Review (4/5): Great color!! Read for tips and tricks you need to know when trying this powder out...
I tried with both the gel no wipe top coat and the regular gel top coat. It actually worked with both but it works waaaaay better with a no wipe. I see a lot of review saying the powder isn't working for them but I can almost guarantee it's user error. Let me give you a few tips:
1. Use a no wipe top coat. That's the easiest tip to give you. I couldn't find it in Ulta or Sallys. It's definitely not in Walmart or Target. You will have to order it online.
2. If you can't wait to get a no wipe top coat in the mail and you are too excited and just jump in with a regular gel top coat, DO NOT use any acetone to wipe off the tacky layer. I can't emphasize this enough. The powder will slip right on off and you will be really disappointed. What you need to do is use a DRY paper towel and rub the tacky layer off that way. This will leave a bit of a tackiness on the nail but not too much. Then rub the powder in like that. It will take some time to get it right, but it is doable. I have had issues with holo powder rubbing into either type of top coat but no issues with the silver on either method. I think it's just the nature of the holo to not stick quite as good.
3. When applying ANY of your gel polish, do NOT touch your cuticles with any of it. This will ruin your manicure for sure. It gets stuck to your skin when you cure it and will certainly peel. There is not fixing it once it's cured so wipe that gel off and get it right before you cure.
4. When applying any gel polish to the nails you need to make sure they are absolutely clean and dry. No touching your face, no eating while you do it, not nothing. Gel polish is a whole different beast than regular polish and is not very forgiving. Oils will screw you manicure up so fast because the gel will not stick to anything wet or oily.
5. When applying any type of gel polish in more than two layers, apply it THIN. The best thing about gel is it will absolutely not dry as long as you aren't in uv or led light range. You can take the time to keep brushing the gel off of your polish applicator as you apply it to your nail. Make it thin but make sure it's a nice even coat. No missed spots.
Quick tip: when curing your nails it's easy to forget about your polish bottles proximity to the uv/led light. Cure your fingers far away from your polish bottles!!! If the light reaches any type of half open bottle, it will cure that polish too!! Put your bottles a foot or two away when curing your nails. At the very least you will clump up your polish and give it a bad review, not knowing it was actually your fault, worst case, you will be needing new polish soon. Same goes for touch ups. DO NOT think you can quickly touch up a nail end while the nails are curing under the light. You will need a new polish applicator because your brush will be rock hard from curing. I know it seems like a "duh" sort of things but trust me, it happens more often than you think. I've watched it happen with my own eyes.
With all that said, here are the steps I took to get this stuff on my nails:
-Clean and dry nails
-Apply base coat and cure
-Apply black polish and cure
-Apply second coat of black polish and cure
-Apply no wipe top coat and cure
-Rub powder into nails
-Apply another layer of top coat and cure
Done! Good luck y'all!