Fun Blooming Gel

The Una Gella Blooming Gel polish is a really solid nail polish at a reasonable price point as well. It's a great addition to your polish collection especially if you're looking to get into nail art but don't have the precision needed for complex free hand looks.

I got this blooming gel a few months ago and it has been so fun to play with. This particular one was recommended to me by a friend in nail tech and it seems to get the job done. I'm definitely still learning how to use it, since it will occasionally take me one or two tries before getting my desired look. That being said, the different nail looks you can accomplish with blooming gel are so cool and a lot of them feel really unique. You can even get really clean basic gradients without having to use a sponge technique which can sometimes be messy. On top of this I feel like it's a really easy way to get a complicated look.

Obviously you can get the standard intense blooming effect that initially led me to buy this product but after messing around with it I really like the controlled blended and kind of foggy look that you can achieve. I love painting with watercolors and this is probably the closest thing to a watercolor nail polish. I’m still learning how to use the polish but so far it's been really nice to work with.

On top of that it's not stupid expensive for one bottle. It costs me six dollars on amazon and I've done at least six sets using it and I’m maybe halfway through the bottle. Since it's my first time messing with blooming gel, there have been a handful of times I've had to wipe nails clean and redo them so realistically I've probably used like seven or eight sets worth of polish.

I like the bottle shape as well, it's really comfortable to hold while doing nails. I personally find thicker bottles can sometimes be clunky and annoying to deal with so I prefer a slimmer and taller shape.

I think the only major critique that I would have on this would be the brush shape. It's a square brush shape which I don't like as much as the rounded ones since that rounded brush makes it easier to get a clean layer of polish near the cuticle and base of the nail.

Affordable Handheld Flash Cure

The GAOY handled flash cure is a pretty mid-flash cure to be perfectly honest. It gets the job done but I'm almost certain there are better ones out there. If you're just starting out though and need an affordable flash cure this is the perfect flash cure. The cure time on it is about 15 seconds making it perfect for locking things in place before giving them their final longer cure.

I think one of my major complaints is that it doesn't give you a low battery warning. Once the flash cure is at low battery a tiny light near the top will flash red, but it's incredibly small and only goes off once the light is low. On top of this the bigger issue is that once it hits low battery I have noticed that the light is significantly dimmer than when it's fully charged. Obviously this is going to impact the strength of the cure and while it still works its not ideal to have a weaker light.

Another thing that I’ve seen on other handheld flashcures is a tiny count down for the length of the cure. This one lacks this and while that aspect is definitely more a want then a need on a flashcure its a nice addition to have.

I've seen people with flashcores that clamp to their desks and obviously this is handheld. I can see the allure to both and I haven't worked with a flashcure that clamps to the desk but generally when looking for one they were a bit pricier than the handheld ones which is honestly this flash cure's biggest selling point. I got it for only eight dollars and despite all the complaints I have with it at that price point I really can't be that upset with it. The lamp has had no issue curing my polish and all the complaints I have are just quality of life things rather than the product's functionality.

Also just a little side note: My flash cure is a bit messed up because I spilled some mystery chemical on it that started stripping the paint off of it. So the damage to my flash cure is 100% user error, despite sitting in this random chemical for a day or two though the light still works perfectly and I’ve been using it since. I did put a clear coat of gel polish over the paint stripped part though since it was weird texturally.