Customers obsessed with $6 gel nail polish: ‘Never spending $50 again’

Australians are obsessed with a $6 ‘hidden gem’ nail polish that makes your hands look manicure-ready at home in just 20 minutes.

As the country struggles to pull itself out of the cost of living crisis, women are giving up ‘luxuries’ like nail appointments. 

The Kmart OXX gel nail polish ($6) has been dubbed the ultimate solution to keep more money in the bank.

Gel nail appointments typically cost $65 for the first set and at least $50 per infill after. 

A mum-of-two recently shared her at-home manicure using her brand new Kmart nail polish – and women around the country are flocking to their nearest stores to mimic her stellar results. 

‘This beautiful gel polish cost me $6 from Kmart. 6 BUCKS! I am NEVER paying $50 to get my nails done ever again. Entering my DIY era. It’s not perfect, but for someone who is very pedantic about her nails, I’m happier with my work than what I’ve ever gotten at a salon,’ she said in a Facebook post.

The mum revealed she usually has issues with her polish not being applied close enough to the edges or the layers being too thick.

‘I hate my nails being cut and filed by someone else, I’ve always done this myself. So even better now, I can get the whole job done on my own now,’ she added.

The mum shared that she was skeptical of how long the polish would last because she’s ‘constantly washing [her] hands and picking at things’ – but it had been 24 hours with no chips.

As the product is gel, you need to use a UV light to cure your nails.

‘I gently buffed the top of my nails first to remove the smoothness. Then I applied one coat of base coat, cured, two coats of colour, cured in between each layer, then top coat and cured again,’ the mum shared.

Many others shared their experience with the budget nail polish. 

‘I’ve used a few colours now and love how pigmented they are! The bright red is my favourite,’ a mum said. ‘Two coats is more than enough, mine lasts about a week on my fingernails (also mum-of-two) and two weeks on my toes.’

‘I purchased the clear nails, painted them myself with the $2 Kmart polish and they have been on for two weeks. No chips, no colour fade. Very happy,’ another said.

A few urged customers to be careful of allergies. 

‘Be careful you could end up with a gel allergy,’ one warned. ‘These polishes aren’t exactly safe and have high amount of dangerous ingredients in them.’

Another shared: ‘My daughter started doing her own nails and ended up with a gel polish allergy. Even doing one fingernail now and she breaks out in really bad itching rash on her hands and up on her face which can take a week to go away. 

‘Trained nail technicians get taught what not to do, but there’s nothing to warn you of the risks on the polish.’ 

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