If you’d rather see a real-time application of these colors, check out my latest swatching video for this collection on the Smoke & Mirrors YouTube channel.
Under normal circumstances you can find new Gelish collections easily online or at the Sally Beauty or Cosmoprof near you, but it seems that they’re still experiencing distribution issues due to the pandemic. There remains a link on the Gelish website that sends you to NailTechSupply.com, and the Minis can be purchased from GetGelished.com. As I discuss in the video, I got mine from Amazon.com. Shipping was free from VM Express, and was super fast!
With this spring collection, Editor’s Picks, Gelish added to their lineup of neutrals.
Over the last few years we’ve seen other brands release entire collections of neutrals,so it was about time Gelish joined in the fun. The closest they came prior to this was spring 2019 with the Color of Petals collection. However, this collection did have a shimmer polish in the mix, and all the colors were more opaque.
For the Editor’s Picks collection we have some sheer polishes, and none with a shimmer. The more I work with the colors in this collection, the more I love them.
I took some time to look for duplicates within the existing Gelish colors, but couldn’t find any true dupes. Here are the closest I found:
For Going Vogue, the closest I could find what Merci Bouquet, which is still quite a bit lighter and not at all the same.
For It’s Your Mauve, the closest colors I could find were:
She’s My Beauty
Mauvy Mauve
Hollywood’s Sweetheart
These were all very close, though Hollywood’s Sweetheart has more pink and Mauvy-Mauve seems darker than It’s Your Mauve.
Danicing and Romancing and I Speak Chic are very close, though I Speak Chic is obviously pinker in good lighting.
Finally, it was difficult to find anything very similar to CallMyBlush. As you can see, American Beauty is much lighter and N-ice Girls Rule is more pink.
Usually you can find Gelish collection colors easily online or at the Sally Beauty or Cosmoprof near you, but there seem to be distribution issues lately. Gelish is aware of this and has some alternatives: the link on the Gelish website send you to NailTechSupply.com, and the Gelish Mini site sends you to GetGelished.com. As I discuss in the video, I got mine from Amazon.com. It was a bit of extra trouble trying to find a place to buy the full collection but I am so glad I did. Shipping was free, from VM Express, and took only 3 or 4 days – it seemed really fast!
Note that Hand & Nail Harmony has pulled the color Going Vogue from production and distribution due to lack of color stability over time (i.e., the color changes as you wear it, usually due to UV exposure). This has in the past frequently been an issue with Gelish pinks. This explains why, as I mention in the swatch video, it is no longer listed as a color in this collection for the full size bottles. There’s no mention of this on the Gelish site, but I did find out this information from a UK blogger. You can still get the dip or the Morgan Taylor Polish in Going Vogue. Such a shame because it is a fantastic, unique color!
Come back soon for nail art featuring this collection of colors, as I plan to be wearing them for weeks to come!
These are some gorgeous, vibrant summer colors – all ready to party (or brunch or BBQ or whatever)!
As you can see, I went with the Gelish Mini versions this time, since I’m no longer in the salon. I know the bottles look small, but I truly believe these are a great option for home users.
The only color I couldn’t find at my local Sally Beauty was Glow Like a Star, so I picked that up at CosmoProf. I really wish I could have found the smaller bottle. Buying these at my local Sally Beauty has become hit or miss lately. In case yours is the same way, I’ve included links for online options. This is how I should’ve bought them! It would have been easier and faster, honestly.
Be sure to leave a comment on the video to let me know which colors you’ll be picking up. Happy shopping!
For this design I used Princess Tiara, one of the original Gelish colors, on most nails. You can see that, even though my bottle of polish is a few years old, it still went on smoothly and provided good coverage with two coats.
For the marbled nails, my base was two coats of My One Blue Love (AKA Water Baby). To get this easy marbled look I applied a third coat of My One Blue Love, but did not cure. I laid down stripes of these colors in a radiating pattern from the lower corner of the nail:
Then I used a round paintbrush with a small number of short bristles to drag the polish outwards in a fan from the corner. You could also use a toothpick or dotting tool to get this drag marble look.
If you want a crisp marbled lines, it’s important to cure as soon as possible. I wanted a mottled look, so I let the marbled gel polish run together and blend a bit before curing.
You know I love Gelish and have been an avid, now almost exclusive, user since 2011. I don’t work for them; just wanted to make sure that’s clear. I just really love their products. They work for me!
Gelish products, first their brush-in-bottle gel polish and, more recently, Dip and PolyGel, have truly helped shape the nail industry over the last decade.
Image from Gelish
I remember the first full collection I saw on display at my local beauty supply store. It was the Aurora EFXcollection in 2011.
And I thought it was stunning, like nothing I had seen before.
So, one or two at a time, I bought the whole collection.
And by the end of 2013 I probably owned a bottle of every color Gelish had produced.
In honor of one decade of gel polish, I’ll be pulling out some of my oldest colors to enjoy. Here’s one of the first Gelish color charts. Remember these?
Image from Gelish
Gelish has posted an interesting video of their team reminiscing and celebrating the ten year mark. Check it out on their Facebook page. Do you remember the first time you saw gel polish in the store? What was the first color you bought?
Before doing the nail with threads, I taped off the section that would have the threads, Then I applied my base and color coats, and removed the tape. I actually glued the threads down to the nail enhancement to get them to curve with the nail.
I thought these turned out well and held up nicely for over a week, but I had to use a couple layers of top coat to smooth over the threads. To remove the threads, I soaked the nails in acetone, and was able to file down the rest.
This collection features 6 shades and a glitter overlay. It should be available May 1st, and the movie releases to theaters on May 31.
What do you think? Will you be buying this collection?
I have to be honest… this is the first time I’m not super excited about a new Gelish collection. The colors seem pretty, with a couple unique shades. But I’m not a huge Elton John fan, or a fan of anything 80’s really. We’ll see if these end up in my collection or not! Maybe I’ll just get some Gelish minis of these…
I admit it, clickbait works on me when it’s about nail polish and trends. So for fun I clicked on an article entitled “10 nail polishes every woman should own” to find out what someone else thinks the essential polish colors are. Why is this useful? Let’s say you’re a minimalist, and you want to know which few colors you should keep handy with your mani/pedi supplies. Or, you’re just opening your own nail station or salon and need to buy a few colors to get you by for a few weeks. This list helps us cover all the bases.
This is a pretty good list except that it’s all traditional nail polish, which is so 15 years ago. So let’s update it to 2019 standards with some comparable Gelish gel polishes!
Image from Gelish.com
Their suggestion:
“…a light pink hue is appropriate for any and every type of occasion.”
From Gelish:
Curls and Pearls, from the 2018 Spring Royal Temptations collection
Their suggestion:
“You can never go wrong with a true red polish since it can be professional, sexy and festive all at once.”
From Gelish:
Firecracker from the 2015 Holiday Red Matters collection
Their suggestion:
Image from Gelish.com
“…put on a vampy eggplant shade and feel like you can take on the world.”
From Gelish:
Bella’s Vampire
Their suggestion:
“Hot pink is one of our go-to summer colors for both manicures and pedicures…”
From Gelish:
Image from Gelish
Make You Blink Pink, from the All About the Glow Summer 2013 collection (This swatch bubble doesn’t do it justice.)
Gelish always does an excellent job with their summer collections.
All About the Glow collection from Gelish
Everyone can find their perfect summer color in this collection!
Their suggestion:
“Whether you go full-on glitter nails or just add a swipe… on an accent nail, everyone needs at least one ‘fun’ color in their collection.”
Image from Gelish
From Gelish:
Girls Night Out from the original fall 2013 Gelish Trends collection
I believe glitter polishes should be your go-to for a quick and easy accent nail. There are so many great glitter polishes from Gelish to experiment with.
Their suggestion:
“If you are looking for something subtle yet chic, one to two coats of a cream colored polish…”
From Gelish:
Heaven Sent (AKA Little Princess)
Their suggestion:
“A deep red polish is a holiday staple, but also a more grown-up take on a classic, punchy red.”
From Gelish:
Red Alert from the Holiday 2015 Red Matters collection
Their suggestion:
“If you are looking to get outside of your comfort-zone when it come to nail colors, [a] periwinkle shade is a perfect way to ease into more adventurous hues.”
From Gelish:
Po-riwinkle from the 2016 Spring Kung-Fu Panda collection.
That was an AWESOME color. It hurts my heart to know that Gelish decided not to keep producing it as part of their permanent lineup. You can still find it online, though!
Their suggestion:
“Gray polishes seem to have become the new nude. This color is universally flattering and a chic way to change up your typical neutral. ”
From Gelish:
Clean Slate from the Fall 2014 Get Color-fall collection
Image from Gelish
Their suggestion:”
“If you have been on the hunt for that poppy shade between red and orange…”
From Gelish:
Flamingo Float from the 2017 Summer Make a Splash collection
And there you have it! It was very hard to pick just ten colors from Gelish to fulfill these suggestions. I’m sure these would make a great starting point for anyone… I just need more polish than that in my life!
(I don’t represent Gelish in any way… I just have a lot of Gelish colors and love recommending them to people looking to add more color their life!)
For my recent manicure I brought back the crackle trend to combine it with gel polish from Gelish. I used China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Cracked Medallion, thinking it would look nice with Gelish Gardenia My Heart. The final look is pretty cool, but I think a bigger difference in the base color and the crackle color would have been more eye-catching.
Either way this design is easy to do on a gel base. After applying and curing all my color layers and top coat, I buffed the nail I wanted to put the crackle polish on. Then I applied a traditional polish base coat. After it dried, I proceeded with the crackle polish as usual. After that had dried for a few minutes, I used a traditional polish top coat, but you could also use another layer of gel top coat.
Over the last few years we’ve seen other brands release entire collections of neutrals,so it was about time Gelish joined in the fun. The closest they came prior to this was spring 2019 with the Color of Petals collection. However, this collection did have a shimmer polish in the mix, and all the colors were more opaque.
Their suggestion:
Smoke & Mirrors nail art blog 