SensatioNail Gel Nail Polish Review

There was a time in my life where I would spend serious money on my nails - I would get acrylics, gel nails, pedicures, manicures, etc etc.  Usually it would cost about $50 for a manicure and pedicure, and the sad thing is that I was so happy to do it because there was a certain high in having my nails "done".  It made me feel like, if my nails are done, I can look a little sloppy but still feel "put together".  So every two weeks I would be at the little nail place in my town, dropping my (or probably Brad's) hard-earned money on gussyin' up my nails.

But then we had a baby and though our income didn't change, the belt had to tighten.  I started filtering out the needs vs. wants and realizing that most of my needs were actually wants and they weren't necessary.  (See, this is why I think it's smart to wait a little while to have kids. You can spend what you want, whenever you want prior to kids with little guilt.  Afterwards it just changes things.)  As you can imagine, my $50 nail treatments were a "want" and quickly got cut out.  So now I paint my own toenails (though I will definitely splurge here and there on pedicures) and my own nails, and though they never ever look as good as they would having them done professionally, I'm okay with that because when I do it? It's free.  Free=good.

The gel nail polish popularity is nothing new to me; I've been reading about women getting that done for a while now.  I've had it done at my nail place, and every time they only lasted about a week before I could peel them right off.  It always made me mad to spend the money on something that's supposed to last and then never would.  But then I started reading online about SensatioNail, a gel polish kit that you can do at home.  I almost fell over in the makeup aisle at our little WalMart when I actually saw it on the shelf (our WalMart is TERRIBLE, they only get the most functional, boring items).  I had some Christmas money burning a hole in my purse so I snatched it up that day and let me tell you...it was $50 well spent.

How it Works
It's amazing how simple it is to use the kit.  Here are the steps you follow -

1 - Buff top of nails with file provided
2 - Swipe provided cleanser over each nail
3 - Apply Gel Primer, let air dry (dries quickly)
4 - Apply Gel Base & Top Coat, "cure" under lamp for 30 sec
5 - Apply 1 layer of Color Gel Polish, cure under lamp for 60 sec
6 - Apply 2nd layer of Color Gel Polish, cure under lamp for 60 sec
7 - Apply Gel Base & Top Coat, cure for 30 sec
8 - Swipe cleanser over each nail to remove moisture layer

And that's it.  Each hand takes about 5 minutes and you're done.  I've used it twice now and am always amazed at how quick it is and how nice my nails look afterward.  The last time I did it my nails lasted about 10 days before the outgrowth started making them look a little gross.  At that point I just put cotton balls soaked with nail polish remover on top of my nails, wrapped them with foil and waited 10 minutes to remove the polish.  I had to scrape the polish off after they were done soaking, and I will admit that it does seems a little damaging to do that, but it's the only way to get it off and within a day or so my nails looked and felt fine.

Tips/Additional Points -

• One thing I'm still trying to figure out is how to get maximum shine on my nails after I wipe off the moisture layer.  This last time they looked dull right after I did that, so I did another thin layer of the Top Coat and cured it for 30 seconds, but I don't think that made much of a difference.  What I've concluded is that they look a little dull right after cleansing but they do "shine up" the next day.  
• When I first bought the kit they only had about 5-7 color options, which was a bummer.  However, at MY WalMart (miracle of miracles) they had added another 5 or so colors recently, which really excited me.  I purchased the Babydoll Pink, which is what I'm wearing in my photos. 
• The kit itself is about $50 and they say that it will give you 10 complete manicures.  Not sure how they figure that, guess we'll see what runs out first?  But considering that getting a gel manicure just once in a salon is $30, it pays to buy this and DIY.  The nail polishes are pricey at $9.99.  
• I did watch a YouTube video that said you can use your own regular nail polishes on it, you just have to let the color coats dry completely before applying the SensatioNail top coat and curing. Though I don't really have the time to dry wet fingernails now that I have an infant that's into everything, it is good to know that it's an option.
• Putting your hands in water for bathing, dishes, etc doesn't affect the shine at all.  Awesome, right?
• As you'll see in my pics I didn't trim my cuticles before I applied it and I wish I would have.  It makes a huge difference in how neat & clean it looks, so I advise doing that!

Here's everything you need, from left to right - the Gel Cleanser, Primer, Base & Top Coat and Polish.  Then there's the lamp.

I almost didn't include a picture of my nails because my cuticles are so bad!  And I have a pet peeve of people posting pictures of their nail polish when it clearly is smudged and messy.  But anyway - the polish itself is light, looks shiny, no?

Here's a better pic of how shiny it is.  It looks like this for at least 10 days!

I almost feel silly even saying this cause I only have like 10 people that read this blog, but I was not compensated for providing this review - I just really love this product and think that, if you love having pretty nails but don't want to spend the money on it every couple weeks, this is a great purchase for you!  Let me know if you've done it and loved it or hated it!