New: Red Carpet Gel Manicure At Home Kit. I'm Not a Fan Unforch.

The nail and beauty world in Ireland is currently alight with chat about the newest gel polish kit, Red Carpet Manicure and that's because it's promising something different: 'A perfect, professional salon gel manicure in your own home, in minutes'. Sounds great, right? 

I was delighted to head along to the Shelbourne last week to not only have a Red Carpet Manicure but to get to chat with Elle, Brand Ambassador and manicurist to the stars - she's been doing J-Lo's nails for 18 years now and is responsible for her gorgeous reverse French ruffian of late. 

The process is very similar to Shellac/Gellish etc except that it takes just 45 seconds to cure each of the three layers, instead of 2 minutes per round. The starter kit will set you back €65 and contains everything you need for the off, though the light is slightly light weight and there's only one polish included. 

For the more sturdy option, the professional kit is €95, with the same contents but a better light. Brights, glitters and neons can be bought seperately too for €13.50 a pop so there's plenty of choice colour wise. But is it worth the outlay and will it see an end to salon manicures? 

Just after professional application

Unfortunately, if my professional mani was anything to go by then I'm afraid the answer is a resounding, Nope. The colour is far too watery, this is three coats and was patchy as soon as applied. 

My nails were showing tip wear and peeling within minutes. Truth be told, some of the other girls' nails seemed to fare better and I have seen better pictures online but not to two week salon standard. 

We all know I'm not usually one to feature less than favourable reviews here on CherrySue (there's far too many good ones to get through) but, in my opinion, if this products USP is its at home ease of use for novices then I'm afraid my experience has shown that it's just not up to task. 

I would have liked to try the Red Carpet Manicure set at home myself to see if I could make a better job of it but, in fairness, this was an application by a professional nail tech, while I'm fairly proficient at painting my talons (what with being addicted to it and all), I'm certainly no professional. 

Isn't it handy that I'm far too fickle to have a two week manicure anyway? Hmm?