Beetles Clear Builder Gel for Nails 7 in 1 Nail Builder Strengthener Gel Clear Color Builder Extension Nail Gel for Holiday Nail Art Design for Girls

This gel is a life saver. I work in a mailroom and all the paper, metal, and gloves that cause my natural nails to peel and chip so easy. So, I tried this gel and my.nails haven't chipped or peeled AT ALL after a week and a half. By now, I would have chips or tears. It's easy to handle and super high quality. I will say, it will cause heat spikes for sensitive nails. Every nail I did with this stuff burned so bad so I had to get a nail lamp with a longer curing time on low heat. So just keep in mind that the polymerization on this stuff is super strong which is great for longevity and strength! Cures great though! It's easy to make a mini apex for shorter nails top. My natural nails feel so great and protected with this stuff. I highly recommend it!!

UPDATE....Be VERY careful using in direct sunlight. I just did a manicure while in my brightly sun lit sunroom. As I worked with it the bristles of the brush began to stiffen. I was surprised and thought I may have accidentally used my UV light. Then realized the sunlight did it. It's unusable so I'm buying another.Original review.I used to get professional manicures from a manicurist that uses the Luminary system builder gel. It creates a nice arch or apex on the nail. But at around $60 a trip without art I couldn't justify it in my budget anymore and stopped last year. I purchased the Luminary builder gel and tried it at home. It was SO thick that I couldn't get it smooth. It didn't spread well and looked bad. I chalked it up to technique. Then I was looking for gel colors on Amazon and had used Beetle brand before and liked it. So as I looked at their store I saw they have a builder gel for $7.99 so I thought what the heckill try it. I LOVE IT! It's perfect! It's the perfect consistency and flows exactly the way it should. And the directions on the box were perfect. After curing a base coat you apply a thin coat of builder (don't cure yet) then add a drop to the center of the nail to add height to the apex of the nail and give it a second to spread and then cure it. The arch and general shape of my nails are so much prettier with the builder gel. I'm not perfect at it yet but it's much better than any results I got with luminary. (I'll update this if I can find a picture of my nails polished with conventional polish only for comparison.) But the pictures of my nails with the Beetle builder gel and Beetle gel polish shows what I think is a nearly perfect manicure. I already had the lamp. But with an investment of less than the cost of one manicure I have a beautiful set of nails and anticipate many more. I strongly recommend Beetle brand gels!Also I recommend not wiping the stickiness from the nails in between coats. Don't use your hands for anything that might get hair or lint on them until you finish the top coat. I didn't find the top coat sticky but wiped it with 99% isopropyl alcohol in case. Don't use under 90% as it fills the shine.

Great item! No leakage and dries quickly under UV lamp. Color is clear and it lasts a long time! I use it every time I do my toes.

i love beetles, iv been doing my nails for about 6-8 months now and since the beginning iv used beetles. i love builder gel because it’s a protective layer on your nail, making it stronger and allowing for growth without damaging your nails. this stuff is definitely a learning curve but once you get the hang of it it’s AMAZING. my only issue is that it’s a little runny for builder gel but definitely still easy to use. and this color is absolutely PERFECT for french tips or just a natural overlay.when i initially used builder gel i didn’t know the proper technique so i was just building up multiple thin layers until it was to my liking- and this worked, but not well and wasn’t great long term as i’d have lots of lifting from improper application- for those who are new iv written instructions for the proper application as well as tips iv learned along the way :)FOR BEGINNERS: here are some tips and tricks iv learned as well as instructions, if you’ve never used this before understand that there is a learning curve and it takes lots of practice but after maybe 4-5 sets i now make my nails look PERFECT, better then the salon honestly!start by prepping the nail (remove cuticles, trim nail, buff nail bed, and shape to your liking) i use tips to add length so after the prepping the nail i apply the tips and file them so they’re flush with my nail from side wall to side wall :) but you don’t need to use tips, i just wanted to include this for those who may want to use tips for length!apply a base coat and cure as normalapply a very thin layer of builder gel, DO NOT CURE. this is called a “slip layer” make sure you apply sidewall to sidewall and not to flood the cuticles.after the slip layer you’ll dip back into the bottle and get a “bead” you’ll start right below your cuticle and float the product down- gravity helps this process and this product is a bit runny.use a brush with acetone to clean up the sides and around cuticle as you’ll probably have spillage especially as a beginner. you can also use a detail brush to move the builder gel as needed and get it as close to the sidewalls and cuticles without flooding thembefore curing you’ll want to flip your nail upside down for about 5-10 seconds to allow the builder gel to self level and create an apex, now you can cure your nails. (before curing i always take a brush with acetone and make sure there’s no spillage into my sidewalks or cuticles)after curing wipe with acetone to remove the sticky residue and you can file and paint the nails to your likely as you normally would! :)TIPS FOR BEGINNERS:it’s super important to file the nails after finishing the builder gel application- i mainly only file around my cuticles to make sure it’s flush with my natural nail, this also prevents lifting and was a total game changer for mei used a regular nail file for all of my filing, iv recently started using an e-file as it makes the process quicker, but you can do it either way!one thing i didn’t know, was the importance of gel application. making sure you apply every coat (base coat, gel polish, builder gel, top coat) as evenly as possibly across the ENTIRE nail- sidewall to sidewall, and around the cuticles making sure not to flood the cuticle as that will cause lifting within days.you want the slip layer, and the actual application to be as smooth as possible, the most important thing iv learned is to take my time when applying the slip layer and ensure the slip layer is smooth- it will almost guarantee that the bead application will turn out beautifully. iv gotten this part down to where the only filing i need to do after application is around my cuticles to make everything flush, and then crisping up the shaping a bit :)i also recommend only doing one finger at a time, otherwise the uncured builder gel may run and end up lumpy from gravity as you move your hand around. i like to do my thumb first on its own, then i’ll do my pointer and middle finger together, and my ring and pinky. but if you’re a beginner stick to one finger at a time :)i hope this helps someone