sensatioNAIL

SensatioNAIL- coral sunset

      Finally, gel nails without the salon! SensatioNAIL gel nail kit can be found at any CVS or Walmart. They claim 2 weeks of perfect, no-chip nails and the starter kit has everything you need, including a UV light. Gel nails are becoming so popular, and for good reason. They are a much more natural looking alternative to acrylic nails. The secret is a unique mixture of polymer and monomer gel, cured by UV light. The home gel nail kit was easy to use, and included the gel primer, nail cleanser, top/base coat, and a nail polish. 


What we love: 
It's super easy to use and professional looking without the professional price tag! If you follow their easy step-by-step instructions, you'll have amazing looking nails every time.  You begin by cleaning your nails with the included nail cleanser and cotton pad. Then you apply a thin coat of the gel primer. 
*Tip*: if you apply the gel primer around the nail as opposed to the entire nail, you'll have a much easier time removing the gel polish. I didn't notice any difference in the staying power of the nail polish compared to applying the primer to the entire nail.

Next, you add the base coat (which is also the top coat) and cure it for 30 seconds.  Be careful not to get it on your fingers. If you do, just make sure you wipe it away before curing it. The cool thing about the UV light is that there is a self timer installed in it so it'll beep once the 30 seconds is up. 


Then you apply 2 coats of the desired gel polish and cure it for 1 minute with each coat.  You finish by applying a top coat and curing it for 30 seconds.  Clean your nails with the nail cleanser, otherwise there's a slightly sticky film on your nails. The end!


The not so good:
The starter pack is definitely small.  The included gel polish is about 1/4 the size of your average nail polish.  You're supposed to get ~10 manicures but fortunately for me, I have baby fingers so I've managed quite a bit! Additionally, I feel like the starter kit is not proportionately sized. We wish they would make the size of the base/top coat larger since that's what I tend to use the most of. While I have no more of the base coat left, I find myself with pretty much the entire bottle of the primer left.  Unfortunately, I don't think they sell the top coat separately, but rather as an essential nail kit. I really don't need any more of the primer.

Raspberry wine (left) is included in the starter kit.  It is 0.125 fl oz. The individual gel polishes such as coral sunset (middle) is 0.25 oz. The average nail polish in the Essie bottle is around 0.46 fl oz.  

A side by side comparison is the starter kit polish with an Essie nail polish.

The SensatioNAIL line also sells additional colors for ~10 each and we were able to try some of those.


Coral sunset immediately caught our eyes. It's a more salmon pink, with  coral undertones. It came out highly glossy and the color is bright, perfect for this beautiful summer weather!

Pink Chiffon looked like it would be the perfect summer pink and unfortunately we're still on the hunt for that perfect pink. The polish didn't seem like it was opaque enough, and it didn't look smooth. It wasn't our favorite. 

 The last color we got to try was Taupe tulips.  It's a nice taupe-y/gray color, but we just expected it to be darker.  However, it is a subtle color, so it doesn't get boring as quickly as the other bright colors. Maybe I applied too thick of a coat with this, but it does look thicker than the other colors.

Overall: 8/10
This is something we most definitely recommend.  It's fast, it's super easy, and you'll have shiny awesome nails for weeks!