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Wednesday, June 8, 2016

NexGen or EZ Dip Nails????

Remember when I was loving the NexGen gel dip nail system and actually had pretty nails and did cool nail art and sh*t? Well, I think I've found the thing that may just bring that back.

Look away Diana!

I was in one of my nail groups when someone posted about how they found a starter kit to do your own gel dip nails at home.  You best believe I immediately bought it and here is my very first experience in doing it for myself.

Let me just say, I am not a professional nail tech and what I'm going to show you is far from perfect and not the quality you would get from a salon like Diana's.  For me though, I think it's going to be just the thing that gets me going again.

Practice makes perfect right?

Let's start with what I bought.



The files and nail clipper I got from Sally's.  The rest I got from Oceans of Beauty. I did find other places that sold this stuff on the internet although I've no idea what the differences are between the brands.


Besides the starter kit, I got these clips for soaking off the gel and tips to glue on.  These were separate.


This is what you get in the EZ Dip starter kit-except I bought step 1 which not everyone needs.  I think it's like an alcohol based liquid that really makes sure the nail bed is absolutely free of oils etc. The gel color was light pink as when I did the gel before, I used sheer pink knowing I was going to polish on top of it anyway.  They do have clear, but it's thinner and you'd have to do more coats.

Here is what my nails looked like before I started.


Nothing to be ashamed of, but I had just cleaned these up and cut off the peelies I had acquired.

The first thing I did was glue on tips.  I totally screwed up one and had to soak it off and start over.


HEHEHE.  There are people with nails this long you know! No critiquing as I am well aware these are not perfect or perfectly straight!

Here is after I cut them down and shaped them. I do not have an electric file system, I just used regular nail files and buffer blocks.


Looks quite a bit better here doesn't it??  Maybe I should have stopped here.

Next I did my usual two dips.  I know now that I did way too thick a layer of the glue so there are humps and bumps in the gel.


On my first finger, that is not a crack.  It's a bulge in the gel like my ring finger has one on the side.

Next, I buffed and shaped and added the top coat, which I also know I did too thick and it's in my cuticles so when it grows out it may lift, but I'm hoping I can prevent that.

Here are the results.


Now I went much longer than I did when I was getting them done at the salon.  We will see how they do at work with all the typing I do.  Right now, I really am loving them.  This whole process took me three hours! Most of that time was spent with the gluing of the tips.  The dipping part went pretty fast. Since I had this done many times before at the salon, I knew the steps and once my nails grow out, it shouldn't take me that amount of time at all.

Once I get polish on top, you won't even notice the wonkyness or the ducknail I have on my right hand. Although, I have to stare at that one for now!

There are YouTube videos for this process to watch and they do show how to do fills, which I didn't know you could do.  I will definitely be trying to do a fill before soaking them off and doing a new set.

My plan is to do a full set once a month with a fill at two weeks. I know from my past experience with NexGen that my nails grew fast and I needed new nails every two weeks.  I'm hoping that a fill will keep me from having to do that, but if I do, I will.

**EDIT** Oceans of Beauty liked this post so much, they gave me a coupon code for my readers to use! How awesome is that? Use FPM20 at the checkout and get 20% off your first order!! Here's your chance to get a starter kit and save some cash!

Stay tuned for posts with my new nails!

Until next time people.  Any thoughts out there?