OPI Gelcolor

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#691
Mininana said:
Ps!! The reason why I used acetone to take of the sticky later after being done with my many was because my nail technician did the exact same thing. In fact, she used the same product as top coat and base coat and cleaned both times with acetone. I know weird right? But since it's the one and only gel manicure I got in my life two months ago that's all I had as a reference. Now I know better!! :)
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Just goes to show you that even the pros get it horribly wrong sometimes!
 
#692
NancyG said:
Just goes to show you that even the pros get it horribly wrong sometimes!
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Yes!! I didn't know base coats and their "chemistry" until I read this thread. The pro I went to used the same product as base coat and top coat!

I need to add opi base coat to my cart as well as gelish top it off.
 
#693
Mininana said:
I believe the metal opi was $400ish anyway so it wouldn't make sense if to cost $135 haha



A professional friend recommended me the cnd lamp even if I use opi SOG so now I'm pondering between those two


Obviously people recommend opi for opi but I'm not tied to just one brand. I literally started this two months ago and I only own 2 opi and 1 sally Hansen so I'm open to options. :)
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There are lots of great lamps and gels out there. But if you are interested in OPI you should be forewarned that it has been difficult to cure in some lamps.


Did your friend recommend the CND LED lamp? I actually got one from someone who wanted to get rid of it. I used it for my current mani (I used all CND products). The mani came out great. As I said above, I really like the shine and durability of the Xpress5 topcoat so far.

I haven't heard anything about how well the CND LED lamp works with Gelcolor or any other brands. This lamp was "supposedly" specifically designed to cure the older CFL-UV Shellac as well as their newer LED formulas. In their advertising they made it seem as if the lamp technology might not be generalizable to other brands. I know that it is probably all the typical CND marketing hype but still I worry that it might not work properly. I have only used the new CND LED lamp with CND Shellac and Brisa Lite. Since I have the great OPI LED lamp I haven't wanted to bother experimenting with other brands in the CND LED lamp. Did your friend have any information on this?

The CND LED lamp also has a 60 second cure time instead of 30 seconds, so it will be a little slower than the OPI lamp (or the Gelish 18g) .

BTW here is the link to the thread I mentioned earlier. I know it is old but it has lots of great info.

http://forum.purseblog.com/nail-care-reference-library/soak-off-gel-information-for-beginners-729204.html
 
#694
Although CND insisted that only their UV lamp will cure CND Shellac, their lamp really does cure just about anything out there. That makes sense since CND always said that the photo initiators used in Shellac (which made it hypoallergenic) were a bit more difficult to cure than most other gel polishes. So while Shellac didn't always cure in others' lamps, other products cured in the CND Shellac lamp. Most UV/LED products say that you need a 36 watt UV lamp to cure their product. The CND lamp meets that requirement. I used to cure OPI GelColor in my CND UV lamp just fine.

Again, this gets back to the science. Gel polish cures in a certain UV range, usually 300 to 400 nm. CFL-UV lamps put out a broad range of light, usually 325 to 425 nm, so it cures a broad range of gel polishes. LED-UV lamps put out a much narrower range (about 375-400nm) at a higher intensity. That means LED lamps cure faster, but that also means that it is easier to have a mismatch between the polish and the lamp.
 
#695
artiemd said:
There are lots of great lamps and gels out there. But if you are interested in OPI you should be forewarned that it has been difficult to cure in some lamps.


Did your friend recommend the CND LED lamp? I actually got one from someone who wanted to get rid of it. I used it for my current mani (I used all CND products). The mani came out great. As I said above, I really like the shine and durability of the Xpress5 topcoat so far.

I haven't heard anything about how well the CND LED lamp works with Gelcolor or any other brands. This lamp was "supposedly" specifically designed to cure the older CFL-UV Shellac as well as their newer LED formulas. In their advertising they made it seem as if the lamp technology might not be generalizable to other brands. I know that it is probably all the typical CND marketing hype but still I worry that it might not work properly. I have only used the new CND LED lamp with CND Shellac and Brisa Lite. Since I have the great OPI LED lamp I haven't wanted to bother experimenting with other brands in the CND LED lamp. Did your friend have any information on this?

The CND LED lamp also has a 60 second cure time instead of 30 seconds, so it will be a little slower than the OPI lamp (or the Gelish 18g) .

BTW here is the link to the thread I mentioned earlier. I know it is old but it has lots of great info.

http://forum.purseblog.com/nail-car...off-gel-information-for-beginners-729204.html
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Right, NancyG. My CND CFL-UV lamp cures everything. But my concern is about the CND LED lamp. Have you heard about or had experience with using it to cure other brands?
NancyG said:
Although CND insisted that only their UV lamp will cure CND Shellac, their lamp really does cure just about anything out there. That makes sense since CND always said that the photo initiators used in Shellac (which made it hypoallergenic) were a bit more difficult to cure than most other gel polishes. So while Shellac didn't always cure in others' lamps, other products cured in the CND Shellac lamp. Most UV/LED products say that you need a 36 watt UV lamp to cure their product. The CND lamp meets that requirement. I used to cure OPI GelColor in my CND UV lamp just fine.

Again, this gets back to the science. Gel polish cures in a certain UV range, usually 300 to 400 nm. CFL-UV lamps put out a broad range of light, usually 325 to 425 nm, so it cures a broad range of gel polishes. LED-UV lamps put out a much narrower range (about 375-400nm) at a higher intensity. That means LED lamps cure faster, but that also means that it is easier to have a mismatch between the polish and the lamp.
Click to expand...
 
#696
artiemd said:
There are lots of great lamps and gels out there. But if you are interested in OPI you should be forewarned that it has been difficult to cure in some lamps.


Did your friend recommend the CND LED lamp? I actually got one from someone who wanted to get rid of it. I used it for my current mani (I used all CND products). The mani came out great. As I said above, I really like the shine and durability of the Xpress5 topcoat so far.

I haven't heard anything about how well the CND LED lamp works with Gelcolor or any other brands. This lamp was "supposedly" specifically designed to cure the older CFL-UV Shellac as well as their newer LED formulas. In their advertising they made it seem as if the lamp technology might not be generalizable to other brands. I know that it is probably all the typical CND marketing hype but still I worry that it might not work properly. I have only used the new CND LED lamp with CND Shellac and Brisa Lite. Since I have the great OPI LED lamp I haven't wanted to bother experimenting with other brands in the CND LED lamp. Did your friend have any information on this?

The CND LED lamp also has a 60 second cure time instead of 30 seconds, so it will be a little slower than the OPI lamp (or the Gelish 18g) .

BTW here is the link to the thread I mentioned earlier. I know it is old but it has lots of great info.

http://forum.purseblog.com/nail-car...off-gel-information-for-beginners-729204.html
Click to expand...



Yes he did!! He told me that Opi is great value for money and that CND lamp is the best. However I read below your post that the NEW CND lamp doesn't work for feet?


He also did put emphasis on the lamp. He said that a GOOD lamp makes all of the difference.


But I was too cheap to get a $200 when I had never done my own SOG mani before, and this was BEFORE I got mine "professionally" done as well. I told him I would get the SH kit and he said that was a good start.



with the SH kit the cycle is 30 seconds and the opi polish cures with 2 cycles but I did 4 in each step just in case as I was applying too thickly (my mistake).



I didn't want to be like those people who get the whole gear before even starting something so I feel that the SH was a great beginner's kit. Now that I ONLY want to wear SOG I am ready to commit to a more efficient lamp.
Catch is, I am not interested in getting a million colors because I only wear pink haha!! I have about 30 RNP all in pink, and now only 2 SOG in pink + 1 nude pink SH I don't use... I have 2 more pinks on my wishlist and they are all opi as I'm in the facebook group thanks to this thread and can see swatches :)
 
#698
artiemd said:
Right, NancyG. My CND CFL-UV lamp cures everything. But my concern is about the CND LED lamp. Have you heard about or had experience with using it to cure other brands?
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Sorry, I was trying (badly apparently!) to make the point using the old CND lamp as an example. The issue is whether the new CND LED lamp has the range of UV light to cure Gelish and other brands. Given that CND Shellac's photo initiators are different from other brands, I would suspect not. Also, the new CND lamp does a pulsated light and I don't know the impact of that on other brands. The problem is that it is hard to tell whether you've got a proper cure - you just don't know. So as good as the new CND LED lamp is, unless you're going to use CND Shellac, I'd pass on it. If you can get your hands on the old OPI lamp -the black, Darth Vader looking one - it is fantastic and indestructible. I'll bet that the new OPI Studio light is pretty good too. And the Gelish 18g is a great lamp that cures almost anything as well. Both pretty expensive though.
 
#699
sweetlilwolf said:
Can any of you ladies post where you purchase items. If you need license, location (US,UK, etc) trusted eBay/Amazon sellers etc I have a group of ladies asking on the Facebook page and only a few answered a lot of them are from UK so I can't really help.

Thanks!
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There are a few online resources - Beautywests.com is a good one. I prefer to see my colors in person, especially in ACG whose "buttons" never look like the real thing! For interesting historical reasons, the Vietnamese community dominates the nail industry in the US and you can often find excellent independent nail supply stores in Vietnamese communities around the country. I recommend searching your local community for such stores (and maybe grab a banh mi during your search!)
 
#700
NancyG said:
Sorry, I was trying (badly apparently!) to make the point using the old CND lamp as an example. The issue is whether the new CND LED lamp has the range of UV light to cure Gelish and other brands. Given that CND Shellac's photo initiators are different from other brands, I would suspect not. Also, the new CND lamp does a pulsated light and I don't know the impact of that on other brands. The problem is that it is hard to tell whether you've got a proper cure - you just don't know. So as good as the new CND LED lamp is, unless you're going to use CND Shellac, I'd pass on it. If you can get your hands on the old OPI lamp -the black, Darth Vader looking one - it is fantastic and indestructible. I'll bet that the new OPI Studio light is pretty good too. And the Gelish 18g is a great lamp that cures almost anything as well. Both pretty expensive though.
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NancyG, my thoughts exactly. I would be concerned about the CND LED lamp with other brands.
 
#701
What's funny is when I first started gel I had an OPI mani that I hated. Now it's my favorite gel and I understand it was just the tech wasn't very good.

I'm in the process of procuring all my favorite colors. Just put on Is Mai Tai Crooked? 45 minutes flat from start to finish! [emoji2]

ImageUploadedByPurseForum1458093351.215489.jpg
 
#702
knasarae said:
What's funny is when I first started gel I had an OPI mani that I hated. Now it's my favorite gel and I understand it was just the tech wasn't very good.

I'm in the process of procuring all my favorite colors. Just put on Is Mai Tai Crooked? 45 minutes flat from start to finish! [emoji2]

View attachment 3302971
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Very pretty! Is it more orange-y in real life? I had been "building" my capsule colors right now and I don't have an orange one yet. I'm trying to get one. Thanks!:smile1:
 
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