UNITY All-In-One Colour Gel Polish by Bio Seaweed Gel - Swatches and Review

These products were provided by the company for review. 

Receiving free samples do not affect my opinions. 

Geez! I can't believe I finally get to write this post. It has been a long couple of weeks of not embracing my addiction in the usual way, but instead approaching it in a very different way.

When I was contacted by Bio Seaweed to review their products I was very excited because I had never tried gel polishes before and it was very unlikely that I would have tried them otherwise. This is what I got:

• UNITY All-In-One Colour Gel Polish in Coral Reef and Funky Fuschia*. 
• Diamond Shine Top Gel Polish
• Nail File, Nail Buffer and Toe Separators
• Instructions
• UNITY All-In-One Colour Gel Polish Catalog

First of all, I just want to share the product information I received via email when I was contacted:

UNITY All-In-One Colour Gel Polish by Bio Seaweed Gel is the first ever professional gel polish with top, base, colour & strengthener all-in-one bottle. (4 PRODUCTS in ONE Bottle)
Bio Seaweed Gel is the most versatile and innovative Gel System available today. But most importantly, it is the healthier gel polish choice.
Here is a brief list in how BSG stands out from the numerous other professional gel brands:
1. No dehydrators to thin or stain the natural nails - regardless of wear time. FORMALDEHYDE, TOLUNE, DPB, SOLVENTS & BHA FREE
2. Safe and gentle both during application and removal: no sanding, buffing, primers or bonders needed for application. The industry's quickest soak-off removal in 5 minutes.
3. Versatility: we do offer a separate Diamond Shine Top and No-Sanding Base Gel Polish, as well as a Strengthener Builder Gel to complete tip and sculpture extensions.
4. User-friendly: simple steps and self-leveling make Bio Seaweed Gel quick to learn and a pleasure to work with, our products never shrink or wrinkle - ideal for nail art
5. Innovation: UNITY All-In-One Gel Polish is the EXCLUSIVE PEDICURE PRODUCT: no top, base or cleansers needed. (the colours dry to the touch with no sticky layer unlike any other)
6. Over 150 Colours
7. UV, LED and SUNLIGHT cured!!! (Yes, sunlight!)
How UNITY Works:
1. EXCLUSIVE PEDICURE PRODUCT:
You NEVER need our Top or Base Gel Polish, or any cleansers.
2. For the hands:
a) For weak nails or extra strengthening: add BSG No-Sanding Base Gel Polish,
b) For a longer-lasting shine and extra durability (recommended always): add BSG Diamond Shine Top Gel Polish (remember to wipe with 70% alcohol when cured)

How does that sound?

I was particularly impressed by the fact that you don't need to have a UV or LED lamp to curate it, but it might not be as "practical" as it sounds, more on that later on.

The other things that I found interesting were the promise of no stains (common problem for us nail bloggers) and the only-5-minutes soak-off removal.

Before I get to the review, I just want to reiterate that I have never tried any gel polishes before, so I have nothing to compare them with.

Second, I wore the polish for exactly 8 days on my left hand, those are the swatches you will see, and kept it on one finger of my right hand for 15 days after application to see the wearing after that long.

Outdoors

Indoors

It's really hard to capture the super cool shimmer in Funky Fuschia so I had to take the unflattering picture with flash! Ironically this is not the scariest picture on this post. But isn't pretty?

PROS AND CONS OF MY EXPERIENCE

PROS:

• The colors are BEAUTIFUL! I always say I'm not a big fan of pink, but once in a while I make an exception when I like the added bonus like the sparkly glitter on the light pink and the shimmer on the burgundy. It doesn't get better than that. And not only those, but the selection is quite extensive, for whatever you taste is I would say. You can check out the complete catalog here.
• You don't need to worry about base coats, strengthener or anything else, this thing will do all the work by itself!
• It build up on your nails. I have to explain this one a bit better: The coats dry sort of hard on your nails, just like gel nails would do, and they feel hard and strong without being thick and fake-looking which is my biggest pet peeve for acrylic nails.  Basically, the nails feel strong enough to prevent breakage.
• It really takes 1 minute, if not less, to dry, no kidding! 
• Pigmentation, consistency and brushes are perfect, I'm very picky about those thing and these 3 elements combined just add to easy and perfect application.
• They last A LONG TIME. When I finally took them off after 2 weeks, the only problem was my nail grow, and my nails grow a bit too fast for my taste, but I see no reason why you couldn't just have a close to perfect mani for 2 weeks without having to do anything after application. I'll show you a picture later.
• It's the best thing ever for nail art, since the polish won't dry until you expose it to the sun (or lamp), you don't have to fear mistakes or tape-manis gone bad (you know it happens a lot) you can just wipe it off with some alcohol without messing with your already curated coats. This is a HUGE sell point for me.
• The topcoat is AWESOME! You think Seche Vite is as good as it gets in quickest drying time. Well... nope. How does it sound having your nails ready to go in just ONE minute? Yeah, we like that.
• All you need to know about the application/removal process is available on their website. Take 10 minutes to check out their instructional videos and you'll be a pro. It also comes with very detail instructions, so there's really no reason why you shouldn't get it right the first time. An important tip though, it might sound obvious, but it wasn't to me! When you curate your nails, make sure you get direct sunlight on the sides of your nails, especially if you have curvy nails like mine. The first time I did it, I thought I was good to go, only to discover that the sides where still wet and I ended up wiping that off and just having a thick line in the center of the nail.
• It's 3-free (refer to product information for details). I have to confess I really don't care about this point, but I know that a lot of you prefer to use 3-free products, so you can check that on the list.

After exactly 15 days this is how it looks like. Notice how perfectly shiny it still is, that was very impressive. The biggest problem is the nail grow, but I can't stop my nail from growing, and I actually try! There's a bit of tip wear, but keep in mind I'm always using nail polish remover, so that really contributed to it. Either way, I would have taken them off earlier because the nail grow would have bothered me way before the tip wear started, but given that I'm not particularly careful with things like wearing gloves when doing dishes or protecting my right hand when using nail polish remover on my left, this thing is beyond amazing.

CONS:

• I hated depending on the sun. If I were seriously interested in gel polish, I would have gotten the lamp. Don't get me wrong, the sun gets the job done, but you're limited to do your nails on sunny days only. Forget about this lousy Florida summer full of cloudy and rainy days or doing your nails at night like I always do, you have to chase the sun! This is not really a flaw I attribute to BSW, but it's something you need to keep in mind before you decide to skip the lamp.
• You have to soak your nails in acetone for 5 minutes. This is supposed to be the quickest (and less damaging) removal process, but it takes a toll on your cuticles. It could not be a big deal if you only do it twice a month, but I suffer enough with my cuticles as if. So don't forget to treat your nails and cuticles to a high quality cuticle oil after removal.
• Not all the polish comes off with just soaking. There's some pushing and filing/sanding required to remove it completely. You need to be really careful not to hurt your nail beds in the process or your nails will thin and weaken. Again, it shouldn't be a big deal if you only do this a couple of times a month, but you kind of have to know what you're doing so you don't hurt your nails.

And this is the really scary picture, I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this picture, but it kinda proves my point and how harsh soaking your fingers in acetone can be. It's quickly fixable, but I would still be concerned about going through this too often.

Also, that was as far as it went in the removal and I had to sand off what you see on the picture, which is not easy being so close to the cuticle!

To summarize, I'm pretty pleased with this product. It's not necessarily fitted for nail bloggers that like to do their nails daily, but I can totally see my mom, for example, loving a product that will last this long, stay shinny and chipping/wearing free. I do however think this is something I will wear pretty much exclusively on my toes as I don't feel the need to get pedis everyday and it's even better during the summer when you're out in the pool or the beach. Not every nail polish survive a day of water, salt, sand and sun, and this is a great alternative. I can also see myself using BSW when I'm out of vacation and I don't want to be thinking about doing my nails everyday. It's a great addition to the always growing nail polish invasion in my house.

Don't forget to visit BSW Website for more information. You can also order directly from their BigCartel store and you will find everything you need and more.

If you have any questions, please leave them below. I will contact BSW if I don't know the answer, or you can use the contact form on their site.

How do you think this compares to your experience with gel polishes if any? Would you trade regular nail polish for these? I want to know how you like them! I might try some other colors or brands in the future!

*Fuschia is the name on the bottle. The spelling confused me so I researched it. The correct spelling is indeed Fuchsia, but that is not the name of this color. I'm just nerdy like that, so I figured I'd share in case you were wondering too. 
- There's also some inconsistencies on this post about the spelling of the word color/colour. Since the brand is Canadian, the product description is spelled with an U, but my references to color are not. None is wrong or right, it's just a cultural difference.