Gelish Nails Review

Hi everyone!
I promised a Gelish review was upcoming and so, here it is. Yesterday I headed out to my local salon to get Gelish nails. I wanted something long-lasting and hard wearing that would allow my nails to grow, especially as they have become extra weak this past little while what with redecorating and bleaching and painting.
I didn't want to get acrylics - they may work for some but I have heard they leave your nails in less than perfect condition, and since my nails are already pretty soft it's a no-go for me. Then I heard, simultaneously, about Gelish and Shellac.
Gelish is by Hand and Nail Harmony, whereas Shellac is by CND. They are both hard-wearing applications that differ from fake nails. Shellac mixes polish and gel, whereas Gelish mixes gel and pigment. Both claim to last two weeks or more without chipping. The main differences are in price (Gelish was cheaper in all of the salons in my town), availability of colours (I think Gelish has more) and application and removal times. Shellac takes longer to apply (both must be cured with a heat lamp, but Gelish has a shorter curing time) and Gelish takes longer to remove. Both cost money to remove if you go to the salon, but you can also do it at home if you don't mind having slightly less well-done removal.
In the end, I decided to go with Gelish mainly because of the price. I had a gift voucher for my local salon that covered the price of Gelish so I used that. And I'm pretty happy with the results.
The main thing I wanted Gelish for was to give my nails time to grow. Because they are strong and non-chip for up to three weeks, I should be able to see some growth. Unfortunately, I have fan shaped nails which are hard both for application and for strength, but I hope when I go to get this removed to get them shaped and tapered simultaneously. I don't want crazy long nails, but when you see how short mine are you'll understand why they need to grow!

These are my nails prior to the treatment. As you can see they are short, raggedy and stained for a red polish I forgot to put a base coat on before.

In the salon, I picked the dark blue colour 'Caution' - a navy with a shimmer. First, a base coat was applied and my hands cured under a lamp. Then two coats of blue, each cured under the lamp, and finally a top coat, also cured. My nails were dry and shiny right away, meaning I could rummage in my purse to get my keys and my purse without worrying about ruining the manicure. And the shine! It's insane.
I'll post a weekly update as to how my nails are progressing so you can see growth and durability. Another cool thing about these polishes is that if you get bored with the colour, you can apply an ordinary base coat and polish on top of the Gelish and then use a non-acetone remover to take it off, and the Gelish will remain underneath!

Here are my nails post-treatment. It really shows how short they are, right?

This picture shows how shiny they are, I think. Hopefully they will continue to grow over the next couple of weeks.

You can check out Gelish and find out if there is a salon near you here. You can look at Shellac, and find out if there is a salon near you here.
This post was not sponsored, I just genuinely wanted my nails done and had a voucher.

S xx