Sephora • Sephora by OPI GelShine Kit • Nails

Where To Buy?

*TOP REVIEWER* dreamspice on 5/30/2013 7:41:00 PM more reviews by dreamspice

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Olive   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

I've had gel manicures before and *loved* them. My nails just do NOT hold on to nail polish no matter what I do and with gel manicures my polishes last for well over a week. So when I saw this kit, I had to give it a try. I knew it might be a bit difficult to use and not as long lasting as the salon product but I thought it would be worth it. I love this home kit. It has everything you need and I can even layer the products with my regular nail polishes for longer wear (though not as long as gel polishes). It does take some getting used to, working with these gel polishes, but it's worth it. I just wish there was a better selection of colors. Sephora only has a few colors and they are always going out of stock.

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moee323 on 12/26/2012 8:58:00 PM more reviews by moee323

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I am an employee of Sephora and an avid fan of their products, this is definitely one of my favorites. I got this as a Christmas present from my mom, and even my boss is in love with it. The LED is much faster than the UV like axxium. The colors are also OPI so they are tried and tested. Also, you can widen your color selection with this machine and get OPI gelcolor, their real/not sephora brand, of nail polish that works just as well. I currently have on bare to be different, and absolutely love it. The only thing that I would say is follow the directions to a tee.

The cost is 159$, and that is actually not a bad deal for many reasons. One, it is not a crappy machine. Two, it is from a great company that values their customers both opi and especially sephora. Thirdly, the company will always be there to make refills and extras, unlike some companies that make a product then disappear and you cannot get more polish or whatever it may be. Lastly, they will return it if you dont like it.

This is hands down, no pun intended, one of the best things Sephora has to offer!

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rachaelhubbard on 12/6/2012 7:14:00 PM more reviews by rachaelhubbard

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I got this as a birthday present from my husband. I've had one shellac manicure in a salon - just one! - and was converted. I used to do acrylic and "gels" back in the day, but the fake look of it, cost, and time investment turned me off as I now have two small children and sneaking off to the nail salon every other week just isn't in my schedule now.

At any rate, I am still working out the kinks. What I loved about my salon shellac manicure was how thick and indestructible my nails were - they felt like they had acrylic on them, but without the damage of application, and lasted for-ev-er! This kit, so far, comes out much much thinner. It really looks and feels just like plain old nail polish. This could be a pro or a con, depending on your preference. The instructions clearly state to do THIN coats. I'm on my 2nd application now and playing devil's advocate by doing the top coats purposely thicker to help in my nails getting that nice "bullet proof" feel. We'll see if it leads to it not lasting as long though.

My first application I followed the instructions pretty closely, and on my right hand I had 2 nails crack on Day 10 to the day. Almost to the hour, too. I'm right handed, so that one gets more abuse... it was my index and middle fingers too. So, I got 10 days of manicure out of it, which is pretty good and within advertising paramters. My salon manicure lasted more than 3 weeks before I removed it though. I'm hoping I can get 2 out of this eventually.

I would say not to get this kit if you are not good at painting your own nails. I've been doing mine since middle school, and just now, at 30, am I really confident in my technique enough to attempt something like this. Of course, I didn't grow up with "nail blogs" though, so had to learn it all on my own! I think this kit is all about technique. If you can paint your nails without flooding your cuticle, 'going outside the lines,' and know how to seal the tip, you will love it.

The sealing the tip part is still tricky for me, especially since my nails are not yet grown past the tips of my fingers. Hopefully this problem corrects in a few weeks' growth, and I can get a nice sealed tip on both hands again (right hand's nails are shorter at the moment - I suspect this is why they cracked/chipped, because I couldn't get a good seal.)

I would totally buy again, and this is my new favorite beauty product for sure :) I have 2 colors now, and have a strong suspicion I might have them all soon....!

Things I didn't like: The removal setup they advise is stupid. You wrap your fingers in acetone-soaked pads with medical-like tape on them (like the Red Cross puts on your arm if you donate blood.) It's really wasteful, made my fingers go numb, and expensive. I only did it once, on one hand... wound up just soaking my other hand in a ramekin of acetone polish remover. Worked just as well, with no stupid waste and no need to buy expensive proprietary gadgetry. Definitely go to Sally's and pick up a galon, and do like the salons do.

Also, I cure mine for a long longer than advised. They claim 30 seconds after each coat will do it... I found my nails to still be tacky to the touch after that short of time. I do 60-90 seconds in between coats and a good 2-3 minutes after the final top coat. THEN I am left with a salon-like unnickable finish. :)

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marchigiano on 7/29/2012 11:50:00 AM more reviews by marchigiano

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

The GelShine kit is an incredible at-home manicure set. While I did find this set pricey at first, I looked into the professional one by OPI and it runs at almost $600 CDN so $189 CDN seems like nothing in comparison.

I find the manicures very easy to do, using patience and taking your time to ensure not to bleed into the cuticle is key. It took me about 20-25 minutes the first time, but I now have it down to about 11-15 minutes. I love not waiting for the polish to dry! I get easily 2 weeks per manicure and could stretch to 3 if I needed to. Removal is easy enough, and if I'm in a rush I'll just peel it off..and the integrity of my nails is always left in tact.

I hope they release more colours soon, as the current selection isn't the greatest. Metro Chic and Seeing Pink Elephants have to be my favourites!

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motleyutube on 7/5/2012 2:12:00 AM more reviews by motleyutube

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond, Coarse   Eyes: Blue    

This kit is essentially a shellac at home nail system that comes complete with everything you need to do a full on shellac/ gelshine manicure. It includes an led lamp instead of the uv lamp salons use and cuts the lamp time to 4 30 sec dry time. It also includes removal items which takes an easy carefree bandage type system that takes 20 min to remove in the leisure of your home. No soaking in acetone like at the salon which ruins your nails, this system leaves your nails as they were before you apply the polishes which by the way are the exact same colors OPI creates with the same name, For example, Lincoln Park After Dark. Ordered that one online though. It's crazy easy crazy good and so pretty. Way better than the salon experience and way faster and healthier. My sister and I are in love with it. Tiard of your great long lasting color? Change it on minuets. You can't go wrong. Fool proof and fantastic.

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