Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Bio Seaweed Gel - Review

Hi dolls! Today I can FINALLY bring you this review! Bio Seaweed Gel is a Canadian based gel polish brand. I was given the opportunity to test out a couple of their products and I was not disappointed. This was my first time ever using gel polish. I have heard a lot of horrible things about other gel/shellac polishes and gel polish in general, so why would I ever want to put that on my precious nails?

For the sake of the rest of this post let's refer to Bio Seaweed Gel as BSG. When I was contacted by BSG, they assured me that their product is 100% safe for natural nails. It does NOT require any sanding, buffing, primers or bonders for application. There are no dehydrators that thin or stain the natural nail, regardless of wear time. FORMALDEHYDE, TOLUENE, DPB, SOLVENTS & BHA FREE. And it has the quickest removal time in just about 5 minutes (statements all on their website www.bioseaweedgel.com) And I can attest that these are all 100% accurate. So I thought okay, if I am ever going to try gel polish, this is going to be the one.

I received two of their UNITY All-In-One Colour Gel Polish in the colors "Beach Babe" and "Regal" and their Diamond Shine Top Gel Polish. First off the UNITY All-In-One polishes are a top, base, colour and streghtener all-in-one. And there is no need for cleansers! UNITY on it's own dries to the touch with no sticky layer unlike any other gel polish! The first coat will be very sheer, but on the second coat you will get a nice vibrant color. The Diamond Shine Top coat will ensure a perfect manicure for 2+ weeks! The Diamond Shine Top coat will dry with a sticky residue. All you have to do is wipe it with 70% alcohol and you are good to go! You will have a high shine, chip free manicure! And BSG promises no shrinking or wrinkling.

UNITY retails for $18
Diamond Shine retails for $20

And the most AMAZING thing about BSG, is that it all can cure (dry) in........THE SUN!!! I have never heard of this with any other gel brand out there (correct me if I'm wrong). Of course you can also use LED or UV lamps but how awesome is it that you can do right in the sunlight? Depending on the strength of the sun, cure time can take anywhere from 30sec - 2min.

Ok now on with my actual results. I only have Beach Babe to show you today. As most of you know I have been super busy with a vacation and moving so there was only time for one color.

To prep nails, simply wipe down with alcohol to make sure they are free of any oils, creams etc.

Here is Day 1 of  wearing BSG. If you notice on my pinky nail I couldn't get coverage at the tip. I think this was just a fudge up on my part since I am a newbie to how gel polish works. This was the only one I had trouble with. 


Here is each coat curing in the SUN!!! It really does work! And as you will also notice I did do three coats when it should only require two. I did this because I could still see my tips but again I think that is because I didn't apply it exactly right. Also be sure to use very thin coats to ensure a long lasting manicure.


Here is Day 8 of BSG. At this point I had just gotten back from a week long vacation where I was swimming and doing lots of activities and...NO CHIPS! And look at that new growth! (And I apologize for the change in color. This was taken indoors and shows an inaccurate depiction of color.)


This is my right thumb on Day 8. She is my problem child and NEVER keeps polish on. I wasn't too surprised when it started chipping. But to go 8 days before any chips on her is pretty amazing!


Day 14 of BSG. As you can see there is some minor chipping but I had spent the last six days packing and moving. I really put these through the ringer. But chipping didn't start until Day 11 (the first day of moving) and for me on a normal basis, that is way longer than I need any manicure to last. But something else I also have to point out is that I had NO breaks while wearing BSG! I thought for sure I would have some breakage while I was moving because it's kind of inevitable but it just goes to show the BSG truly can hold up to wear and tear. That was something I was nervous about, that I wasn't going to be able to wear my usual strengtheners but this did it all for me! But my devil child (my right thumb) did break at the corner. I'm telling you, she's a brat. There's no saving her. lol.

For removal I soaked cotton pads in 100% pure acetone, placed it on my nails and wrapped each one tightly with aluminum foil and let it sit for 5 minutes. There is no need to buff or file the surface before hand. Then the gel will soften and you can remove it by gently "scraping" with an orange wood stick or buffing it away. Me being the impatient person that I am, I got out my metal cuticle pusher and it all came right off.

I was very impressed with BSG. Although for me (a nail polish enthusiast) it isn't very practical. I was starting to go a little nutty not changing my polish! But of course I was going to give it a thorough run down and I really did put it to the test. But obviously people interested in gel polish and that don't like to change their nails every day should absolutely check out Bio Seaweed Gel!!! This is great for at home use especially since you don't have to go out and buy a fancy lamp! 

To shop over 130 colors of Bio Seaweed Gel go to www.bioseaweedgel.com! Shipping to Canada and the US. For international shipping contact them at info@bioseaweedgel.com. And be sure to follow them on all their social networks to keep up with updates, sales, and their COLOUR OF THE WEEK that come out on Wednesdays for $12 instead of $18!!




DISCLAIMER: These products were provided to me for the purpose of  review. These are my 100% honest unbiased opinions. I was not compensated in any way nor am I affiliated with Bio Seaweed Gel.

3 comments:

  1. Great review! I'm change my nail polish a lot, but I'd love to give gel polish a try sometime :)

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  2. **Do not buy this product, Bio Seaweed Gel Polish**. I recently purchased Bio Seaweed Gel polish (2016) direct from their website, specifically the UNITY All-In-One Colour Gel Polish in color: Charlottetown. First of all, the color of the actual gel polish (a light pink) bore almost no resemblance the color displayed on the product label (peach). More concerning, I was deeply unsatisfied with the gel itself. I had it professionally applied to my hands by a very good salon, and chose to go with a different brand (DND gel) on my toes for comparison. While the DND gel polish on my toes has lasted 3 weeks with no chips whatsoever, the Bio Seaweed gel started to chip the FIRST day I wore it and continued to chip for the next two weeks very badly. The salon cured it according to instructions. When I contacted Bio Seaweed, I got the complete runaround. I kept asking for their return policy, and it took 7(!) emails to finally get them to admit what their return policy is. (It was not displayed on their website). It turns out... the return policy is terrible - you must return the product within 7 days (!) and there is only store credit, no refund. Furthermore, they claim you have to pay $15 to restock. What kind of return policy is won't even give you enough time to test their claims to "two weeks of no chipping"? ... Furthermore, my salon also said that most of their claims (No Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP etc.) are followed by other companies as well, so it's not any "healthier" than most of the other brands out there. Avoid this brand like the plague.

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