Trying Out Madam Glam
*Products in this post were provided for review purposes. Views and opinions about the product are my own experiences on the product*
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Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Madam Glam, wondering if I’d like to dabble in their new UV Gels. Of course I said yes, since I have fallen in love with soak off gels since my first venture through Finger Paints. Plus, they have gorgeous glitter polishes on their site, so that left a happy impression on me to start (oh yes…I love me my glitters :P). So, I received the base coat, colour coat in Deep Brown Red #412, and the top coat.
So, I want to start backwards. One of the things people hate about these type of, long lasting nail products, is the removal. I did a very quick application at first, where I applied the trio to the middle of my nails. I found that the removal of the Madam Glam gels were quite easy. The acetone soaked in well, making the removal process quite simple. I personally found it easier than the Gelish gels that I have in my collection.
The application process:
- Apply an even layer of the base coat, clean up any application on the skin, and cure for 30 seconds in the LED/2 minutes in a UV
- Apply an even layer of colour coat, clean up any application on the skin, and cure for 30 seconds in the LED/2 minutes in a UV (repeat as many times as necessary, though I wouldn’t suggest you do more than three as gel polishes generally get thick by the end of the process then)
- Optional: Decorate nail as you see fit
- Apply an even layer of the top coat, clean up any application on the skin, and cure for 30 seconds in the LED/2 minutes in a UV
(Excuse the bump on the middle finger. That wasn’t the product fault, it was me having improperly removed the previous gel and messed up the natural nail)
I only have the one colour to try out (thought not for long, seeing as they have a great promo going on right now…details at the end of this post), but I also found the polish a little thick (which makes me think mine was just a little different, as Manic Talons didn’t have that issue with the same one. On that note, check out the more swatches of different colours on her blog). However, the top coat levels it out very nicely, so as long as it isn’t patchy, you can remedy it there. I used two coats in the pictures (though I did end up using three for my right hand), but would have been happier with three. It would allow for more of an even coverage on the nail. Darker colours do need the proper time to cure, so I wouldn’t suggest using too thick of a coat
Wear time was quite good, or standard for soak off gel polishes. Though I didn’t cap the tips (which I usually forget to do -___-), it didn’t seem to affect the tip wear, in comparison to the other gels I use. On my right hand (dominant hand), I did cap my nails, and can say that capping them is quite beneficial, as they should last easily up to two weeks without a problem. The uncapped left hand, did have a few minor chips at a little over a week. But again, I blame my not capping, as my dominant hand was perfectly fine.
What I LOVED about the bottle, was that the colour on the top of the bottle, really did match the actual colour in the bottle. Too often, there are gels that do not represent the actual product. That drives me up the wall. I have a Quo by Orly that was supposed to be purple, and turns up blue. I then have a FUSE polish, which doesn’t look like the bottle either. So, the bottle does match, and is pretty spot on when you look at the swatch on the website as well (though take in to consideration that colours on monitors may vary slightly).
The brush manipulates easily, though I did find it a little bigger for my own nails, in comparison to my other gels. Just means that I had to work it a little differently, but didn’t make application any harder. But since it fans outs nicely, it means you can get a lovely application at the base of the nail.
Also, because the caps are clear (to indicate the clear base and top coat), I marked them B for base coat, and T for top coat. Just for my own ease. It is one thing that bugs me about some of my other bottles, so I liked that I could customize it like this.
Price may seem a little heafty, but considering that Finger Paints are 9.8mL, and GElish are 9mL, and the Madam Glam are 15mL…it really is a no brainer that you are getting a better deal with them. Especially when they are all roughly the same price. BUT, Madam Glam does have various promotions that pop up in my inbox, so that does bring the price down.
For example, as of the moment by going to the website (kind of a tracking link, not a monetary referral link), and inputting the code “YGEL30OFF“, you get…30% off! Yes yes…I know that was obvious, but just in case :P
So, by buying two colours promo code free shipping, you would pay about $25US (not sure if there is taxes on that). Under ~$38 if you get the start up trio of base coat, top coat, and a colour.
They actually have a early Black Friday promo going on, which you can find on the website as well.
Now, word of caution.
The world of gels is not for those who are careless. There are issues associated with them if you are not interested in the application or the proper curing processes. As such, I cannot claim to be a professional at them, nor can claim an expertise in the the understanding of the chemical theories behind it. If you want to read up, I suggest going HERE, a link that BeautyGeeks shared, a few times. It is a rather long thread.
Tagged: Madam Glam, samples, Soak Off Gel
