Review on 💅 All-in-One Astound Beauty Polygel Nail Kit with UV Lamp and Slip Solution for Perfect PolyGel Nail Gel by Lisa Kruit

I've been trying to get back into my nail game lately and have seen a few videos and posts on IG about polygel and double moulds. I used to paint my nails and considered trying acrylic powder at home, but these days polygel has proven popular and has become a novelty in do-it-yourself manicure. I used to do tips and paint my nails but I was new to all real gel/acrylic and wanted to try poly gel before trying the double mold method. As I am new to using polygel and am not a nail technician or professional I will only mention my issues with the kit from a beginner's perspective. My Astound box arrived sealed and unopened and all items were inside: 6 polygel tubes, double ended brush/spatula, enough double molds to find my perfect size on all 10 nails, some sticky nail molds, 1 top coat, 1 Base coat, nail file and some purple glitter along with velcro closure. I already had the UV/LED from the previous nail kit so I'm not really upset that this kit doesn't have it, but I'm a bit upset that it doesn't have a polygel glide solution because I wanted the polygel Try the overlay on the shape and tips before using the double shape method. I bought this kit because I knew there was no such thing as a lubricating solution - so I wasn't really upset either because I knew what I was buying and had read that I could probably just use rubbing alcohol as a lubricating solution - which I am did . Before opening the kit I was very excited so I prepped my nails with tips and filed/shaped them to prepare for use after opening the box. The tubes are much smaller than expected, but that's a lot for 6 tubes. The colors are available in 5 pretty shades of pink and range from lighter to darker, more or less orange or more opaque/transparent. There's no white poly gel if you're looking for a classic french manicure look, but there is a color-changing shade (which I haven't tried yet) that looks like a french manicure, and there's a clear poly Gel if you want to try glittery/colored nails. I drew them all on a piece of paper and they are all in the same color spectrum and I was expecting a lot more from it: I was hoping that apricot would be more nude/light orange, but it ended up being more pink, the coral seems more transparent and more consistent with the color in the name than in the photo. The rest of the pinks correspond to the description but in general the colors are not what I expected from the photo. Haven't tried clear or color changing polygel on my nails yet so can't say much about how the result is on my nails. While I tried overlay before the double shape method, I'll only briefly mention it. . It works as shown in many tutorial videos I've seen on Youtube. It's quick and easy: you apply the polygel to the mold and give it the desired look, stick it on the nail bed and leave it under the lamp for a certain time. I tried it on my pinky first and it worked great, but with larger nails it was a bit more difficult to know how much product to use. The product will run out if there is too much of it and the aim is to get the maximum amount so you don't have to file the tip of the nail at all. At the moment I am still experimenting with this method so that I can focus on different nail types in the future. In terms of applying it to the nails as a first time user I think it was fun. As I said, I've never used anything like polygel before, so it was a bit messy and sticky for a couple of hours until I got used to the brush. knowing how much product I need to coat my nails and finding out how alcohol works as a lubricant. The first night I was done with my hands I applied a thin coat of poly gel to my nails and it ended up looking pretty much like thick gel polish because I had time to smooth the gel onto the nail . It was sticky and no matter how hard I tried the gel stayed patchy and uneven on the nail no matter how hard I tried to shape it so I ended up applying the gel to the nail like thick nail polish. After some time and possibly another additional youtube video, I realized the problem was the size of the brush. The process of using polygel on double molds with very little need for slip solution/rubbing alcohol. Although it comes with nail forms, the instruction manual doesn't mention the technique of using it directly on the nail surface. So I finally figured out why the kit had a small brush and non-slip grout. The size of the brush included in the kit is a bit small and not big enough to smooth the nail bed surface. No matter how I tried to shape the polygel into the desired shape and give it the look I wanted, it came out patchy and uneven. After discovering that the problem was with the brush, I looked in my art box and luckily found a large and thick synthetic bristle brush that could be used as a usable duplicate of the kind used in videos about manicures, for example. And it worked. Regarding the general aspect, this set is easy to use as it is designed to be used in two forms like many other home use polygel nail sets. This is my first time using polygel and as there are 6 tubes to use it may be a while before I decide to buy another brand or colour. Works perfectly and does what it's supposed to do, but I can't say much about the quality of the product. I want the colors to be more realistic than the photo so I can try more different looks. Perhaps that particular brand needed to sell more of their pink products, which is why it's included in this set. I was going to buy the mini version of this set which included a white french manicure poly gel but decided on this box set because it cost over a dollar. Regarding the double mold method, the small nail is intact, but the other two nails I tested fell off. I'm more focused on layering at the moment and will eventually take time to perfect my double form technique when I get the opportunity. However, I am not disappointed with this purchase. I did some research before purchasing this box and other than the colors and the lack of a slip solution I don't really have much to complain about. I'm currently a bit addicted to perfecting my poly gel techniques and have used the kit extensively so decided to write a review for now.