Manucurist Green Flash Gel Polish

I am always on the hunt for an at-home nail kit that really delivers. I came across Manucurist on social media – and it was making all the right claims – so I wanted to put it to the test. 

I’ve mentioned before that I am obsessed with nice nails. For me, that means trimmed and neatly painted, however it rarely lasts more than mere hours. It appears I’m really hard on my nails and just can’t get polish to last. Therefore I love Shellac. So much. But it’s expensive, time-consuming and more importantly, not great for my nails. I find after repeatedly removing and applying Shellac for months on end, eventually it just doesn’t stick anymore. 

So during Lockdown Number 2, I decided to give Manucurist a good ol’ try. 

The company

Manucurist is a French company who say they want to create clean products for women everywhere. They’re really selling themselves on the green credentials – products contain no ‘bad’ ingredients are vegan and cruelty-free and their packaging is fully recyclable. Great stuff!

 The product

They sell regular nail polish too but I went for the Green Flash Gel Polish. It promises:

- A 10-day polish you can apply at home

- It can be easily removed without damaging your nails using a gentle, acetone-free remover

- It’s the first clean gel nail polish on the market containing "non-toxic-ingredients”

- Only 3 simple steps: base coat - colour - top coat

They offer 2 different kits so I chose the top-of-the range option – the Pro Full Kit for €89. It included the base coat, topcoat, polish remover and lamp. 

 There are 2 key differences between this kit and the Nomad kit for €69. 

-      The Pro lamp is larger, which allows you to dry your hand in one go. The Nomad requires you to dry the 4 fingers and thumb separately.

-      The Pro lamp is 36 watts while and Nomad is 18. That means the Pro dries in half the time.

I also received one free colour with my order (I chose Dark Clover). 

The following YouTube video is a demonstration process. 

The verdict

It’s brilliant. Application is a breeze. If you do Shellac you’ll feel quite a home with the process.  It took me a while to get the removal down and it’s significantly easier than the video shows. Now, I cut up cotton rounds, soak small pieces in non-acetate remover and place on my nail for 3 minutes. Then it just slides ride off. To make my life easier I surround with foil, like they do in the salon. It takes a bit of cutting and prep time but well worth it.

It didn’t last 10 days. I got about a solid week and to be honest, that perfect. I get bored and want to change it up anyway so if I can keep my nails looking good for one week, it’s a true success story.  

I liked this product so much I ordered a trio pretty much straight away - Hollycock (dark red), Violeta (red) and Nude. And I’ve also asked Santa to bring a few new colors this Christmas!

One thing to mindful of: the lamp overheats. On two separate occasions, it started to flash and turned off completely. I keep a small fan on my dressing table (thank you, hot flashes) so after cooling down for 5 minutes it worked just fine. 

So if you’re in the market for an-home gel nail kit that really delivers. This could be the one for you.