Friday, July 18, 2014

Bundle Monster Gel Polish Beneath It All Collection

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Hello Loves!  I was poking around on Bundle Monster's website a few weeks back and something caught my eye - they have a line of gel polishes.  I thought about them but passed them up initially.  Then someone mentioned the Bundle Monster gels in one of the polish groups on Facebook and I decided to check them out on Amazon.  Well, I discovered the Bundle Monster Beneath It All Colletion - A Trio of Thermal Gels!  Since I broke down and bought them, you know I just have to show them to you!

Bundle Monster Gel Polish Beneath It All Collection Review

Before we get to the swatches, I how about a quick review?  These gels are a little different than the other brands I am used to.  They are quite thick in consistency, which makes them both easy and difficult to apply.  Easy because they don't shrink or pool, but difficult because you do have to work the gel on the nail a bit to get thin coats and even glitter dispersion.  That's not a negative to me but something worth noting.

One bonus is that they are also LED compatible, which is nice with such a low price point!  Most budget gels are UV only as best I can tell from their descriptions online.

Another point worth noting is the scent.  They have a strong odor to them that I noticed right away.  Most all gel polish has a scent, but I'm so used to it that I don't notice anymore.  These, however, I noticed right off the bat.  So if you are sensitive to strong odors they might not be a good fit.

Ready for some swatches?  I thought so!  Let's start with my least favorite of the trio and work our way up to my favorite.  But first, a disclaimer: my light box gets a bit warm, so I had to use water to force the change between warm and cold.  These gels change on their own incredibly well.  I wore Lady Incognito this week and it was constantly changing indoors.  Interestingly, I also was reminded that my hands are rarely the same temperature so my manicure didn't match from one hand to the other the majority of the time.  lol  Also, due to using water to force the change, my hands are a bit waterlogged in the photos.  So excuse the excess water.  ;)

Ok, ok, the swatches.  Revived Reality is a pink when warm and a dark, chocolate brown when cold.  During natural transition, the pink turns a bit muddy.  Like all of the gels in the Beneath It All Collection, Revived Reality is a crelly finish that is loaded with varying sizes of silver glitter.
Bundle Monster Thermal Gel Polish Revived Reality Swatch

Since I'm home with a sick little boy who is mostly sleeping, I put together some fun collages.  Want to see them?  Here's Revived Reality in all of it's phases.  :)
Bundle Monster Thermal Gel Polish Revived Reality Swatch

Ready for another?  Galaxy Traveler is a gorgeous medium blue when warm and a deep, royal purple when cold.  This one is also a crelly finish that is packed with the same silver glitters.  It reminds me a lot of Gel II Shark Bite, but the glitter really makes it spectacular.
Bundle Monster Thermal Gel Polish Galaxy Traveler

Ready for the cutesy collage for Galaxy Traveler?
Bundle Monster Thermal Gel Polish Galaxy Traveler Swatch

Finally, my favorite of the trio and the gel I'm still wearing is Lady Incognito.  This is a beautiful, white crelly base when warm that shifts to a dark pink when cold.  The silver glitters are just awesome in both phases, but I seriously need a gel that looks like the warm phase all the time!  I don't usually like polishes that show a visible nail line, but this one just speaks to me.  The natural color shift is much softer than the harsh lines caused by the forced water shift in the photo below.  I've been trying to capture it, but the warmth from my light box just kills it every time.
Bundle Monster Thermal Gel Polish Lady Incognito Swatch

Here's the collage for Lady Incognito that shows the different phases.  I did manage to capture the gradient effect of the color shift in the transition photo in the collage.  How could I not love this one?
Bundle Monster Thermal Gel Polish Lady Incognito Swatch

So there they are - the Bundle Monster Beneath It All Collection of Thermal Gels.  Now that I've shown you the photos, here's the rest of the review.  I wore Lady Incognito over Couture Base Coat and used Couture Top Coat.  It wore nicely with this combo with minimal tip wear.  

Couture is known for easy removals and it is my go-to base and top combo.  My usual soak off with Couture base, color and top is around 10 minutes.  Lady Incognito took a bit longer to remove - clocking in at 20 minutes.  I don't know if this is due to the thicker layers caused by the thick consistency of the gel or if it was the formula of the gel itself.  It did soak off clean for me, though.  So I'm not complaining and will wear these again.  Plus the colors are really fun!

What do you think?  Are these budget gels something you would try?  I typically shy away from the budget gels since I can't verify the quality and ingredients, but these thermals were just screaming at me.  I have been pleased with the quality of other Bundle Monster products I have purchased in the past, so I gave these a shot.  Aside from the strong odor of the uncured gel, I'm happy with them overall.  With that said, if you have experienced an allergic reaction to gel polish in the past, I would use caution with this brand since the ingredients are not listed anywhere that I could find.  I'm assuming they are not 3 free.  :)

~Michelle

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7 comments:

  1. Hello,

    I'm just getting back into gel nails and have had long soak offs with the gelish base. I'm not sure if its the polish brand (Fingerpaints) or the gelish base. What is your opinion about the gelish base vs the couture base? Thanks... I love your blog....

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    Replies
    1. Gelish Foundation is one of the stronger bases on the market. As a result, I find soak off takes longer with it than with some of the other brands. Couture is definitely easier to remove. The trade off, of course, is that the eadier to remove bases may not wear as well as those that are harder to remove for some people. Nail type plays a large role in that.

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  2. Galaxy Traveler is flippin' amazing!!

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  3. WOAH! Those are the most crazy extreme thermals I've ever seen and I freakin' love it!

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  4. I love thermal gels - they are what got me into gel polish in the first place. These are all lovely and remind me of the ones from Oul'ac (red bottle sold on ebay) that I have.

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  5. Michelle, both sets of thermal gels have an ingredient list on amazon now. You might take a look and see if I am missing something, but it looks pretty good.

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