I Ditched Gels Ages Ago—This Product Delivers an Equally as Expensive-Looking Manicure at Home

If you've read some of my nail stories on Who What Wear UK before, you might know that I'm always on the lookout for gel nail alternatives. Since developing an allergy to a lot of gel polish formulas (sob), I've been rigorously testing long-lasting nail polishes and press-on nails—the Essie Gel Couture Top Coat and OPI's Press-On Nails are by far my favourites so far. However, one system I hadn't yet tried (until recently) was the Manucurist Green Flash LED Nail Kit (£75), which I'd heard only glowing things about, so I decided to put it to the test myself.

Manucurist Green Flash LED Nail Kit

How Does It Work?

What makes the Manucurist Green Flash system different from other at-home gel nail kits is that it doesn't use a gel formula (you won't find any methyl acrylates or monomers, which are typically in gel polish). Instead, it's more like a regular nail polish that you cure underneath the included LED lamp.

Firstly, you apply the base coat and cure for one minute. Then, you go in with two coats of your chosen colour (I went for Prune here, which is a deep purple red) and curing each coat for two minutes. Then, you apply a final top coat and cure for two minutes to complete your mani. All the formulas apply just like regular nail polish, and leave your nails looking glossy, but with a more long-wearing finish compared to normal nail polish.

When you come to remove them, it's so much easier than gel polish. You only need to soak your nails in the included polish remover and nail clips for a minute, and the polish quite literally curls off your nails in one satisfying piece. It's far quicker and easier than removing gel polish.

The Result

When I did my nails for the first time, it took me less than 20 minutes to do both of my hands. When you cure the polish under the lamp, it's basically touch-dry in just a minute or two (although I'd give it a couple of minutes to become fully dry once you've cured your top coat).

It's really easy to follow all of the steps, but Manucurist recommends applying thin layers of the polish, and having tested this out a few times now, I wholeheartedly agree. You want to apply a thin veil, ideally brushing each nail a maximum of three times to avoid the formula streaking or looking bulky on the nails when you're curing each coat.

You also want to cap the free edge of the nail to help minimise chipping. If you follow the steps correctly, you can easily get a week out of your mani without too much chipping.

After 6 Days

Here are my nails after almost a week of wear, with some minor chipping on my right hand on the middle finger and thumb. It would be remiss of me to not mention that I am incredibly heavy-handed with my nails, so if you subscribe to the notion of "nails are jewels, not tools", then you'll likely get a lot longer out of your mani.

I used the polish remover and nail clips to remove the polish, and I was amazed at how easy it was. After one minute, the polish was unfurling off from my nails and basically peeled off on its own. Needless to say, it's far less faffy than removing either gel polish of regular nail polish. I was impressed! Because the removal was so easy, I re-did my two chipped nails and I've now had the polish on for a further three days, and it still looks good.

The Verdict

Is the Manucurist Green Flash Slim LED Gel Nail Kit as replacement for gel manicures? I'd say yes and no. With gel manicures, you can easily get around two or three weeks of wear. With this, it looks and feels more like regular nail polish on the nails. That being said, you can get around 10 days of wear out of this kit, which is much more than most nail polishes.

And with it being a lot easier to use, it's a lot less hassle than removing gel polish or even regular nail polish. For that reason, I really don't mind if I need to redo a nail if it chips, as removing it and re-applying is so easy. It also makes it a great option if you like to switch up your nail colour often. As someone who loves a sheer pink manicure as much as a deep red, I like the freedom of being able to switch this up more regularly than gels.

Of course, if you can't use gel polish or want to wean yourself away from regular gel manicures, then this kit is a great choice. It works out a lot less expensive than regular gel manicures (the set basically pays for itself after a few manis), and the Manucurist formulas are also packed with nourishing ingredients to help strengthen your nails, so it helps to keep your natural nails long and strong as you wear it. The Manucurist shades are also extremely chic—I've linked a few of my favourites below.

Shop Manucurist Green Flash