SNS Nail Polish: The Answer to a Frugal Teacher’s Prayers

It is common knowledge that teachers (especially in their early years) are not rolling in a lot of extra money. I’m lucky enough that I have two supplementary incomes in addition to my full time teaching job, but with an apartment/utility bills/business expenses/food/general life needs/my shopping addiction (lol)–I don’t have a lot of money left over. However, I LOVE being pampered and feeling polished! My mom treated me to my first mani/pedi in college and I have been hooked ever since! We only go get them done a few times a year, but they are the highlight of my month—-cue SNS nail polish!

My friend, Erica, told me about SNS nail polish and how she saw salon-like results by just doing her own nails at home! I am always looking for a cheap alternative to things (I buy almost all of my clothes from consignment stores) so I just had to give it a try!

I ordered the SNS Dipping Powder Gel Base, Top, Sealer Dry, and Ea Bond kit ($41.90) as well as one color, Innocent Coral ($16.50), to try out first and used a few different YouTube videos to figure out how to correctly apply the different steps.

The kit is obviously not cheap, but compared to how much a typical manicure costs and the fact that you can re-use it many times, it is cost effective in my opinion. It boils down to this:

Step 1: Shape and clean your nails to the length you want.

Step 2: Apply the EA Bond first. This is a thin layer that dries almost as quickly as you apply it. It prepares your nails for the next steps. Make sure you cover every part of the nail with this or else the polish won’t attach correctly.

Step 3: Apply the Gel Base in a thin layer one nail at a time. Once it’s applied you will dip your finger straight into the powder, tap the pad of your finger against the container to shake off the excess, and then dust the excess powder off with a brush–I used my E.L.F. fan brush, which I bought at Dollar Tree. Complete this step with every finger, one by one, and then repeat it once more for each finger so that you are applying two layers of polish.

Step 4: Apply the Seal Dry, which will go on in a thin layer and bring out more of the polish’s color. Make sure you are covering the whole nail.

Step 5: Apply the Gel Top in a thin layer. Then let your nails dry (which only takes a minute or less).

It is THAT easy and I believe my nails look as nice as they did with the salon polish, which the exception that I am not very good at shaping my nails or cleaning up the cuticles–any advice on that part is welcome!

There are a couple things to be considerate of:

Make sure that you do not apply thick coats of the gel base, as it drys VERY thick. If the polish is too thick, it will easy come off if it gets caught on your clothes, etc.
Prepare for the smells. Some of the polishes smell TERRIBLE, because they are essentially just glue! When the whole process is finished you won’t notice a smell anymore.
It might take you a couple uses to get the hang of the steps and thickness of the polish.
If you are only going to buy one color at a time, like I did, pick something more neutral that will work with many different outfits/occasions.
The color of the powder is NOT representative of the actual final color, nor is the color swatch on the internet. I suggest doing a google image search for a color you’re interested in and looking for real life examples of the polish that people have posted.