Lakme Gel Artist in Electric Orange - Review

Gel nail paints are the rage abroad right now. Cured with the help of a UV Lamp - these gel paints offer much superior finish & last long.

When Lakme launched these nail paints, I was curious if they would give out tiny gel lamps like the Sally Hansen Gel Nail kit.

Lakme Gel Artist - Electric Orange

Lakme claims: Nails are fast becoming the next big beauty accessory for today’s fashionable woman who seeks professional and salon based expertise to achieve highly styled nails. Inspired by this insight, the breakthrough Lakmé Absolute Gel Stylist range packs the performance of a gel manicure in a bottle to ensure glossy and plump nails in a single stroke.

This break-through product range aims to introduce the global trend of gel based manicures in the country. It comes with a highly pigmented colour formula to ensure super glossy and plump nails. A singular simple stroke delivers rich colour and a high gloss finish that stays for long. The Absolute Gel Stylist comes in exciting shades ranging from tomato tang, coral flush to nudes like nude glow and caramel melt. The range is your very own manicurist in a bottle giving you an unmatchable shine and the most perfectly styled nails.

Price: Rs. 400 for 3.6 ml

What I liked: 

1. The finish. Absolutely glossy! I love glossy, shiny finishes to my nail paint (I never really got the matt nail paint trend) and this particular shade delivers on the gloss. My nails were glossy for almost 4-5 days, although it did dull a wee bit down with time.


2. This particular color - Electric Orange - is really bright & an orange I can carry off. Generally Orange nail paints look terrible on me as they have a yellow undertone. This one is pure Orange, and a dark Orange. It is one of those rare bright colors that actually works as a neutral - like Red - and looks good with everything

3. The brush is big and carries a decent amount of product from the bottle to the nail. It is also broad and covers the nail almost entirely.

Lakme Gel Artist - Electric Orange

4. The formula of the product is quite thin. I'm a klutz at nail paint application, and prefer thinner formulas as they are easier to apply. This one worked beautifully and this was one of my best nail paint applications in a long time.

5. The range overall has really tempting shades - neons & nudes!

What could be better: 

1. The longevity. The nail paint started to chip on Day 2 itself. By Day 5 it was a mess.

2. The formula is thin, meaning, while it makes for error free application, I had to apply 3 coats to get a good opaque intense color.

3. The price. I'm not really convinced it ought to cost us 400 bucks for this considering it barely makes it chip free to end of Day 2.

4. The shine does get duller day 2 onwards.

5. It seems to have dried within 10 minutes of application. However it doesn't really do so. It needs 30 minutes to set just like any other nail paint.

I'm not really sure how this fares with a base or top coat as I felt that one should have to use either with this product as it claims to offer a shiny gel like finish, and costs 400 bucks.

Lakme Gel Artist - Electric Orange

Overall: I'm conflicted!

I love the finish of the nail paint, and love the vibrancy of Electric Orange. I am definitely tempted to try more vibrant shades from the range, but the price (I wonder if as consumers, we are paying the fees (or fines) for brand ambassador Kareena Kapoor. All the products that are endorsed by her, with the exception of the Eyeconic Range are priced too high!) & lack of lasting power - both are major dampeners. So far I am more inclined to say "Nah" and have not bought anything from the range.

Product sent by PR for consideration. 

Have you tried these overpriced, chubby nail paints? Or is the price a put-off for you as well?