NOTD: Lemon, Lime and UV Gel Nails

Hey everyone! I mentioned in my previous post that I had my nails done at Freyja Day and Nail Spa. Here's the outcome.

Nails of the day (more like nails of the month) care of Orly in Lemonade and Green Apple.

L: Lemonade
R: Green Apple

I wanted it to not be just yellow and boring all over so I had the green accent done.

With flash 

Without flash

One thing about this manicure is that the top coat used was actually a gel polish. I've been really interested in the theory of gel nails lately and wanted to try it out for myself. Gel polishes are said to be longer-lasting than regular nail polishes. They don't chip easily and can stay on your nails for 3 weeks or more.

How to apply gel polish? Well, this one's interesting.

First you apply the polish using a brush. Of course, you 're gonna need a thicker brush because the gel is, well, thicker in consistency compared to regular polishes. Then for the cool (but scary) part - you let the gel dry on your nail under a UV nail dryer. The gel will be dry to the touch in seconds! I was able to rummage through my bag after my manicure without ruining the polish, which I couldn't do with regular nail polishes. It also doesn't have that "good" ol' paint smell. Pretty cool, right? As cool as it sounds, it also can be a bit scary. We know that too much exposure to UV radiation may cause DNA damage and also skin cancer. Here's a really interesting video by Dr. Schultz of Dermtv.com. This goes to all those who regularly use UV gel nails.

If you want to read more about UV gel nails, like pros and cons and other stuff, you can check out this post *here* by Michelle of All Lacquered Up.

Removing gel nails is also a bit of a hassle. You'd have to go back to the salon to soak the gel off your nails or you can do it yourself at home (not as simple as slapping on some nail polish remover). Mine's just a gel top coat so I guess removing it would be a little bit easier. If you read my blog, then you know that I usually change my nail color every week. Hihi. But I have to admit, I do like the idea of gel nails being more chip-resistant. Oh, and one more thing. I find that gel nails tend to attract small particles like lint-like dirt 'coz the surface is gel-ly. So yeah, maybe gel nails aren't for me.

So there. Just wanted to share to you my gel nails experience. Gel nails are becoming more and more popular nowadays, especially for gradient designs.

Have you tried UV gel nails? Share your experience!