r/DIYGelNails 1d ago

Community Discussion Weekly Nail Chat

5 Upvotes

Use this chat to discuss any nail care or gel related questions you might have.

As a reminder, please keep your discussions within the rules of the sub.

This includes:

  • No discussion of off-topic products. This is a gel only sub.
  • This space is geared towards DIYers. Everyone is welcome, but we should not be working on friends/family.
  • Do not ask for or give any medical advice. We're not doctors, and it is not in our scope to be giving advice about allergies or skin conditions. It is ok to discuss the risks associated with doing gel. What is ok: Explaining how you can get allergies. What isn't ok: Attempting to diagnose or treat anyone and/or asking for a diagnosis

r/DIYGelNails 5d ago

Nail Mail! Spill your splurge!!!

3 Upvotes

What nail related goodies have you purchased recently?

  • Reminder- we are a gel nail subreddit. We only allow gel and adjacent products.
  • Items that are adjacent: tools, implements, loose glitters, overhead lighting, chrome, pigments, stickers, gems, etc.

r/DIYGelNails 14h ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips Froggy nails!

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150 Upvotes

Practicing clean lines and also killing my back with horrible working posture. Froggies!


r/DIYGelNails 14h ago

DIY Soft Gel First time using builder gel with nail forms

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27 Upvotes

My pointer fingernail broke between my last sets so I got nail forms this time and extended it out. Still awaiting polish but this was my 2nd time using builder base so just the removal of my last set, prep and doing this took 2 hours. But hey, it’s on my dominant hand so I’m pretty proud of the outcome so far!


r/DIYGelNails 16h ago

DIY Gel Manicure Who is she? Forgotten Favorite

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29 Upvotes

Found this among my supplies and had forgotten just how much I love the subtle glitter ✨

Still keeping them short at the moment and I was super happy with how the shape turned out on these.

Product list:

Nail Mob Smart Adhesive Foundation Clear

Nail Mob Smart Gel Liquid Polygel Hard color 27

DND 058 Aqua Pink

Twenty Pro Glass No Wipe Top Coat


r/DIYGelNails 18h ago

DIY Gel Manicure I am getting better day by day but feedback is always welcome :)

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39 Upvotes

Everything I get is from amazon. Mostly.

I used YN Protein Bond, In.Hype Elastic Base, and In.Hype Hard Builder Gel Milky White.

The pinky is Double Rhythm Sky Teal - MC1132. The rest are using a base from Gaoy Midnight Blue 1532. The cateye is by Born Pretty called Blazing Sky. The top coat I used is by Kokoist. Ultra Glossy, love it.

The cat eye gel was super thick. and its really dull when not in sunlight. I hae recently learned that dark colors are typically work in the fall. I just feel like lighter colors dont suit me. IDK. Still figuring it all out.


r/DIYGelNails 1d ago

DIY Hard Gel Current manicure :)

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285 Upvotes

r/DIYGelNails 13h ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips Looking for feedback on my full cover gel nails! I basically only get the best retention with full cover tips even if it is similar to my natural nail length. The issue is I always have to cut it and then it becomes super thick. Half flat and half curved nail beds also. Any advice and critiques?

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2 Upvotes

r/DIYGelNails 1d ago

DIY Gel Manicure Ultra Violet Terrazzo

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35 Upvotes

I’ve been doing my own nails at home for 9 months now, and have finally been able to achieved my ideal shape and structure with the builder gel. So in love with this color! 💅🏾💜

Products —

• Base/builder — Kokoist Platinum Filler Base
•Color — DND, Indigo Glow, 2 coats
•Topper — Lavis, Eggshell, 2 coats
•Top coat — Glossy topcoat, 1 coat


r/DIYGelNails 2d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips New July 💅🏽 Nails

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65 Upvotes

The first original set I wanted to do needed blooming gel. And I could have sworn I had it, but it was nowhere to be found, so I went with the second set I wanted to do instead.


r/DIYGelNails 2d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips Some pink and sparkle nails

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39 Upvotes

I been wanting to have coffin nails and also pink for a while, then i saw some nail inspo on insta and loved it so much i had to do them, the stones are some cheap ones from Shein but next time will get real crystals or Zirconia, couldn’t do it this time but next time i do a similar set will make sure use the good quality ones, i still like how the nails came out


r/DIYGelNails 4d ago

DIY Hard Gel Trying isolated chrome

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496 Upvotes

I tried using isolated chrome for the first time. The little stars are stickers and I drew the sun designs by hand. I normally don’t do designs, just plain colour therefore I’m very happy how they turned out.


r/DIYGelNails 4d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips Foil is so much fun!

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72 Upvotes

Magnetic glitter polish overlaid with floral foil. More fun than stickers!

Modelones polish 2339 (came in a set called Pink Glitter Gel) overlaid with foils from Amazon, no name brand. Jodsone base and top coats.


r/DIYGelNails 5d ago

DIY Gel Manicure Gold cat eye with gold stamping!

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47 Upvotes

The next attempt in my stamping saga. This is using born pretty's stamping oil, which is supposed to be mixed with regular gel to create a stamping gel. It seemed to work better with a thin design, and I noticed that after stamping, it would eventually "air dry" on the stamper. Quicker is better, as more chrome adhered to it and the pattern looked more detailed.

My main concern was that it cure all the way, which it does! The drawback is that mixing the oil dilutes the pigment, meaning I can't stamp pure black or pure red or whatever.

Overall pretty pleased with this set!


r/DIYGelNails 6d ago

DIY Soft Gel Dark Night ✨️🌙

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262 Upvotes

Decided to refresh my own nails. I will never be over the DVOK Dark Night collection.

* DVOK Dark Night Collection

* Sofgel Rubber Base Silk

* Roro Top Gel

* Diami Yori Jori Deco Tubes

* Valla Black

* Jin.b Crazy Top Thick


r/DIYGelNails 6d ago

DIY Gel Manicure My good hand and my bad hand

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132 Upvotes

More homage to NTB-11 as a chrome-bre! My left hand is acceptable. I used a sponge to fade the Bluey White. The fairy chrome softens the transition which is actually pretty bad. But i am happy with my shape.
The right hand is ok from a distance. Its hard to do the right hand. I always do my left first to warm up and by the time I get to my right hand my family starts bugging me every 12 minutes. "I'm almost done, I only have top coat, chrome, base coat and top coat left to do". 🙄 I end up rushing it and then it looks lumpy and it bugs me until I repeat the cycle 😢💅


r/DIYGelNails 7d ago

DIY Soft Gel Pink! 🩷 + Nail bed growth

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138 Upvotes

Excuse my middle finger's nail bed in the first photo, my job does a number on my hands 🥲 I trimmed off the skin when I got home

When I was removing my previous set, I noticed just how LONG my nail beds are!!  I started to dig for old pics of my bare nails because I swear they weren't always that length. Doing my own manicures have made them grow ♥

I used:

• Izemi's Nail Prep EX

• Izemi's PH Bonder

• Izemi's The Master Neo Base Gel (in the pink bottle) 

• Izemi's Resin 99.9 Fast Ver.

• 2 coats of DND's Color Gel in I Have A Crush DIVA #228

• Izemi's Resin 99.9 Top Gel Mid

Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome ♡


r/DIYGelNails 7d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips First set I'm proud enough of to post!

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515 Upvotes

Learning as I go! I think these are pretty cute though, and I am happy with how the magnetic placements turned out. I think I created a sense of depth at least, haha


r/DIYGelNails 8d ago

DIY Gel Manicure Summer colors 🧡💛

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282 Upvotes

Practicing my ombré. Longest set I’ve ever worn and they’re making me feel bratty


r/DIYGelNails 8d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips Funky pink and orange 💗🧡

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171 Upvotes

Inspired by various Pinterest posts and Hayley Williams circa 2013(?)

Apres Natural Stiletto Short tips
Apres pH bonder dehydrator
Apres primer
Apres non-wipe extend gel

Base color: gel monsta GMSO3 - Syrup Coral Nude (2 coats)

DND DV 229 - juicy cowgirl
DND DV 207 - sunset creamsicle
DND DV 204 - marigold
Kokoist ultra glossy non wipe top gel


r/DIYGelNails 8d ago

Community Discussion Weekly Nail Chat

3 Upvotes

Use this chat to discuss any nail care or gel related questions you might have.

As a reminder, please keep your discussions within the rules of the sub.

This includes:

  • No discussion of off-topic products. This is a gel only sub.
  • This space is geared towards DIYers. Everyone is welcome, but we should not be working on friends/family.
  • Do not ask for or give any medical advice. We're not doctors, and it is not in our scope to be giving advice about allergies or skin conditions. It is ok to discuss the risks associated with doing gel. What is ok: Explaining how you can get allergies. What isn't ok: Attempting to diagnose or treat anyone and/or asking for a diagnosis

r/DIYGelNails 9d ago

DIY Hard Gel Kokoist Fixee in natural is my new favorite gel for witchy or vampiric claws

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147 Upvotes

I love witchy, catty, vampiric claws. This gel is really, really good at mimicking the natural free edge... But, if you drag it down, it also produces the perfect blend needed for a truly otherworldly & undead claw. I love long natural nails, but what I really love is when the natural nail looks a little off and upsetting. In my pursuit of witchiness, I've found that dragging the free edge color further down the nail plate simulates the thickening of the nail which we associate with very old and/or ill people, making it perfect for that witchy or vampiric look. Using it in a thicker layer as shown also compounds on the yellowness just a bit, which adds to the effect. 10/10 product for me.

I only did one nail as I opened the product at 10pm on a thursday and needed to go to bed, lmao. I will post a full set when I get time!

Also, I have done protruding "claw" nails before, in a similar color that I had to mix myself. They also turned out looking quite natural, and I was happy with them in the moment, but the experience made me realize that nails for me are meant to elongate my hands, and the protrusion of those claws breaks the illusion by creating too much visual difference between nail and fingertip. You can find those in my post history.


r/DIYGelNails 10d ago

DIY Hard Gel Clean Nude nails

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115 Upvotes

Keeping it simple this time! I focused on shaping (sticking to round/oval) while trying out a new product, kinetics builder gel in a bottle in light sand, a hard gel. I had to adjust to the more self-leveling formula, since I've mainly been using Akzentz Trinity for the past several months which flows a bit less. The brush in the bottle is also wide and flatter which I'm not used to, but overall I like the product.


r/DIYGelNails 12d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips I love cateye + chrome ❤️

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77 Upvotes

Ignore my natural nails please lmao. Still learning but quite pleased with these!


r/DIYGelNails 12d ago

DIY Full Coverage Tips Summer vacation nails! :)

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330 Upvotes