It's ok for a gel polish, not the worst I have used but nothing compared to Shellac. You have to buff the nail, use a primer, and two minute cure for the base coat which isn't necessary for cnd shellac. Also I find some of the colours are very ''inky'', as in when two colour coats are cured and when floating the top coat over it takes away some of the colour and deposits on the top coat brush and doesn't wipe off with isopropyl alcohol, so it may transfer on to further applications which you do not want, especially if doing a French!