Gelish Minis for home users and pros

Today’s post is basically some food-for-thought on Gelish Minis, whether you’re a DIYer or a Pro.

But first, a little about what Gelish Minis are, in case you haven’t heard of these, and some thoughts on my experience with them.  Gelish minis are just what you’d assume – Products that are a miniature version of their professional, full-size counterpart. Gelish makes a good selection of items in their Mini version, including Gelish Essentials (pictured above) and colors of Gelish polish in .3 oz./9mL size.

When I first started using Gelish, I used Gelish Mini products almost exclusively.  You can buy almost all the same colors and/or collections as the full size, which is great for the home user.  It means you get the color selection in a smaller amount of polish that you can actually eventually use up just doing manicures on yourself. If you have friends that also do their nails at home, you can trade Gelish minis with them, which is a great way to find new colors that you love.

The application of the product is just as smooth with the minis as it is with the full size. The brush in the mini bottle is a bit smaller, but it works just fine. The Mini On The Go light has fewer features than the professional LED light but technically works just the same, and should be all a home user needs for manis and pedis. All-in-all, Gelish mini products are much more cost-effective for home users doing their nails once a week or so.

The best place to find Gelish Mini products is Sally Beauty. You can shop in-store or online and use the sales to beef up your collection of Gelish colors quickly… “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” sales happen pretty frequently at Sally Beauty.

Gelish minis are also a great way for professionals to add seasonal colors to their offerings, especially since Sally Beauty offers a professional discount.  One of the other cosmetologists in the salon where I work uses Minis to get some colors from the collections each season, and usually doesn’t use them again after that season is over.  The smaller bottle means that less, if any, will be tossed out at the end of the season. If the smaller brush is an issue for a pro, keep in mind that you can always just use a different brush for application.

And, if you find a color that your clients all seem to love – Queen of Hearts? Pink Smoothie? Mauvy-Mauve? – you can always purchase the full size just to have plenty on hand! The only caveat to this is that there are just a few of the older Gelish Mini colors that were made for Gelish Mini only. I think this is no longer the case for the newer collections, but check out my comprehensive list of U.S. colors or the official Gelish Mini website if you have a question about a particular color.