Gelish vs. OPI base and top coats

The lifelong debate on every beauty and nail blog.

To be honest I am still torn. There are pros and cons to both.

In my experience, with Gelish Base/Top Coat the polish seems to chip and peel a little easier than with OPI Base/Top Coat. Just as Gelish comes off easier when you don't want it to, it comes off easier when you do want it to. I have still not gotten the OPI Base/Top coat to come off without putting some elbow grease into it. That is with trying 100% acetone and Onyx Gel Remover and checking at 5 minute intervals up to roughly 20 minutes. The Gelish Base/Top coat does seem to do a little better when I use the Bond Aid nail plate dehydrator. I also
love that the OPI doesn't require roughing up the nail to get the base coat and colors to stick better. The shine seems to be equally good and lasts through the two weeks that I have worn them. I also like how OPI gel color goes on so smoothly/evenly in application and color.

In conclusion, I would probably reach for the OPI Base/Top Coat first, even though I slightly dread when it comes time to take it off.

Ideally, I would like to find is a base/top coat that keeps my gel polish from chipping or peeling but that I can take off easily within a reasonable amount of time.

Today, I ordered DIY Hard Nails Base and Top coat and Heartbreaker, one of their temperature changing gel polishes, taking advantage of their "Buy 3 Ship Free." Hopefully they will arrive soon enough to try this weekend with my new Melody Susie nail lamp. From my few interactions with this company they seem very responsive and helpful. I have high hopes that their polish will do well.


SO EXCITED FOR THIS COLOR!

48 Watt Melody Susie LED nail light

I have been getting into gel nails since my friend turned me on to them this last summer. I have since tried two lights: USpicy 18 Watt and Melody Susie 24 Watt LED lights for curing Gelish and OPI brand gel polishes. The USpicy was nice as it would turn on automatically when you put your hand in and you could see how much time was left. I shortly returned it and got the Melody Susie light since I wanted to try something that was a little more powerful and not much more money. It was nice as it was a little more powerful = took less time to cure gel polish. In doing my mother's nails regularly though, I realized I wasn't getting the results I wanted with this lamp. I don't know if it was lack of internal reflection or if my mother's hands were too arthritic to place in there appropriately. Just recently, I ordered off the Melody Susie website directly for the Melody Susie 48 Watt to see if it works better for my mother's nails. The order was placed 1/19 and, being the frugal person that I am, I opted for free shipping. The light arrived with much anticipation on 1/25, which was quick to me for not having to pay a dime for shipping.

Needless to say, I am very excited to try it on her.

The various pros I have read about and seen coming out of the box:
*even more power, 48 Watts, for a decent price ($119 direct from their website or from Amazon)
*sensor that kicks it on for when you set your hand in AND turns it off when you take your hand out before the time is done!!!
*very reflective interior
*removable base plate
*timer that lets you know how much time is left incase you get antsy
*much longer/more forgiving cord than the Melody Susie 24 Watt light

An important thing to consider: when I was purchasing the light I signed up to be a member. This resulted in a $6 discount. :-)