When discussing anything to do with manicures, nails and polishes in my role as a beauty editor, there’s one thing that I hear – and am asked about – over and over again: builder gel. Builder gel polish is harder and thicker than regular gel polish, making it ideal for those who find that their manicures often chip or break, or who are wanting to grow their natural nails.
While The Gel Bottle’s version, BIAB (‘Builder In A Bottle’), is perhaps the most famous, lots of professional nail polish brands do their own builder gel polish now, including the only brand I use, BioSculpture – and now there’s even a builder gel manicure system that you can do yourselves at home.
14 Day Mani – a nail polish system that lets you do gel manicures at home that last, as its name suggests, up to two weeks – has recently added HEMA-Free Builder Gels to its line-up of polishes, giving added strength and durability with a salon-like finish, ideal for reinforcing weak nails or adding length. As a fully gel polish qualified nail technician, I was keen to try them out to see how they compare to my professional products…
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First up, you’ll need the kit, including the UV lamp, the top coat and, ideally, some of the other tools. You can get all this, plus two or four polish shades, with the Hema-Free Builder Gel At-Home Kit – and now’s a good time to shop, as it’s reduced from £167 down to £94, saving you 42%. Alternatively there are a number of other bundles offering different shades and finishes, all currently on sale.
Equipment assembled and nails prepped and filed, 14 Day Mani recommend applying a thin layer of Perfect Prep Primer, £10, to the nail first to dry it out and help the polish adhere better (I personally don’t have very oily nail plates so could skip this step, and just ensure the nail is clean with a swipe of nail polish remover instead).
14 Day Mani has just launched new builder gel polishes for extra strength and durability.
Gives a really glossy finish; stronger than regular gel polish; helps nails grow longer; shades are really flattering; easier to remove than salon builder gel; may save you money on salon appointments
Quite thick and sticky to brush on; the polish lifted up on the edges of my short nails after a few days
14 Day Mani’s Builder Gel Polishes cost £15 each and come with a built-in base coat so you can go straight in with two coats of your shade of polish (all very flattering neutrals). Application took me a while to get to grips with; the consistency of the polish is very thick and sticky, and I found it tricky to paint on a thin layer (my preferred finish). However, with a bit of practice and a small polish brush to hand for touch-ups, I eventually managed to do a decent job, before setting my hands under the UV lamp to cure for 60 seconds after each coat.
The polish is also fairly self-levelling (top tip: hold your hand upside down for a few seconds before curing to avoid the polish settling in the sides). To finish, you apply one coat of its No-Wipe Top Coat before a final cure.
I was super impressed with the finished result – really glossy, even and strong, much stronger than your average gel polish – and, as someone who rarely veers away from neutrals, the shades are right up my street (I tried Cotton Candy and Iced Latte). The polish also removed much easier than salon builder gel, which often requires much e-filing and soaking.
The major problem, however, was that, on a couple of fingernails, the polish either partially or completely lifted off after a few days, and the longest I got out of some of may nails was eight days. I think this is because 14 Day Mani advise ‘capping’ the nail edge with polish, and my nails are too short to do this; I think those with longer nails might not have this problem. I also used this builder gel system on my toes and didn’t have this problem at all – it lasted for weeks.
In summary, I love the shades, finish and strength of 14 Day Mani’s builder gel polishes but I’ll probably use it on my toes only, and keep my professional formulas on my hardworking hands.
Another popular at-home gel polish brand is Mylee, which sells starter kits from £75; you can read our writer’s full review of it here.
Alternatively Manucurist is a system that gives a gel polish finish and up to 10 days of wear, yet removes easily with just nail polish remover and cotton pads; no filing or soaking required. You can buy the starter kit here for £75.
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