Nail Mythbusters - What Happens If You Mix OPI Soak Off Gel With Other Branded Base Gel and Top Coat Gel

The Experiment: Have you ever wondered what would happen if you used a different brand of gel base and top coat to your usual gel colour? 

Recently I had purchased some OPI Soak Off Gel (DS Radiance) which arrived safely. I also ordered the OPI Soak Off Base Gel and Top Coat, but the last 2 items were purchased on eBay and unfortunately never arrived. I desperately needed the complete set as I was due to do a set of sparkly silver overlays but there are no OPI suppliers near by to me and I couldn't wait for an online order to arrive. I had a bit of a think and wondered what would happen if I used my ASP soak off gel base and soak off clear gel with the OPI soak off gel. I am usually a complete OPI purist and a total product snob but I like experimenting and couldn't find a true answer online so I decided to try a set of overlays on myself. 

Result: I'm thrilled to report that it worked really well!

The finish is gorgeous and glossy, there is no lifting or shrinkage and my nails feel fabulous and strong days later!

I am still planning to purchase my regular OPI Soak Off Base Coat and Top Coat, however if you are strapped for cash or can't get what you need at a moment's notice then "cheating" could work.

Note: I used ASP products and OPI. That doesn't mean to say that mixing just any brand will be as effective. Please let me know what your personal experiences are so that all readers get a true and well rounded opinion.

Cherry Pie Short Nail Extensions

I used another one of my ASP colour gels on a customer today; Cherry Pie. She liked having shortish nails but they were all a little uneven in length so we evened them up with some short extensions. The colour was far pinker than was shown on the sticker, but we agreed that it was still a fab colour and would look amazing with the tan that she was going to have on holiday next week.

Bubble Gum Pink Gel Nail Extensions

I had an impromptu booking yesterday afternoon by someone looking for pink gel extensions. I was really excited as it was the perfect opportunity to use my new gel colours that I bought from Sally's recently. I have been struggling to get OPI anywhere locally and it's been really annoying me, so I really needed to get an alternative without compromising on quality.

Whilst at Sally's I found ASP colour gel in Tutti Frutti (amongst a couple of other pink shades) and decided to give it a go. It was really nice to work with considering it is about half the price of OPI however it was a little runnier than I am used to so you have to apply thinner layers which is quite annoying. I finished off with a layer of clear top coat and I think that the result was lovely. I certainly won't be giving up my OPI all together as its quality can't be beaten, but if you can't justify the £25 a pot price tag (and that's before you have bought the base and top coat) then I would certainly recommend the cheaper ASP range.

 

Crystal Manicures and Pedicures

I have recently had a lot of enquiries for Swarovski Crystal manicures and pedicures and have run out of kit, so I have ordered some OPI Axxium DS Radiance as the embedding gel and Swarovski Crystals. All in all it set me back quite a lot as I anticipated that I would need about 500 crystals for a pedicure/shortish set of nails and OPI doesn't come cheap in the UK, however I went to the beauty wholesalers earlier on today and took a closer look at Sally's range and thought that it would be fun to have a play around with their own range. I ended up buying ASP Base Coat, Disco Ball gel and Clear gels, as well as a pack of 250 standard crystals. The Disco Ball gel is a clear gel with holographic glitter micro glitter. It looks stunning and despite some not so favourable reviews, I found it to be really great to work with. It came out with a great effect and overall I think that it's a brilliant cheaper alternative. As a nail professional I will still offer the premium quality version with OPI and Swarovski as I am a bit of a nail snob and want to give my customers the absolute best finish, but I would certainly not be unhappy if a nail technician gave me a set of nails like this (I'm referring to the middle one just in case you were wondering!). Unfortunately the iPhone doesn't have a great zoom and I have used Instagram to give a different effect, but I think that you get the idea.

I would really like to know what you views are on Crystal Manicures/Pedicures, and if you have any experiences then please feel free to comment.

Just in case you were wondering, I offer the Swarovski and OPI version for £30 ($48.57US) for just the big toe/one finger on each foot/hand with OPI Axxium DS Radiance gel, with gel on the remaining fingers or toes, £50 ($80.95US) for a full set of toes and £60 ($97.14US) for a full set of finger nails. Nails Inc offer the Crystal Manicure in their salons for a hefty £120 ($194.28US).