20/11/2012

My First Biogel Manicure

Hey kittens!

A couple of weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of getting my nails done at Entre Belle Beauty & Tanning Rooms in Woodford, Cheshire. I was
absolutely over the moon to hear from them as I’d heard such great things about
the beauty salon and, most unusual of all, I had never had my nails done
before! I’ve waited a while to post this as I wanted to let you know whether my nails lived up to their claims of no chips or peeling for a month! Find out what I thought (and if they did) below…

Y’all know I love my nail polish collection and like to experiment with
nail art every so often, so I guess its quite surprising I’d never taken the
plunge to have my nails did proper before. I put it down to my concern for
healthy nails – I have never wanted to wear acrylic nail or false nails for
fear of damaging my natural nails. I like to think I take care of my body for
the most part, as I eat pretty healthily (most of the time), drinks pints of
water a day and will have the occasional vitamin tablet, so I have been lucky
to always have strong nails. I know how some of my friends struggle with weak
nails and struggling to grow them, which is why I have never been in a position
where I could jeopordise this. Therefore, although I was excited about going to
a real life grown up person salon, I was also slightly hesitant about the
treatment.
However, when I entered the salon I was immediately put at ease. I was
welcomed in to the smell of aromatherapy and presented with a lovely hot cup of
tea – I was even greeted with a hug! I relaxed on the settee in the waiting
room for a couple of minutes before being welcomed through to the treatment
room I would be using. Every member of staff I met were friendly, chatty and
felt like old pals! I imagine it must be a wonderful environment to work in, it
must be like an episode of Girlfri3nds every day!

Whilst I had my nails prepped for treatment (including cuticles removed
and treated with oil with my nails failed, buffed and cared for) I was told a
little more about the process. I would be having bio-gel polish sculpted onto
my nails. Now, don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of this – I hadn’t either!
But apparently bio-gel are the leading gel nail polish providers and only sell
their products to registered nail artists who have undertaken specific training
with their products. Therefore, although this means they’re a little more
pricey than other gel nails, such as the Shellac brands, it does ensure that
you’re paying for a premium.
After my nails were prepped, a base coat was applied to every nail. In
between every coat, the nails would be cured under a UV lamp for at least two
minutes. Now, I was a bit concerned about the UV rays – y’all kittens know I
would never ever go on a tanning bed as they are so harmful to your body – but
I was reassured that this was such a low voltage it would cause no damage at
all. I was told to put my hands into the lamp every time two nails were
polished, to make sure that the gel wouldn’t drip and would seal properly. This
involved a lot of hand swapping!
After my based coats were applied and cured, we decided upon what nail
art to apply – we went for a Dita Von Teese-esque half moon, almond shaped
manicure in pillar box red (my favourite shade). I liked that Etre Belle had
researched my blog and realized my love for the 1940s, thus taking this into
account when suggesting this manicure for me. It was a nice personal touch and
I am so glad they suggested it!
Two coats of pillar box red were applied in the half moon, semi-circle
shapes above my cuticles to every finger (and thumb) apart from my ring
fingers, with curing inbetween. It was quite a length process – the
whole treatment took over an hour, which I was very shocked at but the
time flew by! It was like chatting with an old friend and I felt totally
comfortable and at ease throughout. 

Once this was done, we decided to do something a little
more exciting and a little less classic on my ring fingers. Although the
nail artist showed me all the different types of nail art that she can
do, including patterns, studs and glitter, she recommended a embedded a
feather into each nail. Well, I don’t know about you but I had never
heard of this before and as all my kittens know, I am a great advocate
of anything a little bit unusual and unique. So, we went for it and on one ring finger I had a red and black feather and on the other a black and white, both with sprinkles of holographic glitter over the top. To (quite literally) seal the deal, we cured the nails for a final time and then applied a biogel nail varnish to protect the nails that little bit more.

Now, did they live up to the claims of a month’s wear chip free? Well, I keep my nails on for three weeks (and a day!) and when I voluntarily decided to remove them using acetone, there were no chips at all. Not one chip! I can’t usually go one day without a chip let alone three weeks. Understandably, the polish had grown out on my nails quite a bit and so the effect of nails was a lot less “polished” (teehee) than they were originally, but this was of course no fault of the salon’s – I actually felt kind of proud that my nails had grown so much! Until the day I removed the biogel, it remained durable, resistant and still so very pretty! The polish was so, so shiny and reamined that way for three weeks.

And finally, did the biogel damage my nails? Well, the short answer is no. Usually the Etre Belle would ask their regular customers to come back in to the salon to have either the biogel removed using the branded remover, the nails redone or even infilled, but I removed the polish by wrapping my nails in acetone. My nails did not break at all, not one chip and if anything they’ve grown longer and stronger since having the treatment – don’t ask me how or why but I swear its true! However, the surface of them is now a little rough, as though they’ve been filed and some bits have been scratched off the top off the nail. For the first week after removing my biogel, I covered this up using glitter nail polish as it was a little unsightly at first – the surface was still visibly rough even when coated in coloured nail polish. However, it is now the second week after removing the biogel and I have painted my nails in a plain colour and they are back to normal. I’ve not even had to file or cut my nails at all since the treatment even though they’re longer than I usually have them – there has been no permanent damage, only the slight cosmetic annoyance at first.

To conclude, I had a wonderful time and have only had positive results from the biogel and if I was offered the treatment again I would leap at the chance! I have been extremely impressed with both the biogel product itself and Etre Belle Beauty and Tanning Rooms. Both exceeded expectations and I would be delighted to recommend them to my friends and family – oh, and y’all kittens, too!

~*Where did I get my nails done?*~
Etre Belle Beauty & Tanning Rooms
Website: http://etrebellebeauty.co.uk/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/etre.cheshire
Twitter: @etre__belle

~*Where can you find me?*~
Website: http://www.lilykitten.com
Blog: http://lilykitten1.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/lilykitten1
Twitter: @LilyKitten1
Instagram: LilyKitten1
For business inquiries ONLY: lilykitten1@gmail.com

Music is by Horsebeach, “like” them on Facebook here: http://facebook.com/horsebeachband

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Meet The Creator

Full time I'm an ambitious Head of Marketing and Communications in the luxury industry. Part time, I'm an enthusiastic British Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle blogger and YouTuber from Manchester, UK. This blog has been my outlet for the past 7+ years, and as a longstanding, Award-winning blogger I take the most enjoyment from creating content I truly love and believe in. All authentic. Always.

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