One photo - every day - day 23: in my opinion - Red Carpet Manicure

With some money I received for Christmas I decided to treat myself to the Red Carpet Manicure kit. It's a gel manicure kit that includes an LED light (see top photo) to cure the gel polish.

It takes me about 25 minutes start to finish. About the same time as if I painted my nails with regular polish; however, it's immediately dry when I'm done. I can do anything - prepare a bottle, cut an apple, use the restroom, fix a bike, rescue a child from the trampoline, etc. Once I'm done with the final step, my nails are dry, they look fantastic, and I'm ready to move on to my next project.

The color I chose this week is a dark chocolate brown color with some sparkle. I have tried several of the RCM colors and have not been disappointed except with one that turned out to be really, really, light...almost like a clear polish with some sparkle. It actually still looked great - it just wasn't what I was expecting.

The reason I chose this kit, though, is that I love the idea of the gel manicure. It's supposed to last up to 21 days, chip free. I love that! But I don't love the idea of spending $40+ per month on a manicure.

So how does the Red Carpet Manicure stand up in terms of wear? With certain colors, I can get 14 days wear with no chips and no peeling. With other colors I am able to get about seven days. What I love is that even at 7 days, when I clearly need to remove the gel and switch, my nails still look great. I just notice that areas are peeling up from the nail bed. I never get a chip. Never.

So - overall, I give the Red Carpet Manicure kit four stars: ****!
That's four out of five possible...my own scale...very creative, don't you think?

The set isn't cheap. It was a splurge, but I love the length of wear I get out of the gel polish, so I totally feel like it was a good investment. The whole starter set is about $80. Each color is about $10. The starter set comes with a nice, standard red. I have since picked up about four other colors...not all at the same time, and of course, with coupons from Ulta. If you're an Essie or OPI fan, you will be spending about the same amount on this polish as you would on those brands, and it wears much longer.

I love the Red Carpet Manicure. If you love having polished nails, I think you might love it too!

(this post is my own, unsolicited opinion)