Gel Nails, CND Shellac Vs. O.P.I Gelcolor Vs. Gelish Review

O.P.I Gelcolor

O.P.I Gelcolor launched with 30 colours, this increased to 36 shortly after. I just checked their UK trade website for this post, and it appears they now have nearly 100 click here to view! Colours stocked will vary by salon, but you can always ask them to order in your favourite.

I had my O.P.I nails done at NUYU in Lichfield; they had a limited colour selection on O.P.I compared to Shellac. However I was drawn to O.P.I because of the glitter gels. O.P.I Gelcolor has glitter in the gel itself. I chose the colour ‘my favourite ornament’ and I was not disappointed. It was uber glittery and sparkly.

The girl who did my nails warned me, O.P.I isn’t as strong as Shellac (in her opinion). She suggested it might need to be taken off and reapplied before the three-week threshold. Personally I found that the polish stayed on perfectly for two weeks, but after that it began to lift at the edges.

O.P.I pro tips state that Gelcolor treatment will last two-plus weeks. Depending on say the condition of the client’s nails and how they use their hands. I found this to be entirely accurate.

CND Shellac

They have a wide range of colours; some of them are really funky. You can have glitter brushed on top to personalize the colours too! So far I have had Shellac done twice, the first time I had pink, then second time I had white, with an iridescent pink glitter brushed over the top.

According to their website, they have 83 shades. So O.P.I have actually overtaken them, but I really don’t think this translates to what you find in the salons. Not right now anyway.

Their website says their gels offer high shine for 14+ days. I definitely agree with the shine. They stayed shiny the entire time, but they looked messy before two weeks. However, they didn’t chip or peel. They just didn’t look as neat for as long as the O.P.I ones did. They did begin to peel at the edges as I approached the three-week mark.

I can’t say there is a huge difference between the two, personally O.P.I wins it for me, but I still love Shellac, and think both are well worth the money. If they have an O.P.I gel in the colour I want, I will go for that one, but I would go for shellac if I need it to last a little bit longer, or they have a colour that O.P.I don’t do.

Gelish

Some people are massive fans of Gelish, but me, not so much. The best thing about it was the price: £10 cheaper than CND Shellac & O.P.I Gelcolor, but of course this will vary by salon.

I found that the gel was very thick, and shiny, it almost looked like I had false nails, or very short acrylics. This made the regrowth very noticeable. After a week, I felt they looked like they needed redoing, even though they hadn’t chipped, lifted or peeled.

The positives are the durability- the gel is extremely hard, this is probably due to the thickness, and it didn’t peel or chip before 3 weeks. Secondly at £15 the price is affordable, especially as, you really wouldn’t need them doing until 3-4 weeks (if you can stand the regrowth). Which would save you some substantial dollar in the long run.