Nail varnish/gel nails machine

[PinkDaydreams]

Hello all!
After seeing the thread on festive nails on here I have decided I need to pull my finger out and smarten myself up!
I am a sahp to a very active two year old. (I’m not claiming any benefits before anyone thinks I’ll be spending benefit money on nails/make up etc). Haven’t painted my nails for ages as I find that they chip the next day and the hour or longer I took painting them feels like a waste.
A poster on here recommended opi varnish to help with the chipping.
I am wondering if it’s worth me buying one of those nail lamp kit things though please? I have £65 on my boots advantage card which I was thinking of treating myself with.
Any recommendations or hints/tips will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you

I have a gel kit from Red Carpet Manicure. It’s good but a bit of a faff to use. I recently tried the CND Vinylux polishes - no base coat (which feels weird) then two coats of Vinylux polish and one of the matching top coat. It’s really good, I can get a week out of it it when normally I can only get a day or two out of regular polish (I have oily nail beds).

I got a cheapish one online two years ago. Works with any brand nail varnish. Can easily get a week out of it, often 10 days. Best money I spent. Also, I find the gel varnish easier to apply. Put very thin coats on. They all sort of blend together under the lamp.

Sounds like a lamp is the way to go then. Can you do your toes with it too?

With mine you can do your toes too, the lamp is plenty big enough.

Do I need to buy special gel varnish then? Sorry for all of the questions, I’ve never used one before!

Yes you buy special UV/led gel polishes - loads of them on Amazon. You will also be able to use the lamp with builder gel or poly gel to extend your nails if you want to.

You can buy a kit in Boots called "Sensationail" it comes with the lamp, one colour and all the other bits you need. You can buy additional colours as needed.

I got a cheap lamp from Amazon, it's by Luvli Nail and cost £50. I then bought a Gelish starter kit off eBay (you'll need base coat and top coat as well as your colour). I buy my Gelish colours off Ebay too. You'll also need Prep Wipe and gel nail remover.

Have you had them done before? If not I'd go to a salon and get them done once so you can see how it's done.

I bought a lamp from amazon think it was around £20
I buy CND gel base coat and top coat on line too, often a deal when buying together
I find CND lasts longest
I buy any brand of coloured gel polish
You will also need alcohol wipes
I find mine last about 2 weeks

I’ve had shellac done a few times but have never been happy with them as they’ve chipped within a couple of days.
Thank you all so much for your help! There’s so much choice regarding lamps, am I right in saying go for an led rather than uv?

If Shellac doesn't work for you don't buy Sensationail. Shellac only lasts a couple of days on me before it chips and Sensationail is exactly the same.

My old salon used to do Shellac and Gelish. They told me that if you have oily nails Shellac will come off really quickly and recommended Gelish. Gelish lasts between two and three weeks on me.

I have an LED lamp and it's great.

Sensationail is ok but recently bought a mylee salon pro lamp and its so much better, think they have starter kits. Got mine from justmylook and can do toes to

I ordered a lamp, 20 colours (search lavender violet) and some tools off amazon and it only came to about £40 altogether. I get my finger nails done professionally but always do my toenails myself with this stuff and it lasts really well! Remember to buy some soak off stuff and dehydrator to wipe your nails with too!