Shellac or OPI Gelcolour?

[Scandalash]

Hi Ladies. Looking to train in one of these options, any preference? Have heard not enough colours in Shellac and can dry out nails but not heard much about OPI gelcolour as not long launched, love that brand tho. What say you girls??

 

[jojosnails]

Shellac does not dry the nails, as long as it is cared for properly, applied and removed correctly. I have been using Shellac since it was launched almost 2 years ago and I have not been tempted to even try one of the gel polishes. Shellac now has 36 colours in the range, not to mention the endless layering options. Clients know the name and ask for it. I have not experienced OPI Gelcolor but I do not feel the need to because my clients love Shellac as much as I do.

 

[NancySyd]

Hi Ladies. Looking to train in one of these options, any preference? Have heard not enough colours in Shellac and can dry out nails but not heard much about OPI gelcolour as not long launched, love that brand tho. What say you girls??

I absolutely love OPI GelColor and I think it is the one brand that can really give Shellac a run for its money.

Don't get me wrong, Shellac is a great product and you could not go wrong training in it. In fact, I think OPI and Shellac have a lot in common: Shellac requires no prior buffing of the natural nail, nor does OPI; Shellac does not require dry brushing, nor does OPI; Shellac does not need to be buffed prior to removal, nor does OPI; Shellac goes on quick, so does OPI; Shellac removes quick, so does OPI;Shellac requires no primer on the natural nail, nor does OPI.

I think one of the great advantages Shellac has over every other brand is its training. I think CND training is the best and easily accessible. That said, OPI's range of colors is excellent. They started with 30 colours (including several of their most iconic) and already have 12 more coming out this spring. It has the LED cure and OPI may be THE brand that can offer as well-known a brand name as CND Shellac. Additionally, OPI's GelColors parallel its regular iconic polish line so there is a great retail opportunity with OPI.

 

[shazzawilson]

I absolutely love OPI GelColor and I think it is the one brand that can really give Shellac a run for its money.

Don't get me wrong, Shellac is a great product and you could not go wrong training in it. In fact, I think OPI and Shellac have a lot in common: Shellac requires no prior buffing of the natural nail, nor does OPI; Shellac does not require dry brushing, nor does OPI; Shellac does not need to be buffed prior to removal, nor does OPI; Shellac goes on quick, nor does OPI; Shellac removes quick, nor does OPI;

I think one of the great advantages Shellac has over every other brand is its training. I think CND training is the best and easily accessible. That said, OPI's range of colors is excellent. They started with 30 colours (including several of their most iconic) and already have 12 more coming out this spring. It has the LED cure and OPI may be THE brand that can offer as well-known a brand name as CND Shellac. Shellac requires no primer on the natural nail - UV gels doAdditionally, OPI's GelColors parallel its regular iconic polish line so there is a great retail opportunity with OPI.

Well said!

 

[Jackie D]

How about Gelish. Great product and lots of colours?

I don't think you will go wrong with any of those 3 to be honest, which is why I provide all 3!! :biggrin: I love them all and have just put a Shellac French on my own nails.

 

[NancySyd]

How about Gelish. Great product and lots of colours?

I don't think you will go wrong with any of those 3 to be honest, which is why I provide all 3!! :biggrin: I love them all and have just put a Shellac French on my own nails.

Gelish is great, the best range of colours, great durability, and Magneto is great, but I think that Gelish does not have the marketing clout, name recognition or training that either Shellac or OPI have. I also find that Gelish can be somewhat inconsistent in its formulations, some colours fade horribly (Princess Tiara, for example), and there is a great deal of variability in colour and opacity by batch.

 

[Jbeauty couture]

Hi I have just invested in OPI done training in Fellux found it difficult to remove, however got the OPI a dream to remove came of beautifully, it has 30 couloirs but client can match to regular polish OPI also do my training on 2nd May. I think Shellac is much more recognised by clients as gel polish but I love OPI as a brand.
I put magenta on my sis on Thursday 1st attemp !,,,, it seems to be wearing ok no chips and she has been doing everything with it. Hope this helps x

 

[Scandalash]

Hi girls fabulous replies, will go with opi gel colour methinks as was leaning that way anyway! Anyone know where best to go training? We are based in Essex x

 

[emma84]

I have gelcolor and I am doing my own nails as we speak, only thing I will say is beware it's addictive lol x

 

[Scandalash]

Oh all confused again! Had shellac done on my nails again and I love it! Also can get trained locally in shellac for £50 whereas opi gel colour costs £100 plus vat and course miles away. Not sure how much kit is for shellac (uv lamp and starter set and polishes) but its about £350 plus vat for opi.

Should I pay more for the opi option or do customers prefer shellac anyway???

 

[KSRR]

Oh all confused again! Had shellac done on my nails again and I love it! Also can get trained locally in shellac for £50 whereas opi gel colour costs £100 plus vat and course miles away. Not sure how much kit is for shellac (uv lamp and starter set and polishes) but its about £350 plus vat for opi.

Should I pay more for the opi option or do customers prefer shellac anyway???

Shellac has already proved itself in the market. My clients love it, as do I. I have the odd client who's not so great at aftercare so I just add a coat of ManiQ clear soak off gel and it seems to last well. Shellac as a product is amazing, however the client needs to follow the aftercare. This is the same with any product tho.

 

[HollyGold]

I have opi Gelcolor

And I found the pros with opi are:

Won't dry in the bottle
Won't fade due to sunlight
Opi can be done faster due to the led lamp (great for doing gel parties ect, and more effective if busy)

They are both very good, shellac is well known however most people who know shellac ring up to try the opi Gelcolor or I get people ring up asking for the nail stuff that doesn't chip and have no idea of brands or names

I use normal opi nail vanish so it fits in really well.

I'm waiting for new colours with opi as they still havnt come out with a Hugh collection of colours yet.

 

[HollyGold]

Oh all confused again! Had shellac done on my nails again and I love it! Also can get trained locally in shellac for £50 whereas opi gel colour costs £100 plus vat and course miles away. Not sure how much kit is for shellac (uv lamp and starter set and polishes) but its about £350 plus vat for opi.

Should I pay more for the opi option or do customers prefer shellac anyway???

Do you have a aston and finchers wholesaler near you? They do training and stock it x

 

[Jbeauty couture]

Capitol and Sally's stock OPI , however I have only paid £50 with Lena White OPI educator x

 

[Scandalash]

You ladies are so helpful thank you. Lena white was the company that quoted £100/120 plus vat!!! This was an 8 hour course tho. To the lady that trained with them - can you tell me if you think they were good trainers?

Many thanks again xxx

 

[Scandalash]

Also I buy my normal opi polish from hair ways but apparently opi won't stock the gel colour with them, you have to buy it direct they said. Is this the only place to purchase the gel colours from then?

 

[Thetroodster]

The main difference is durability due to OPI being the only 100% pure Gelcolour on the market. All the others are a mixture of regular polish and gel and will be more vulnerable to chipping. It soaks off so easily and I love the same, 30 second curing is amazing. I trained for £69 at Capital although Lena W often do free courses in Watford.

 

[NancySyd]

The main difference is durability due to OPI being the only 100% pure Gelcolour on the market. All the others are a mixture of regular polish and gel and will be more vulnerable to chipping. It soaks off so easily and I love the same, 30 second curing is amazing. I trained for £69 at Capital although Lena W often do free courses in Watford.

I don't think this is correct. I know that IBD Just Gel, SuperNail ProGel, Akzentz Luxio, EZFlow are all 100% gel polishes. In fact, I think now most gel polishes are 100% gel; hybrids like Shellac are in the minority. And OPI basecoat isn't 100% gel, it has solvents to make removal easier.

 

[Thetroodster]

Hi there,
Thanks for your reply. I will challenge this with OPI as I only spoke to their training team at their HO on Friday to ask them what their USP was, I was told that it's that they are 100% pure gel etc, excluding the base coat as your correctly mentioned. She went onto explain that they waited to see what everyone else on the market had put out, then found out all the pro's and con's of them all and addressed them to produce OPI Gelcolour. She is that at some stage other people will copy them and bring out other 100% pure gel colours but not yet. I will look into what you said and call them back on Monday to see what they say. I've just invested in them and wanted to make sure my sales pitch/product information was correct, the last thing I want is to have clients think I am telling porkies, I like to be honest and factual.

Thanks again. Other than that, I am really happy with the products that I am using and highly recommend them.. 👍😊

 

[Thetroodster]

Hi,
After reading your reply I started to look into some of the brands that you mentioned. I just happened to notice that they are selling OPI Gelcolour for less than £18 a bottle when it's £24.99 everywhere else?

Any thoughts?

P.S has anyone tried any of these other gel brands mentioned above?

OPI GelColor - Nail Varnish