Beetles Gel Nail Kit Etch-X, Almond Medium, 500pcs 12 Sizes, with 9 in 1 Glue Mini Nail Lamp, Pre-Etched Half Matte Easy Extension Set for Home DIY Salon Manicure Art

UPDATE: The last two pictures were taken 2 weeks later and almost time for a fill. No lifting. No problems. No kidding. This review is from a professional cosmetologist with more than 45 years nail experience. I have experience with just about every type of nail treatment there is. I’m proficient in acrylic, hard gel, poly gel, etc. sculpting from scratch, using overlay or tips. You name it and I’ve used it on a client or myself. After years of also working in an office behind a computer & a keyboard, my hands are toast. I need to have surgery as my carpal tunnel is so bad. So, I can no longer take clients. I also cannot do my own nails. It’s just too painful. Even with an E-drill. It’s just too much fine work. I recently discovered the soft gel system. This is a game changer. I did both hands in under an hour with salon quality results at home. There is a bit of a learning curve, but just keep practicing. The biggest hurdle is making sure you don’t have any air bubbles so you have to press the nail down hard during the flash cure. I started with my regular nail prep. Push back your cuticles and remove any excess. Next, a gentle buff to remove the shine. Clean your nail bed with alcohol on a lint free wipe, or I prefer to use a soft bristle toothbrush for this. Make sure you have the correct nail sizes picked out beforehand. I also have a special tip primer that I use (underneath where the tip adheres to your nail bed only). Next double prime your nail beds (one hand at a time). A side note about the little UV light that’s included, this is only supposed to be used as a flash cure, it’s not meant to do your final cure. You should have a full size UV light for your finished treatment (Not included. But there are several cost efficient options available on Amazon). My final cure Under a full-size lamp is 60-90 seconds. After your double prime, use the Beetles nail glue gel and do a thin coat on your nail bed and do a quick flash cure for about 10 to 15 seconds. Then get your tip ready, apply the gel to the tip over your primer. This is the part that takes a little practice, but you will get used to it. Don’t use too much gel. Apply the tip back at your cuticle area first, pressing/rocking forward (use a lot of pressure to get rid of any air pockets). Flash cure under the light for 10 seconds. Once you feel the gel grab, let go and finish flash curing. My light turned off automatically at about 60 seconds or so. During the learning curve, I ended up with a little bit of excess gel on my side walls and/or underneath. But this is easily taken care of. With practice it will become less and less. That’s it. Then follow the directions included by the manufacturer. I always put another layer of gel over the top for increased strength as I’m very hard on my nails. You can either wear them natural or polish. Make sure you use a good cuticle oil to keep your nails and cuticles healthy. Then you can polish and do any nail art you would like. I’m very impressed with this little kit and I will keep using it at home. For a longer lasting treatment, make sure to use gloves when doing the dishes, etc. Anytime you get your nails wet, they expand and contract, and it puts stress on your manicure. Also, remember every time you use a UV light, the gel just keep getting harder. Even on a previously cured set. If you over cure, they can get brittle. These can also be filled like a full set of sculpted acrylic, or gel nails. If they haven’t lifted, you don’t need to take them off and re-apply from scratch. Just use the Beetles gel to fill them after using the same prep, as mentioned above. Happy manicuring everybody. I’m truly happy with this product and I will continue to use this as it is an extremely affordable and easy option for me.

The Beetles Gel Nail Extension Kit is perfect for at-home manicures. Easy to use, strong adhesion, and long-lasting results. The gels apply smoothly and look professional. Great value for beginners and nail lovers.”

The are my favorite nails by far. If you want to read about why, skip to the end. If you care about the glue and making these last way longer, like crazy super forever long, that’s first. MAJOR TIPS SO THEY CAN LAST 2 weeks - a month: 1. The Beetle’s glue is the best, hands down. I’ve tried all the major ones, even super glue, and the UV/LED Beetle’s is Queen. Lasts 2 weeksish for me, but with the occasional pop off. I’ve never used a glue that didn’t have that issue. That said… 2. All nail glue sucks. There’s no way around it. Sorry. My issue is how hard it is to not get the stuff all over my fingers, nail beds, and the nail itself. It’s impossible for me to get the nail on straight without adjusting, especially if you don’t use mega long nails. SO, there’s ALWAYS bubbles for me with any glue, making me the years long mayor of Popoff City. Maybe it’s me, but since all glue is liquidy, I can never hold the nails in straight in place, at the right angle and pressure until they’re cured enough to stick on their own. MEGA MESS EVERY TIME. The devil always wins. 3. …UNTIL I FOUND THE MIRACLE. Works every time. How did I not know about this??? Ok, so if you have to get glue, bet Beetle’s. If you want your nails to last pretty much forever… like, long enough to require an infill, easily 2, 3, 4 weeks with NO POPOFFS, chipping, or breaking, I’m about to rock your world. Baby, POLYGEL is the new glue. 4. Ever heard of the Lazy Girl Method? That’s cool, I’m down, but it still requires meticulous drilling and filing underneath the nail extension so it isn’t unnaturally thick an blobby. Sometimes psh who’s for time for even that? Thus, I present to you… 5. ⭐️THE SUUUPER LAZY LAZY GIRL METHOD⭐️ Like the OG LGM, this requires clear full cover press on false nail tips so the lamp can cure the adhesive. So my adaptation is this- use polygel as glue. That’s enough, but don’t worry, there’s more. For me, a Major Game Changer.. Just a lil 1 - 1.5 carat blob scooped from the tube with the base of the nail you’re applying. Or, you can use a polygel brush and isopropyl alcohol as slip to do an even hearty coat to either nail. Either way, the natural nail should be fully coated once the nail is on. Apply the same principles you’d use for nail glue. Not no much, apply the nail at an angle and roll the nail on to evenly distribute the polygel without bubbles. My favorite part? The nail STICKS WHERE YOU PUT IT, so adjustments are NO PROBLEM and you basically don’t even have to hold the nail in place with your other hand under the lamp. As long as you don’t pick the nail up off your finger and instead gently rock it for bubble control, you’re golden. If you apply too much polygel or too much pressure, it’ll ooze out the sides and under the fingertip, just like glue. So don’t. But with the thick, sticky polygel, you have WAY more control and can easily scrape off oozing excess with a cuticle pushed or whatever, and a wipe with isopropyl alcohol will remove the residue from your nail or skin. ✨BONUS TIPS✨ *I find the BY FAR the easiest way to apply the nail with this method is to simply place the nail on, no pressure AT ALL, and wait a minute with your hand still. This lets the nail gently settle itself onto the gelled nail bed without oozing out the sides. *if you still have problems with spillage at the fingertip under the nail: dude, less gel and less pressure. If it’s too late for that, you can flash cure the nail while COVERING your fingertip from the light so that part doesn’t cure. Then, when the nail stays on, scrape out and clean up the underside of nail before you finish curing. *You can encapsulate glitter this way! May want to do a thin layer on the other nail too, so it adheres just as strong without glitter gaps. *USE BUILDER IN A BOTTLE ON TOP and that thing will never chip and be rock solid and GLASSY.. A thin layer is all you need. If you painted the nails and the surface isn’t perfectly smooth, use a second thicker layer and hold your hand flat upside down for 20 seconds before curing. It SELF LEVELS, so any wonkiness disappears. Magic. You can also apply gems ‘n stuff with it. * You can paint a French tip or whatever UNDERNEATH the nail before applying (just not the base). That way the surface stays perfectly smooth and you don’t need to struggle for greatness worth left-handed painting. *Wherever there’s wet alcohol, the nail will slip around and not adhere properly. So try to be sparing, and let it dry for 30 seconds or whatever before curing if you used any with the poly gel. If you use alcohol to clean up any extra around the applied nail before curing, try not to let it drip around the edges or *gasp* underneath the nail. ‘Twill fork up adhesion and the nail won’t last as long. *The polygel surface will stay sticky after it’s cured, that’s normal. Just wipe with isopropyl alcohol 70-99% and it’ll remove the tacky residue. This is NOT the same as nail polish remover!!! Make sure you do that before filing or drilling if you are shaping the nail or removing wayward polygel on the surface of the nail. It’ll gunk up your file is you let it stay sticky. *You can use any color poly gel, but my go tos are clear and natural pinky nude, like you’d use for a French tip. Opaques do take longer to cure. *If it grows out super long, you can easily infill with the same polygel. ABOUT THE NAILS THEMSELVES I got medium almond, and Grrl, they’re looong. But I’m not mad, for a few reasons. 1st, of all the nails I’ve bought on Amazon (Una Gella, Gootrades, Sally H, etc) these are the best, imo. They’re most similar to Markhartt’s press on full coverage nail tips. Thick and STRONG, but still a bit flexiblish unless you crease them down the middle. To compare, Markhartt’s short “ballerina/coffin” nails are basically as long as the Beetle’s medium “almond,” just with the coffin tip cut out. Markhartt’s have this funny fluted shape thing going on that just makes my nails look… well, kinda fat (not phat). It may be my own fault for having an unfortunate nail shape- spatulate/triangular with like 2x wider nail tip than base. Theirs make me look like the nails are too big and bubbled sideways where my finger ends- even if the size is too small🤷🏼‍♀️. Beetle’s are flatter, and Markhartt’s have more of an apex built in. I *thought that would be great because nail techs are ALL about that apex, but for me, it was problematic. I find Markhartt’s REALLY difficult to shape or trim, I guess because of the weird fluted shape and apex. I’ve tried a million times, but if I try to narrow the sides into a shorter stilettos or whatev, they’re always too convex and fat looking, or too concave and cat claw looking, but never straight. Basically, they look weird unless I trim Markhartt’s straight across to top horizontally, effectively just making them square, not my fave. I guess the apex makes it that way? 🤔

These look beautiful! Unfortunately, they last about a week and pop off easily. Easy to apply, love having them pre-etched. The mini light is a game changer for glue drying (though they should have made it a smidgen bigger to fit the whole nail tip under the light.

I loved them because they are easy to apply, the glue is good since they do not fall easily, and brings different sizes according to your nails, it is a very easy way to walk always arranged, they come a little long for my fingers but that is not a problem, you can mold it with the cutter and the file to your liking. Easy, fast and good

I bought the Beetles Gel Nail Kit to try doing Gel X nails at home, and I loved that it came with everything I needed to get started. It’s a great starter kit for beginners who want to do their own extensions at home. The sizes of the nails were decent, and the variety made it easy to find a good fit for each finger. However, I did run into a few issues. For some reason, I struggled to get the nails to cure perfectly without air bubbles. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get that flawless, bubble-free finish. I even purchased another UV lamp with a longer neck to see if that would help, but I still had issues with the cure. The biggest problem I had was noticing a green discoloration under my nails, which I assume was some type of bacteria or moisture trapped during the curing process. I decided to stop using the kit altogether, and I haven’t had the issue since. I’m not sure if it was the product itself or if I just didn’t have the right technique, but it made me hesitant to try it again. Key Features: All-in-One Kit: Comes with everything you need to do Gel X nails at home. Decent Nail Sizes: Wide variety of sizes to fit different nail shapes and sizes. Beginner-Friendly: Great for those just starting out with DIY nail extensions. What I Love: The kit included everything I needed to get started. Decent variety of nail sizes to fit different finger shapes. It’s a great concept for people looking to save money on nail extensions. What I Don’t Love: Application Issues: I had a hard time curing the nails without air bubbles, even after getting a new UV lamp. Green Discoloration: I noticed a green tint under my nails after using the kit, which was concerning. Skill Required: This kit requires more technique than I expected. If you’re not skilled at application, you may run into the same issues. If you’re a beginner looking to try Gel X nails, this kit gives you everything you need to start. However, be prepared for a learning curve, especially when it comes to curing the nails properly. The air bubbles and green discoloration were deal-breakers for me, and I haven’t had these issues with other methods. It might be great for someone with more experience or better technique, but for me, it was a bit too tricky.

These are really easy to use! I've used Beetles before but needed some length because of work that I do. 1. There are so many sizes of tips! 2. Easy to prep, and use. 3. Small UV light with surprisingly long cord. 4. Works great with my other Beetles nail gel colors! 5. These last me at least 2 weeks at a time unless I want to change length or colors out. 6. So many compliments! I did these myself and I'm super pleased. I do have a stronger UV light that I use so I don't have to wait a minute per nail but the other works fine and turns on and off automatically for a minute. 😁

I have always loved doing my nails, I loved getting them done too. I have gotten acrylics done many times and they have always caused a lot of damage long term for my nails and has caused me so many issues. I decided one day that I wanted to do my nails at home because of this, the price would be much cheaper in the long run as well and I wouldn't be spending a ridiculous amount getting my nails done each time. I tried doing my own acrylics and that went horrible, I thought I wouldn't be able to do my nails at home, while getting the length I wanted, especially from having damaged nails from previous acrylics. I looked through ideas and ideas and I stumbled across a TikTok of someone talking about doing their nails at home, specifically gel extensions. I looked into them and stumbled across this brand specifically. Since I have gotten this brand, I have done my nails numerous times, I have saved so much money and I have just enjoyed the time doing my nails and taking me time every few weeks. These nails are super easy to apply and they last for a long time, they're also incredibly strong and don't bend easily. The brand itself is amazing and has great products. If you are like me and plan on doing your nails at home, it is a good idea to also get gel polish (colors and top coat), nail art brushes, extra nail files, a larger LED lamp for curing all of the nails at once instead of individually as well as a nail drill. All of these products have made doing my nails at home incredibly simple. It is also incredibly helpful to get nail polish remover (a big bottle) and some cotton pads, and some of those nail holders for easy removal. When you are removing the nails, it is as simple as cutting the ends, giving them a little bit of a file and soaking them in nail polish remover. They come off super easy and leave no damage to your nails. My nails have always been healthy and strong, and doing my nails like this has kept them healthy and strong, and helped them grow as well. For long lasting nails, I find it helpful to use the clear gel that comes with this and apply it to your nail, cure for 30 seconds so its not completely cured, buff the inside of the nail a little (with acetone/nail polish remover, or the nail drill), pull the nail a little bit away from the cuticle to leave space for growth, and then blend the nail to the natural nail for easy and seamless growth. Hopefully that is some help! I really do like these nails a lot and I recommend them to anyone who is thinking about getting them!