I know that broke feeling! I believe it does layer. Somewhere here on tpf there is a thread about that too, lol
Regular polish over Gel & Sandwiching
- Thread starter tracy814
- Start date
I know that broke feeling! I believe it does layer. Somewhere here on tpf there is a thread about that too, lol
I like a natural looking nail so I use Vanilla Silk or Ambience for my color. I do Shallac base and top coat with one or two coats of Gelish. I have put OPI and Revlon polish on top of the SOG mani with and without a regular top coat. I have also put on Incoco tips without top coat and they all look and wear well. They all come off easily with regular nail polish remover and leave my SOG mani looking great.
I just tried the "gelly sandwich" last night on one nail. Just to experiment. I don't think I let the regular polish dry long enough because right after curing it looked fine but a few hours later I have a few wrinkles. I'm leaving it on just to test for longevity. I'm a mother of 2 and I'm hardd on my nails. I'll be happy to get 5 days out of it. I have so many bottles of regular polish I'd like to still use. I'm definitely Gelish obsessed though.
You have to REALLY let it dry. Like a couple hours with some polishes that take forever to dry. I had good luck doing it when the polish was really truly dry, like I couldn't dent it with a fingernail, etc. But if it wasn't dry it really didn't work for me. There's a thread here on tpf about sandwiching with regular polish that might be more helpful. This one is really just for putting regular polish over a complete SOG Mani.
Hi All,
I am new to this forum and I have successfully executed the Gelish "Sandwich" manicure (Gelish Foundation, regular nail polish of my choice, Gelish Top it Off top coat).
I'm only three days in, but so far so good! All layers cured just fine, and there's been no lifting whatsoever (that had been my biggest problem with other sog manicures)!
* I applied and cured the Foundation, then did a dry wipe
* Next I applied a thin coat of Bashful, cured for 2 minutes, then removed the tacky layer with rubbing alcohol and a lint free nail wipe. (next time around I plan to skip this step because I don't think it served any purpose other than to build up a little thickness beyond the foundatio
* I applied 2 coats of nail polish, letting each coat dry for about 5 minutes.
* I then applied the Gelish Top it Off topcoat and cured for 3 minutes on each hand.
* I have heard a lot about Gelish requiring a 36 watt lamp, but I used my basic 9 watt lamp, with no problems.
Gelish seems to be the answer to my prayers...my nails are super thin and bendy
I've got TONS of polish colors, but my regular manis always seemed to chip or peel, or my nails would tear. I am a pro at applying my own nail color, but sog's were a bit of a challenge. Gelish allows me to strengthen my nails so that I can rock my own polishes now.
Next time around, I plan to try this using only Gelish Foundation, with my own nail color on top and China Glaze UV Activated Top Coat. I want to have the option of changing up my nail color a couple of times a week, without sacrificing the strengthening layer. The China Glaze UV Top Coat gives the same shiny finish as Gelish, but doesn't have to be soaked off. I'll let you know the results when I finish.
In the meantime, I'm a total Gelish fan! (Never tried CND, because I wasn't able to get my hands on their base coat, so I'm afraid I can't make any comparisons)
I use regular nail polish and it works great! But for some reason my nails don't look super shiny. How can I make my nails looks super shiny and thick? I use the mini uv lamp from Sallys but I'm thinking of investing in a better Uv lamp. Is it my uv lamp or should I get the structure? My nails haven't chipped and been doing dishes without gloves. My nails look like I just have polish on but no gel on top of it. My goal is to achieve a nice thick shiny look on my nails.
I have used regular nail polish and this is the steps
1.Buff the nail and swipe with the cleanser
2.Apply the foundation and cure under lamp
3.Apply nail polish and cure under lamp( I use the mini and I cure it for 2 mins for light and 3 mins for dark) be sure to apply thin layers to properly dry under lamp. Cure in-between layers
4.Once polish is all dry apply top coat and cure
5.Wipe with cleanser
The key is to make sure the polish is dry in-between layers.
I have also done the Gelish "sandwich" manicure with success. It looked great for 7 days, and after that, I wouldn't call it chipping, but rather some very minor "wearing away" of the polish at the top edge. I still left it on for 3-4 more days, then took it off. This was my first time trying it and I used THICK coats of regular polish. I used OPI "the IT color" which is a very thin yellow polish. It takes several thick coats to achieve the color. I'm sure with subsequent attempts and thinner coats, I can make it last longer.
As others have posted, the trick is to let the regular polish dry COMPLETELY before applying the Gelish topcoat. If you don't, you will get some wrinkles in it/ curing problems.
2 side notes: I did not let my regular polish cure under the lamp...only the Gelish Foundation and Topcoat. Also, I use a 36 watt lamp.
I would recommend doing the Gelish foundation and the regular coats one evening, and letting it dry very well overnight. Then applying the Gelish topcoat the next morning.
The manicure should last nearly as long as a complete Gelish, if not the same.
I must say, I'm thrilled with 7 -10 days. This is still 2-3x longer than a regular manicure. PLUS, it saves me money because I can still use the many regular polishes I already own versus buying gels in colors I already have.
I plan to rotate full Gelish manicures, with sandwich manicures.
As others have posted, the trick is to let the regular polish dry COMPLETELY before applying the Gelish topcoat. If you don't, you will get some wrinkles in it/ curing problems.
2 side notes: I did not let my regular polish cure under the lamp...only the Gelish Foundation and Topcoat. Also, I use a 36 watt lamp.
I would recommend doing the Gelish foundation and the regular coats one evening, and letting it dry very well overnight. Then applying the Gelish topcoat the next morning.
The manicure should last nearly as long as a complete Gelish, if not the same.
I must say, I'm thrilled with 7 -10 days. This is still 2-3x longer than a regular manicure. PLUS, it saves me money because I can still use the many regular polishes I already own versus buying gels in colors I already have.
I plan to rotate full Gelish manicures, with sandwich manicures.
I wouldn't expect it to be shiny If you have no topcoat on it. Did you use just the gelish base and the put on regular polish? I'm confused. There seem to really be two topics going on here - one for polish over gel and one for it sandwiched in between (which there is another thread for too on tpf)
Thanks. So you cure regular nail polish under the light ? Interesting..
I am currently doing Shellac and it seems to be lasting 15 days so will keep that in mind
Yes I do. Because if the regular nail polish isn't dry when you add the top coat it mess up everything. As long as you have the base and top you can deff cure reg polish under the light.
How long do you think the regular polish should dry after you put it under the UV lamp?
I use the mini gelish lamp and I normally cure it between 2-3 mins. I do the same time as I would be using the gelish nail polish. But be sure to check the polish and make sure it's dry before doing another coat. And don't forget to do thin layers. The lamp will dry the nail polish conplaetly.