Gelish Wear Test with I Skate, You Skate, We All Skate (polish insomniac)

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This past December I did something I thought I would never do – I wore the same polish for two weeks. Fourteen days! The polish in question was Gelish MINI I Skate, You Skate, We All Skate which is a soak-off gel polish from their Winter 2014 collection called The Bill Chill.
I have been using Gelish since last July because my job was wreaking havoc on my hands and I wanted something stronger than nail polish to protect my nails. I usually use the Foundation and Top It Off as a kind of base coat for my regular polish and soak it off every seven or so days.

With that being said, I have only worn a full Gelish mani (which consists of a layer of Gelish Foundation, then two or three layers of Gelish color, topped off with a layer of Gelish Top It Off) two or three times. It’s actually something you get better at in time – my first full color manicure was a disaster! Gelish applies completely different from regular nail polish, but I’ve got the hang of it down as, as evident in the pictures of my wear test! I had no chips and no lifting, which is AMAZING.

How I Applied my Gelish manicure:

Lightly buff nails with a 220/280 file.
Use cuticle remover – you will want clean nail beds to ensure the gel does not lift.
Remove any traces of polish with acetone. Resist the urge to apply moisturizer or cuticle oil!
Wipe your nails down with Nail Surface Cleanse (or Isopropyl Alcohol).
Prep nails with PH Bond
Apply one very thin layer of Foundation and cure (45 seconds my LED lamp that I purchased during Sally’s Black Friday Sale; your time will vary based on your lamp)
Apply two layers of Gelish MINI I Skate, You Skate, We All Skate, curing after each layer.
Apply one layer of Top It Off and cure.
Wipe away tacky surface with Nail Surface Cleanse (or Isopropyl Alcohol).
Finish with a generous layer of Nourish or other cuticle oil

Following the steps I listed above I was able wear this gel manicure for two full weeks with zero lifting! (The pictures were taken on Day 13 but I removed the manicure the next day). I’m glad I used I Skate, You Skate, We All Skate for this wear test – the deep green was perfect for the holidays. Would I do this again? Yes – next Christmas! Anyone who works retail knows how tiring the month of December is!
Would you try this at home?

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