thought I could get over it and just buy a non sheer color. Then I paid more attention. It didn't look pink. It looked more like I thought the champagne or nude would look. I checked the bottle and it was pink. It also seemed to have a yellow hue as well.

I went to try the 'ding it' portion of the commercial and knocked my nails hard on the counter. This is where all bets left the table. The polish cracked. The top layer was still smooth but there were cracks all the way down the nail polish on every nail I had knocked against the edge.

So much for that product. It easily removes with acetone so there is no need to buy the removal kit.

Worst stuff I ever used. It wasn't hard to apply and I'm sure I did it correctly. Next day it was cracked looking and started peeling off the next day after that. I still have a little bit because they also want $10 for the remover! Awful stuff

Meh. This stuff is ok if you just want a (very) fast drying polish. Doesn't look anything like the normal gel polish. Fairly easy to use - I finished up with a coat of the activator. The smell is quite strong. This would be great if you need fast drying polish for a special occasion, but won't replace my normal polishes. This is $29.90 in New Zealand, and for the price I would expect a better product. Won't be repurchasing.