First Impressions: No Rub Power Gel Polish Remover

Recently Sandi at Cutepolish posted a video review of Nail-Aid's new No-Rub Power Gel acetone nail polish remover. It's advertised as an easier, cleaner way to remove polish, and comes in two formulas: Glitter and Nail Art and Stubborn Dark Polish. Sandi's videos were my gateway to nail art, and even though my inspirations are more diverse nowadays, I still value her opinion. The power gel seemed simple enough, and since it worked well for her, I decided to pick up the Glitter and Nail Art formula. The results were... mixed.

I started out using it to remove the jelly sandwich mani I put on a few days ago. I figured this would be a good way to test this product out since it was a thick layer of polish with multiple glitters. If it could power through this mani with its multi sized glitters and crazy layering, this stuff could do anything.

Before Power Gel

I was less than impressed with the results, though. The gel left little glitters all over from the jelly base, and didn't even put a dent in the big heart glitters. I still had to go in and remove quite a bit of polish with my regular remover. The gel was also sticky and hard to wash off of my fingers, which I found quite unpleasant-it was like having glue under my nails. Blech.

After Power Gel

Nevertheless, I really wanted to like this product, so I gave it a shot with a less stubborn glitter, Julep Cameron. Those results were much closer to what I'd hoped for. The polish wiped off pretty easily. In this round, I learned that you can't be dainty with this remover, the nail has to be fully coated in gel for the full four minutes to work. I was surprised at how gentle it was on my fingers for an acetone polish. It didn't leave my nails and cuticles crazy dry as I feared it might. I topped with cuticle oil once my nails dried like I normally do, and they looked and felt fine. As a side note- when they recommend rubbing it off with a paper towel, this is a very deliberate recommendation. In an attempt to avoid said stickiness, I tried to dab a little off with a cotton ball. As you can see a little bit below, that did not end well. This product seems to work best when you follow instructions exactly.

So does it work? My verdict is that it's too soon to tell. I was initially disappointed, but this Power Gel redeemed itself a bit on the second round. It was very easy to use, clean aside from the initial stickiness while washing it off, didn't have an unpleasant or even particularly noticeable smell (as long as you don't get too close), and overall did what it said it does...kind of. The ease of use makes it worth giving another try with a few more types of manis to see if it's something I would use on a regular basis.

Have you tried this yet? What were your first impressions? Tell me in the comments!