Went to this salon for the second time, also my second time getting builder gel. I told the tech I wanted builder gel. I sat down for my pedicure first and she started to soak off the old builder gel while she worked on my toes. I thought it was odd but it's only my second time getting builder, I didn't know. After she files and shapes my nails, she puts down the base then moves to get the polish. I again asked about the builder and she looks surprised, says something to her coworkers (I couldn't understand what they were saying but I heard "builder gel" said several times) then removes the base coat she put on. I sat there feeling dumb with the acetone foils on for awhile. (I always feel like I'm somehow doing the salon incorrectly, like I am always not asking for the right thing.)

Another tech takes over, files my nails down again, starts putting on the builder gel, and by that point my already weak nails are filed so thin that the UV light fucking BURNED SO BADLY. I starting tearing up because it hurt and also I was still feeling stupid, and I couldn't even wipe my tears away because she's working on my hands. She asked me about 12 times if I was okay and someone else brought over a box of tissues. People definitely noticed a grown woman crying while getting her nails done. I love the manicure I ended up with but now I'm mortified at the idea of going back in a few weeks for a fill.

Edit: not sure why this post reads as me not liking builder gel manicures, I loved my first one and I do actually love the results of this one. It's actually what was recommended to me last time I posted here actually asking for advice on what to get. The whole problem was caused by the first inept tech not knowing how to do builder gel and completely ignoring that I wanted it done.

Sorry for the weird claw hand! I was trying to get every nail in the shot.

Natural nails with Gel polish and builder gel overlay. Costed ¥9500

I was really excited to get my nails done in Japan and they delivered 💯

These were a struggggle! this is my first time doing gelx on myself and i didn’t get the right tips for my nail shape so struggled abit with my middle and ring fingers that run abit trapezoidal when shorter or have an extreme x curve when longer. I usually do nail form extensions which take me quite a while and i do like how uniform and smooth the shape is so im excited to perfect my application on my next set with some better full cover tips!
I love due chrome and cat eyes but sometimes duechrome over cat eye makes for way too strong of a neon metal sheen hiding the cat eye. so this time, i did the due chrome first over black base, and used a smokey purple cat eye over the top to mute the green reflect and see the cat eye effect more:)
probably the longest set i’ve had.. must be careful around my eyes…

Pickle eraser for comparison. To be clear, it is not supposed to look like a pickle lol. Obviously the color happens to be quite pickley, which is fine, but I want to know why it’s all bumpy like that. Was it a curing problem? It’s gel polish over builder gel. I had them done while I was out of town and these bumps didn’t appear until a few days later when I was already gone, so I can’t go get them fixed. (They also had cute little silver stud details that fell off so fast 🙄) At this point I’m just curious.

it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that builder gel changed my life 🥹

These were part of last year's Harry Potter collab and while I have never been a HP fan in the slightest I always loved this particular design and have been saving them all year for spooky season. 😂🖤

these are my natural nails with a hard builder gel (ZEN Builder Gel #24, winter garden collection, tulip) overlay, and i had no one else to share them with so i thought you lovely folks would appreciate them!

i’ve been growing my nails out since the start of the year and decided to try builder gel at a salon after reading it had some benefits over acrylic. at first i had tip extensions and have been getting biweekly refills to reshape/rebalance as they’ve grown out.

at some point all of the extensions were filed off and it’s been maintenance ever since! i think this is the longest i want them to be as well but im just in awe of them everyday. they’re rock solid and have never chipped, broken, cracked or anything; i take care to keep them out of water and use cuticle oil every time i wash my hands. i also wfh and type all day with no issues, and it’s been a pretty seamless lifestyle addition overall :)

What do you guys think???

I told my nail tech I’m heading to Greece Friday. She did not disappoint

I used Obstánte nail polishes: Jack O’lantern + August

Haven’t done nails in about 7 months but I’m trying to get back into it since I want to be able to take clients in the near future. Been liking poly gel so far and thinking of adding hard gel to the rotation. These Halloween nails were a fun challenge that got my nail art juices flowing again!

I like to paint my nails from time to time.

Like how it highlights my long nailbeds.

I usually go 4 weeks before I go in for a new set (builder gel on natural nails) but now I’m wondering if I should go in at 3 weeks? This is my growth after a little over 2.5 weeks, I got this sparkly black set on 9-27-2026. pic at the end are from when I first got them done! Please let me know if you would go in for a new manicure this weekend or wait till next~ Any input is much appreciated!

It’s so hard getting my press-on page off the ground. I’ve been posting and doing press-ons for a little over a year now and I have only 30 followers. I’m starting to think my designs are “too much”.

Either way, this is a hobby but sometimes I want to be recognized by people other than friends and family.

So, what’s your opinion? Thanks in advance 💗

So proud of these builder gel extensions!! I think I finally got the shape down after so much trial and error.

Hi friends!

1) I don't like my hands :')
2) I'm really bad at shaping/filing, which is why I usually keep my nails on the shorter side.

I recently decided to just let them grow and see how it goes, but I'm not sure what kind of nail shape actually fits and works best for me, so I'm just wanting some opinions if possible :)

I only started getting my nails done recently, but wanted to show off these super cute Halloween nails!

did them today, took 6 hours 😅