Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had a formal event that I had to attend unexpectedly, and my nails were NOT in good shape for it. I went to a nail salon that my friend recommended and got a set of gel nails. The nails looked great, and I was thrilled with the way mine were able to finally grow out with the extra strength the gel adds, but knew I would not keep them up at a cost of $40 every couple weeks. I googled the name of the polish the salon used (Gelish), and saw the products were available online. I then started reading reviews for the UV lights, and this one had great reviews. I decided to pull the trigger and buy the lamp and gels and try them myself at home. I am NOT a nail tech, have absolutely no formal training, but am pretty handy at figuring things out. The lamp arrived, I watched a couple of youtube videos of how to apply the gels, and jumped in. I AM THRILLED WITH MY RESULTS!!!!!! This UV light is awesome!!!! It is big enough to fit both hands in at once, has several "timer" options for how long you want the light to run, and also has a fan you can turn on at the same time. It looks great, seems solidly made, and I kid you not, my nails looked just as good as when I left the salon my first time! I was so excited with how they looked that I had to go show my husband and teenage sons as well : ) A few things I'd point out, they might be obvious to a professional, but for the other newbies like me, here they are: -The bottom of the dryer swings open for ease in inserting the bulbs and removing the blue film. I didn't realize this until after I inserted the first few bulbs, MUCH easier with it opened up! -The instructions said to remove the blue film covering the mirror sides on the inside of the dryer. I emailed the seller (Blue Novelties)to see if this also meant the "floor" and "roof" of the dryer or just the sides, they responded right away and said to also remove it from the top and bottom mirrors. -When using the foundation gel, I cured for 1 minute, that was enough -When using the lighter color ("Glamour Queen"), I cured for 2 minutes; when I applied the darker shades ("Samuri", "Black Cherry Berry") I cured for 3 minutes. -When I applied the shiny clear top coat, I cured 2 minutes. -I used rubbing alcohol and a scrap of cotton fabric to remove the tackiness at the end, no need to purchase special lint free cloths or special tackiness remover. If you skip this step, your nails will not feel like they are cured, but they are! -To remove the nails, I just used 100% acetone (drugstore brand), put it on a cut up cotton ball and held to my finger with Grafco finger cots I ordered from Amazon. This worked great, I didn't want to soak my fingers in the acetone as it seems it would dry the skin out that way. -I did not use any special nail oils, just put lotion on my hands when I was done. -At about 10-12 days the nails start to show the unpolished area where they are growing out. I just put a coat of regular nail polish close in color to the gel over the entire nail, and get an extra 5-7 days wear before I have to redo them. I'm redoing the nails about every 3 weeks this way. I've now done 3 sets of the nails over the course of 9 weeks, and I am THRILLED that I bought this! No more trying to get an appointment that works with my schedule, and I've already saved enough to cover the purchase price. I can take the nails off one night while watching TV, and do a new set right away or the next night while watching another show. The lamp is quiet, looks great and works as promised. It may not be the cheapest lamp out there, but I truly believe you get what you pay for, and this light is worth every penny. It gives salon quality results for a fraction of the price, and it saves you a ton of time, because you can cure both hands at once between coats. I'd highly recommend this UV Light, and definitely this seller. I always appreciate a quick reply to my questions if I'm not sure about how to use a product , and they replied right away. I'll try to post pictures of how my nails looked after doing this - I FINALLY have nails that grow out, and without the big "ridge" that the old-style acrylic nails left when growing out!