Essence Cosmetics UK Gel Nail Polish Kit Review

Hey kittens, today’s blog post is another attempt at a beauty review. I still don’t consider myself 100% a #bblogger (beauty blogger for those not part of the Twitter blogger community!), but I do enjoy makeup and hope sharing some of my hints, tips and reviews can help some of you along the way. Today’s review is of the Essence Cosmetics UK ‘Gel Names At Home’ kit, including their UV Gel Nail Polish Lamp and the Gel Nail Polish itself.

Although I have read a couple of (not so positive) reviews of the Essence Cosmetics gel nail polish, I’m pretty sure none of these have come from their UK range. After attending the Essence Cosmetics UK launch the other week, where I picked up the gel nail polish lamp, I was excited to go out and buy the bits to go alongside it in order to conduct my own review and see whether I had any differing experiences. So, here we go…

To create my at-home gel nails, I used the above items. These include the Essence Cosmetics UK mini UV Lamp (of which I have not seen reviewed before) which costs £19.99, the Clear Gel Top Coat nail polish and Peel Off Gel Base nail polish (both of which I purchased at £2.99 each), the gel nail polish Cleanser and the nail Primer (both of which I think were also about £2 each, I forget the exact amount).

I used a cotton pad and cuticle stick from my own make-up stash (the cotton pad for wiping on the cleanser) and the cuticle stick to neaten up my nails and remove any gel from the side of the nail. Finally, I used an Essence Colour To Go nail polish (not a gel colour) for the colour. This is a hot pink shade and cost around £1.50.

I also experimented with each hand by trying out the best way to cure the nails – whether it was better to apply the gel base to one nail and cure that nail right away, or apply the gel nail base to the whole hand before curing each nail. I found the latter worked best for me and made the process slightly quicker (or it felt like it), but it is a bit of a pain to have to cure each nail separately and means your manicure requires your full attention; no reading blogs at the same time!

After a coat of cured gel base, I used the cleanser again to swipe over the nails and remove any sticky residue. Despite doing this, I felt the base was still quite sticky before applying my colour. Essence recommend using any Essence nail polish with the gel base and top coat, so I used their Essence Colour To Go to test it out. This shade is a hot pink and took two coats, which I am impressed with as it was very pigmented even after one splash of colour. For £1.50 I think it’s a bargain by anyone’s standards.

I didn’t cure the coloured nail polish, just waited 5 minutes or so for it to dry before applying the Gel Nail At Home Gel Top Coat. Again, I used a thick layer as recommended and applied this to each nail on one hand before drying the nails separately under the lamp. Make sure not to make the layer TOO thick as this could cause peeling almost right away (I live and learn) but I find it quite a thin line between the desired amount and too much polish. After curing the nails for a couple of minutes each (again, I find 10 seconds to be way too short a time and so the process takes longer than expected), I wiped the nails with a last dash of cleanser to remove stickiness. I also like to wash my hands after as the service does feel slightly tacky even after cleansing. After about an hour I find this goes.

I wore my gel nails for 9 days and after 7 days I posted this photo on my Instagram showing how well they had lasted. I had practically no chips, just a slight ware around the edges, and the colour reminded vibrant with only slight fading. The kit doesn’t 100% rival gel nails in the salon, but for a long lasting at home manicure I am impressed. Despite reading negative reviews and not holding out for much (European bloggers had found the nails to peel after only one day), my nails didn’t peel at all until I removed them myself purposefully for a change of colour. After removal, my nails didn’t look damaged at all and none of the service had been lifted (which is one of my gripes with at professional gel nails, which tend to weaken my nails).

In conclusion, for a kit costing around the same amount as one gel manicure in a professional salon, I would recommend it. It takes a while to do (truth be told, I dedicate about an hour to doing my Essence Gel Nails) but I don’t mind, it’s therapeutic to me. They don’t last 4 weeks like salon gel nails do, but they also don’t claim to either – they claim to last 7 days and for me they certainly have.

I am now on my second attempt at their gel nails, using their sparkly gel top coat and having a similar success story – 4 days in my nails are perfect and look even better than last time. I also suspect you could use whichever nail polish you liked with the base and top coat, making the Essence Gel Nails At Home ‘kit’ (you have to buy the items separately) a nice addition to your manicure kit.

It doesn’t rival a salon professional manicure, but it sure as heck improves your DIY nails.