Red Carpet Manicure UV Gel Pro Kit (for home use!)

It's FINALLY happened!!!

A nail polish that STAYS ON MY NATURAL NAILS!
*gasp!*

I know....you can't believe it. Trust me, I had my doubts too after all I've been through the past couple of months!

You may recall that I took off my acrylic nails 2 months ago after 13 years of artificial long nail BLISS. Then I tried a $40 CND Shellac UV gel manicure at the salon, but it slid off my nails in a day and all my natural nails broke with it. After that I tried Butter London Nail Lacquer which lasts 6-8 days without chipping, but I sometimes need even longer wear than that! 

The ride to getting pretty nails since I took off my artificial ones has not been easy!

$80 and worth every dime!

Now I've discovered HEAVEN in a nail polish!! Red Carpet Manicure UV Gel Pro Manicure kit available online and at Ulta stores is what I've been wanting both from a long-lasting manicure standpoint AND from an economical one!

For $80 (the cost of 2 salon visits) the Pro kit includes supplies that will last through many months of manicures: a UV light like those used at salons, plus all the ingredients you need to do your own gel manicure at home: sanitizer, base coat, 1 color, top coat, cleanser, and remover.

my sad short uneven nails :(

The steps for a RCM manicure are easy-- clean/prep nails with sanitizer, apply base coat and put under light for 30 seconds. Next apply 1 coat of color and hold under UV light for 45 seconds, repeat this step, then use top coat and cure under light for a final 45 seconds. Afterward, wipe down nails with the post application cleanser to remove any sticky residue. THAT'S IT!

I did my nails at 3pm on December 25th and 4 days later there isn't even the slightest chipping and they're as shiny as ever. I suspect this manicure will last at least 2 weeks without chipping---RCM even suggests it may last 3 weeks. Even if it were to chip tomorrow, which I doubt will happen, it's lasted longer than anything I've put on my natural nails ever.

I want them ALL!

Today I went to Ulta and picked up a couple more colors. The Pro kit comes with "Red Carpet Ready," but I also purchased "Best Dressed" and "Thank You Thank You." I would have picked up "Paparazzi" and "9 Inch Heels" for $9.99 each, but they were out of those colors (and about 5 others I wanted!). Next visit for sure!

The best part is, since my nails are still weak from growing out all the acrylic damage (probably 2 more months before it's all grown out--a total of 4 months), the RCM gel mani that I do at home gives them a bit of strength so they're protected from breaking.

I don't know if this is true, but a manger at Ulta told me that instead of RCM gel color, if I want to put my own non-formaldehyde regular polish in between the gel base coat and gel top coat, I can, I would just need to let the polish dry completely on it's own before I added top coat. She also told me that if I want clear nails, I can use the top and base coats together without any color in between. I haven't tried either of these things yet, but I will. Right now I'm just enamored with nails that haven't chipped when I'm used to my natural nails always having broken polish on them!

MANICURE BLISS....FINALLY!

Thanks Red Carpet Manicure!!!