Bio Seaweed Gel review
As gel polish technology evolves and gets better – with no-wipe top coats and all-in-one colors – my interest has increased. I’ve invested in my own stash of gel polish and tools, and I find it’s so handy when I have a busy work week, vacation, or just need a mani to last me more than a couple days!
At Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas, I was excited to visit the Bio Seaweed Gel booth, as I have wanted to learn more this year about gel brands and technology. Bio Seaweed Gel offers:
- 3Step Colour Gel Polish (which uses a gel base and top coat)
- UNITY All-in-One (base, top, color, strengtheners all in one bottle)
- No Sanding Base (no need for heavy drilling/sanding with the base)
- Diamond Shine Top Coat (top coat comes in wipe/no-wipe formulas)
- Sculpting Gel System (alternative to acrylic nails)
- BSG Professional Gel Brush (for scuplting).
Here’s some pics of the colors Bio Seaweed Gel offers in their lines:
To get started, all I did was take off my existing mani, and lightly buff the surface of my nail so the polish would adhere.
I took lint-free squares and wiped the surface of each nail with Gelish Nail Surface Cleanser, before I began applying the UNITY polishes.
I applied one thin coat of polish to my nails. I did Magenta on my thumbs, and Coral Reef on the other four fingers of each hand.
Here’s the curing times for Unity:
- LED light: 30 seconds for base, 45 seconds for color, 1 minute for top coat
- UV light: 1 minute base, 2 minutes for color, 2 minutes for top
- Sunlight: Depends on how strong the UV rays are that day! UNITY can be touched when its cured (no sticky layer) so BSG recommends on a sunny day wait 1 minute then test to see if it is not sticky anymore, or 2 minutes on a cloudier day.
I had hoped to cure mine in the sunlight, but of course the weekend I used it the sun was hiding, I decided to do my mani at night and to try my LED lamp!
After curing the first coat, I applied a second coat of Magenta to each thumb, and Coral Reef to each of the other fingers. I cured it.
I took Nail Vinyls, and added two each to my middle and ring fingers on each hand, then painted a thick coat of Magenta on each nail. After applying the polish, I carefully removed the chevron Nail Vinyls, and I cured it, a tad longer because the coat was thicker.
I added a Nail Vinyl in a zig-zag pattern to each of my thumbs, and painted a portion of my thumbs with the Diamond VIP glitter shade. I was pleased at how opaque it was; next time, I’m doing a whole nail or mani with this color! Again, I carefully removed the vinyl and cured the thumbs.
I added a third coat of Coral Reef to my index and pinkies on each hand, and cured it.
I decided to add the top coat, even though it technically isn’t necessary with UNITY. I cured it.
This is what it looked like the next morning!
Please excuse the blurriness of that thumb close-up!
Coral Reef is a beautiful peachy shimmer – it shifts sometimes subtly, sometimes obviously green/gold/pink, and sparkles beautifully in the sun! Magenta is a gorgeous pop of pink, especially in the sunlight in summer! Diamond VIP was a unique glitter combination. The No-Wipe Top Coat was indeed no wipe, and gave my mani a glossy finish.
I should note I capped my tips each coat!
So how did it hold up?
Here’s the mani on day four (thumb not included!):
I had some very light tip wear, but on many nails it wasn’t even totally worn off my tips!!
Here’s the mani on day 6, before I took it off:
This mani stayed incredibly glossy, it didn’t appear to have any scratches, I certainly had NO chips; I was completely impressed with wear and would have kept the mani if I didn’t have other polishes to swatch – ah, the life of a blogger!
Removal wasn’t too complicated but it did take me a while. First, I buffed the gloss off the surface of the nails:
I took padded foil wraps (I forget what brand or where I got them) and soaked the pad in acetone. I wrapped my fingers and let it soak for about 15 minutes.
I took a metal nail tool that has a cuticle pusher on one end and gently pushed the gel off my fingers. I did not aggressively scrape, because my tool is sharp. So what didn’t easily come off, I left. I added more acetone to the pad, and re-wrapped my fingers. I did this three times on my left hand and twice on my right.
When I was done, I gently buffed and polished each nail, and treated each with a smothering dose of CND Solar Oil, which I rubbed in at the end. I waited about a half hour, and then gave my hands a pampering with products I’ll be reviewing in another post this week! I finished with a coat of Probelle Touch n’ Grow Plus treatment.
The end result of my careful removal? I kept the long length of my nails with little damage outside of the buffing. There was no peeling of my nails and everything went great.
SO. WORTH. IT.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with Bio Seaweed Gel, and I would purchase more colors in a heart beat! I also like the looks of their lamp:
Bio Seaweed UNITY All-In-One is available for purchase through their shop here. Colors are $18 a piece. The No-Wipe Top Coat is available here for $20.
Bio Seaweed Gel is a Canadian brand, and their salon locator will find you locations in Canada, U.S.A. and select international locations. There happens to be a salon within a half hour of me that does Bio Seaweed Gel services! So if you’re not interested in DIY at home, you can see who offers Bio Seaweed Gel near you!
So thanks for sticking with me for this thorough review!
What do you think of Bio Seaweed Gel? Have you ever given yourself or gotten a BSG mani?! Is this something that piques your interest?!
Disclaimer: I received the polishes from the PR Firm/Manufacturer. Please visit my Disclosure tab for more information on how BeautyJudy.com keeps it real!
