Shanna's Nail Adventures: Review of Bundle Monster Gel Polish Basics Set

Hello there nail art fans!

I was so excited when Bundle Monster contacted me and asked me to review some of their products! In fact, I still am! Eeeek! Today I am going to share with you one of their Gel Polish Sets, Basics Collection. This would be a great starter set if you are new to gel polish. But, even as a avid gel collector, some of these colors are much different from any I already have.

As with most gel polishes, you want to lightly buff your nails so the shine is gone, then you want to use a bonder if you have one. After that, you apply your base coat, cure 30 seconds with an LED lamp or 120 seconds with a UV lamp. Then you shake your color well, apply to nail (if any polish touches your cuticle, you can use a concealer brush with a little alcohol to clean it up prior to the next step) and cure as noted above. Repeat as necessary. I usually do 3 coats of color to get full opacity. Then apply your top coat, cure. Then using a little alcohol on a lint free pad or cotton ball, wipe away the tacky layer. And - DONE! Beautiful gel nails that will last up to 14 days.

The first gel polish I swatched is White. This is actually one of my most used colors, believe it or not. This color was very opaque and really only needed 2 coats to get to the perfect color. But, I put a third for good measure. :-) The formula was very nice, and I found the polish very easy to work with.
Here is the white. Beautiful!

The next color I pulled out of the collection is pink. This one surprised me. I really fell in love with this color. As with the white, the constancy was good. 3 coats was the perfect amount. Aren't you in love too!

Next up in the collection is this brilliant purple! Oh man, I really wanted to leave this one on a while. This shade is perfect for fall. I can't wait to of a bunch of manicures with it in the future. I found the consistency of this one a little watery even after shaking a bunch, and had a bit of shrinkage, but it still it went on smoothly and again, 2-3 coats will do the trick.

Now, the next color is a little tricky for me. Me and my husband were debating what this color is supposed to be. I think it is supposed to be a brown/taupe (i.e. Basics) but when I was putting it on, it almost seems to have some purple undertones. My husband kept calling it burgundy. Anyways - you can debate as well. It is still a very nice and neutral color. As with the rest, opaque in 2-3 coats.

The next color is a gorgeous royal blue. You know how sometimes you almost can't tell if it's purple or blue - this one is like that. I had a hard time capturing the true color on this one. The one thing I can tell you is I was oohing and ahhing as I was applying the color. A little bit of shrinkage with this one, so I had to flash cure (curing each nail for 10 sec right after applying) to prevent too much. 2-3 coats equaled brilliant coverage.

And lastly, and my favorite (the one I am still currently wearing and received multiple comments on today) is this special black. Now, why it's in the Basics Collection, I don't know. It is not basic. This black has tiny gold glitter in it making shimmer and shine. I LOVE it. Black and gold have always been a favorite of mine. (Can't you tell?) This one went on very nicely and I didn't have a shrinkage. Opaque in 2-3 coats. It is gorgeous. The picture below doesn't do it justice.