My First Time - Gel Polish: Pink Flamenco

I'm back!! (Something that I say almost every other blog post since I've been pretty fail at posting here, but this time I had a good excuse?? Haha, I was in Brazil for a month!! Yay!! Yes, it was wonderful and I had an amazing time, and to prepare for that I decided to get my very first Gel Manicure!! I know, I know, how could I have gone all this time without it??

Truth is, I never had the need to do it before, and this go around, I figured, why not? I was going to spend a month at the beach and what better way to protect my nails? Plus this would save me the hassle of having to paint my nails and make them look nice. I had a wedding to go too, and my dress was pink so I figured a nice hot pink would be a good Summery colour!

I got my nails done at a local salon that I get pedicures at every once in a while. I ended up going with Pink Flamenco by OPI's Gelcolor. This is the only shot I got of it, sorry for the potato, all I had was my cell phone at the time. This was done on February 2nd.

Gracious Beach Picture!! 

Flashforward to March 1st, my nails have grown and this is the result! As you can see, nails grow a lot in just a month, haha, and at this point I was starting to get very annoyed with how long my nails had been. I didn't want to take the gels off just yet, because of the hassle and also because my trip hadn't ended yet, so I ended up painting over them. It was a good enough temporary solution.

SO, what were my thoughts with all this then??

PROS

Protection - This hands down is one of the best protections your nails can have when you're in a foreign place, or simply when you're in situations where you're not as careful with what you do with your nails. I went to the beach a lot and never had to think twice about my nails breaking, or getting too dry. While I did take care of my nails, I wasn't on the guard as much as I usually am. Not too mention, my manicurist put maybe 5 coats so these bad boys were strooooong.

Quick and Efficient Dry - Nothing like having your nails done the moment you step out of the salon, and I mean done-done. The beauty of the UV lamp makes it so there's no worries about ruining a nail after you've painted it. It's quick and easy and efficient.

Worry Free - They're painted, they won't chip, and you can show off your amazing nails, what's not to love??

CONS

Nail Growth - While this isn't really a con, there is the pesky side that eventually, you will have to paint your nails again, and this is where the real con enters;

Removal - It's kind of a hassle, like taking glitter off you have to wrap your fingers in acetone soaked cotton pads, and then put aluminum foil around them for around 10mins. But even then, you have to poke at the polish with a orange stick, and at the very tips, it starts to peel off some of the nails, which is a big no-no for me.

OVERALL: I really liked it for situations like trips, and for extra protection for your nails. If your nails keep breaking, I might recommend getting one of these because they sure help your nails grow strong and not chip or break. The removal is a pain and I don't recommend doing it every time, but overall it wasn't that bad of an experience.

Have you had an experience with Gel Polish? How was it??