SensatioNAIL Peel Off Gel Nails – Review

This post features product gifted for review

My first experience of gel nails was about five years ago when my friend, Michelle, used her new SensatioNAIL kit to give me a bit of a festive manicure.  I flipping loved them.  I loved that my nails looked so neat and glossy – having beautifully polished nails made me feel more “done” and knowing they could cope with the constant hand-washing that comes with having a new baby was amazing.  Of course the downside was that they were a right pain to get off and my nails took weeks to recover from the damage.  This has been pretty much the story for the last five years – I adore having a gel manicure for a special occasion but I know I’ll pay the price with damaged nails, even if I have them professionally removed in the salon.

Until now . . .

For the last six weeks I’ve been using the new SenstatioNAIL Strip Gel Peel Off base coat under my SensatioNAIL gel manicure and let me tell you now, it’s a game changer.

When I was first introduced to the idea of a peel off gel manicure, I was sceptical to say the least.  Peeling off nail polish of any kind, never mind gels, isn’t great for your nails and as such goes against everything we’ve ever been taught about looking after our talons. And, even if the no damage promise was true, surely they just wouldn’t last very long?  How could something which peels off, promise up to ten days of chip free polish?

How do you apply SensatioNAIL Strip Gel Peel Off base coat?

The SensatioNAIL Strip Gel Peel Off base coat is an air drying base which you apply at the start of your manicure – a quick buff of your nails to remove any shine, a coat of the peel off base coat followed by two coats of your chosen SensatioNAIL gel polish and a top coat cured in-between layers with the SensatioNAIL lamp (which you can buy as part of a starter kit), and you’re good to go!

I was super impressed with my first SensatioNAIL attempt but also wasn’t really sure how long it would last or what my nails would be like underneath . .

How long does SensatioNAIL gel polish last?

The first manicure lasted around a week before it started to chip at the ends and one nail began to lift at the cuticle.  I did absolutely nothing to protect my nails in terms of wearing rubber gloves or altering my daily activities.  I also realised I hadn’t sealed my nails by running the polish over the tips (this is something I still forget to do) which would obviously weaken the finish of the nail.  All in I was pretty happy with a week’s perfect polish!

How do you remove SenstaioNAIL peel off gel polish?

I was super apprehensive when it came to removing the gel polish, however I was pleasantly surprised to find that the polish peeled off relatively easily – some nails came off whole, others needed a little more picking it but it took me less than 15 minutes to get them clean – way quicker and gentler than wrapping them up and soaking them in acetone!  What was even more impressive was that there didn’t seem to have been any damage to my nails at all.  I went straight in with a second manicure in a new colour!

Could this be the answer to damage free gel nails?

Now I’ve never had back to back gel nails before – I’ve always taken the polish off and then had to wait weeks for my nails to recover, usually they will break and peel for a while before getting their strength back.  Taking off the second gel manicure was initially a little harder but I found it came off much easier after I’d had a soak in the bath and the polish was removed in a matter of minutes.  This time I decided to leave my nails polish free for a little while to see how they had coped with a couple of weeks of back to back gel nails and guess what?  No damage or weakness at all. In the week I was polish free I saw no splits or breaks, even though my nails had become quite long (so much so that I had to go and cut / file them before I could start typing one morning!)

I’m now on my third SensatioNAIL manicure (in another different colour . . . this could become a dangerous habit!) and I’m so happy with them.  The expense and inconvenience of maintaining a gel manicure has always put me off in the past but now I can do it in the comfort of my own home, with no damage to my nails and with comparatively little outlay.  I’m converted!

(The two polishes photographed in this post are Royal Ruby and Raspberry Wine)