Thursday, October 30, 2014

Madam Glam UV Gel (Soak Off Gel Polish) Review

Press Sample

Madam Glam UV Gel Review

Hello Loves.  I have a new gel polish line to show you today.  Madam Glam is well known for their regular nail polish line, and they have now branched out into soak off gel!  You know me...I had to put them to the test.  :)

Let's start with a few basics and a few swatches and then follow up with my thoughts on application, wear, removal and price.

Introduction


The Madam Glam UV Gel line currently consists of 16 colors that are represented by numbers (they also have names but the names are not displayed on the bottles).  Don't let the name "UV Gel" mislead you.  These are soak off gels that are LED compatible (cure times are 30 seconds in LED or 2 minutes in UV).  They are salon quality and come in 15ml (0.5 fl oz) bottles.  The bottles are unique in that they have representations of the colors on the top of the cap.  I love this feature - it's like a little swatch right on top of the bottle.  Based on the five colors I am going to show you today, the caps are dead on accurate. 

Swatches


The first color I have to show you is Madam Glam 003 - Blood Orange.  This is a very bright, almost neon orange cream with a slightly jelly finish.  This one is a lot brighter than I was anticipating based on the color dots on Madam Glam's website.  I found that I needed 2 coats for this one to be opaque and could really have used three to completely hide my stubborn VNL.  However, since my layers are so much thinner than average, two coats will be plenty for the typical gel user.
Madam Glam UV Gel 003 - Blood Orange Swatch
Madam Glam UV Gel 003 - Blood Orange Swatch

(Helpful Tip:  When browsing through the colors on their website, be sure to hover over the color dot to see a photo of the bottles.  As far as I can tell, most of the bottle photos are close to accurate with the exception of True Fire Brick Red.)

The second color I have to show you is Madam Glam 291 - Deep Dark Purple.  This is a deep purple cream that is visibly purple but gorgeously vampy.  Added bonus - she can easily be a one coater if your application is even.  I swatched two below.  I also had absolutely zero issues curing her even though the gel is thicker and a super dark color.
Madam Glam UV Gel 291 - Deep Dark Purple Swatch
Madam Glam UV Gel 291 - Deep Dark Purple Swatch

Madam Glam 412 - Deep Brown Red is a perfect maroon cream.  Like Deep Dark Purple, this one can easily be a one coater and cured beautifully.  I swatched two coats below.
Madam Glam UV Gel 412 - Deep Brown Red Swatch
Madam Glam UV Gel 412 - Deep Brown Red Swatch

Madam Glam 043 - True Fire Brick Red is a classic orange leaning red cream.  The color dot and bottle photo for this one on Madam Glam's website are more than a tad off.  Guess what?  This one is a definite one coater, even for me!  Below is one amazing coat True Fire Brick Red.
Madam Glam UV Gel 043 - True Fire Brick Red Swatch
Madam Glam UV Gel 043 - True Fire Brick Red Swatch

Finally, Madam Glam 075 - Magenta is a stunning magenta cream.  Magenta is one of those colors that is hard to define by the name alone, so I'll take it a bit farther.  This gel is the perfect mix of muted purple and pink.  Magenta is also a potential one coater.  I swatched two below.
Madam Glam UV Gel 075 - Magenta Swatch
Madam Glam UV Gel 075 - Magenta Swatch

I have no clue what blogger is doing to some of my photos.  Blood Orange and True Fire Brick Red appear degraded on my screen, yet they are perfect in Picasa.  I apologize if they look weird on your screen too!  Moving on...

Application


The Madam Glam gel polish brushes are the standard salon style brushes that are flat and wide.  I personally love this style brush as it makes a standard three stroke application incredibly easy.  All of the five that I swatched above applied nicely with no shrinking or pooling.  The gel itself is thicker so it stays where you put it but it also levels quite well for a smooth finish.

The Base Gel is average to thick consistency.  I found it easy to apply as well though it can get away from you if you aren't careful.  Remember, thin thin thin for base gels!

The Top Gel is also average to thick consistency and applies beautifully.  I had no issues with pitting or streaking from the top coat and it cures to a high gloss finish.  This is a traditional gel top coat that requires cleansing.

Let's take a look at the consistency of the gel and the brushes, shall we?  As you can see from the photo, the gel is thicker than your average soak off gel but not chalky at all.  It is smooth as silk.  (Note: these brush shots are a little over exposed, so they are NOT color accurate)

I wiped the brush a bit so you can get a better look at the width.

Wear


I completed my wear test using Madam Glam Base Gel, Madam Glam 003 - Blood Orange, and Madam Glam Top Gel.  On day 10, I noticed something a bit strange.  I had lifting along the side of my pinkie nail.  This is not a common area for lifting to occur, so I suspect my prep may be to blame.  I have deep sidewalls on a few of my nails that tend to hold alcohol from the dehydrating step of the manicure.  It is not uncommon for me to get into a manicure and realize I still have alcohol pooling in those areas.  The shape of my nails paired with the fact that the lifting did not occur on all of my nails supports my belief that I am to blame for this one.  But I'm going to show it to you anyway since I snagged the lifted portion on my pinkie while digging my lighter out of my pocket the next day and ended up with a bare pinkie nail.  ;)

Of course, the wear test must go on.  By day 14, the other nails were still intact.  Tip wear was minimal and all of my tips (minus the pinkie) were still nicely wrapped at the end of the test.  The shine from the top coat remained strong through the test as well.  If you are new to my little slice of the internet here, I complete my wear tests on my dominant hand.  Sadly, this is the hand with the crazy nails that go in different directions.  It is also the hand that I use to smoke and the hand that I neglect.  If a gel polish is going to chip, it will happen on my right hand. 

Removal


I am happy to report that Madam Glam UV Gel Polish soaks off beautifully.  In the collage below, the upper left photo shows the final wear.  The upper right photo shows the gel after buffing the top coat to break the seal.  The bottom left photo shows the gel immediately after removing my Nail Mates removal caps at the 10 minute mark.  The gel was falling off of my nails on the nail bed.  The tips were also loose enough to gently push the gel off with my thumb nail on my other hand.  I'm growing out a bit of damage from a bad removal from a few months ago and gel tends to bond to those damaged areas a little stronger than on the healthy portion of the nail.  Finally, the bottom right photo shows my nails after pushing off the gel and washing my hands.  Madam Glam UV Gel definitely passes my removal test.

Price


Madam Glam UV Gel is priced at $17.95 per bottle.  But wait...that's not the price you'll pay.  Madam Glam has provided a 30% discount just for you.  Use coupon code YGEL30OFF at checkout to claim the discount.  This brings the gels to a much more competitive price of $12.57 each.  Even better, Madam Glam offers free global shipping on orders of $25 or more even when you use the discount code. 

Final Thoughts


Overall, I am extremely pleased with the formula, quality, application, wear, and removal of Madam Glam UV Gel.  My only complaint is the limited color choices, but I'm sure more colors will be added in the future.  Furthermore, the customer service is excellent!  I had a lot of questions about these gels when I was researching them and every question was answered quickly and professionally.  This is, of course, before the customer service specialists at Madam Glam knew who I am.  Customer service is very important to me, and I am happy to recommend Madam Glam as a company.

So, what do you think?  Are the Madam Glam UV Gels calling your name?  If so, be sure to follow Madam Glam on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn about new products!

~Michelle

*The products featured in this post were provided by Madam Glam for my honest review.

6 comments:

  1. Hi! I am here over a year late but are the purple and deep brown red colors no longer available there? Or did they change the name? I love both of them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They may be out of stock at the moment. MG pulls down the listing when they sell out of stock and then they go back up when new stock comes in.

      Delete
    2. They may be out of stock at the moment. MG pulls down the listing when they sell out of stock and then they go back up when new stock comes in.

      Delete
  2. Hi Michelle I've just bought my first VIP box and love these gels ,I'm a trained and working nail tech specialising in natural nails and have also done a bit of research before buying these, but I've had lifting issues already with two clients using the same colour after only 2days !!! ... I NEVER get this with my beloved IBD or Gelish but I've used Gelish base and tio do u think this could be the problem as I haven't used the full MG system ? Thanks in advance just don't want to pay out a fortune for more if it's going to continue to happen I'd rather buy complete system if that's the case x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I use it with Gelish foundation regularly without issue. MG polishes are thicker, though. Are you sure you're applying them thin enough?

    ReplyDelete

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