Review: Gelous Advanced Nail Gel Coat

I bought this primarily to use as a top coat for glitters, since it's used by a lot of big-name nail bloggers.

stock photo taken from Sally's

 



When it arrived I realised it was actually intended for use as a base coat, supposed to strengthen your nails and provide, an even, gel-like finish to manicures by smoothing out the nail bed. If you have a real problem with ridges I'd definitely suggesting using a ridge-filling base coat instead of or in conjunction with Gelous, as I found I had to use 2 coats to get a completely even base. If you have relatively smooth nails you could probably get away with one coat.

As a top coat for glitters, I found a thick coat of Gelous and then a medium-to-thick coat of quick dry top coat smoothed out most of the glitters in my collection. This combo is a great alternative to thicker top coats like Seche Vite or Posche if you don't like them.

Now we come to the actual reason for this post - Gelous' function as a treatment base coat. Gelous claims to "fortify the nail naturally and add thickness... helps nails to be healthier and stronger". My nails split and peel a lot, and are generally weaker than I'd like them to be. A month or so of using Gelous and they were noticeably harder. In fact, they've become so much stronger that I've actually had to trim them! Usually I wait until I break a nail - every couple of weeks - and then I trim the others down to match, but I went over a month without a single break, which is incredible for me.

One of the best nail hardening ingredients currently on the market is formaldehyde - considered one of the 'Big 3' nail polish ingredients, since it has a lot of health risks attached to it. I was so surprised and glad when I found out Gelous actually doesn't contain formaldehyde - its nail strengthening effects come from protein and keratin! It just worked so well I sort of assumed it had to have formaldehyde in it. It also doesn't smell like a 3-free polish, it has a very strong chemical scent to it.

Nail treatments are kind of like foundation - your HG might not work for other people, which is why I was a little iffy about writing this review. I've read reviews from bloggers saying that using Gelous as a base coat, their mani peels off the next day, and that as a top coat it seems to not dry even after 4+ hours. So while I've had an incredible experience using Gelous as both a base and a top coat, keep in mind it may not give you the same results.

I got my bottle from eBay for $7 (plus $5 postage) - probably your best bet if you don't live in the U.S.