Best gel nail kits for manicures at home in 2022

Best: Overall

This is an extensive kit, containing everything you need for an at-home salon experience. Complete with an LED lamp, a bottle of nail prep solution and gel remover, lint-free cloths, base coat, top coat, cuticle sticks, a glass nail file, buffing block and eight gel colours, Mylee has created a thoughtful kit that’s brilliant for those used to regular gel manicures. We loved how much colour choice there was, allowing you to create a multi-coloured manicure, if you wish!

Our favourites were Hollywood twist and gold digger – silver and gold shimmery shades that felt festive but not tacky. The consistency of the gel is quite thick, which took some getting used to, as only a thin layer is required, cured under the lamp before another layer is added to build colour. The lamp is roomy too, and allowed us to fit our whole hand comfortably under it with ease.

While the most expensive on our list, it’s well worth the investment thanks to the variety of gel shades included and all the tools you could ever need. The hand cream, cuticle sticks and cuticle oil also mean, that once you’ve finished curing your top coat, you can still enjoy a pampering treat that will simultaneously keep nails and skin healthy while minimising any damage.

Best: For vegans

Small but mighty, one of the main appeals of this set is its compact size, which easily fits into a bedside drawer, and isn’t bulky or heavy either. However, its main selling point is that it’s plant-based, with vegan formulas that sit between a traditional polish and a gel. They give a glossy finish and can swiftly be taken off using nail polish remover. As a result they’re less damaging to nails and don’t come with a time-consuming removal process that can take up your whole evening.

In this kit you’ll find a UV lamp, nail polish remover, base, topcoat and two colours of your choice. There’s an extensive 25-shade range available to chose from – our favourite is anémone, a brilliant raspberry red.

It’s not quite as speedy as other kits we tried, because you can’t comfortably fit all five fingers under the lamp, so we resorted to four fingers and then our thumb separately, which of course adds on time. That said, it didn’t detract from how easy it was to use. The more careful you are with your hands, the longer your manicure will last, and we got a full seven days out of ours, before chipping one while opening boxes.

Best: For a speedy manicure

This compact kit contains all the essentials for a fuss-free gel manicure at home. It comes in a neatly packaged box containing a LED/UV lamp, top and base coat, a 20 pack of cleanser wipes, a nail file and buffer and three full size gel polishes – a bright red, glossy black and dusty pink. Our favourite part of this kit was its speediness, requiring only 30 seconds of curing under the lamp for the base coat, then 60 seconds per coat of paint, and finally 60 seconds once you’ve applied the top coat.

The instruction booklet is clear and easy to follow, and the cleanser wipes do a great job of tidying up the cuticles before you put your hand under the lamp, which meant the end result was a lot neater. This is ideal if you want to invest in a gel nail kit without spending a huge amount, and we think for under £60 it’s quite reasonable, as the three colours it comes with are full size. Just be careful to ensure you only apply a very thin layer, the first time we tried this we made the mistake of applying one that was too thick, which meant keeping it tidy was tricky.

You can’t, however, fit all five nails under the lamp comfortably, so make sure you’re careful not to touch freshly applied gel polish, which would ruin your handiwork when moving hands about. We opted for the pillarbox red, which resulted in a beautiful glossy finish that lasted a full 10 days.

Best: Fool-proof kit

We loved the thinner consistency of the trio of gel shades that came in this kit, with one full size and two minis. It’s incredibly simple to use – a fool-proof kit you can’t go wrong with. Our only gripe is that it’s not immediately clear how long to leave nails under the UV lamp for, but once we’d read over the FAQ’s on Semilac’s website and found it was 120 seconds for the 36 watt machine, the rest was easy.

Don’t be put off by the small size of the minis, which include the base and top coat, the brush picks up a lot of product but doesn’t require a huge amount to coat the entire nail. We were very impressed with the results from this kit, with glossy, smooth nails that lasted nearly two full weeks.

Best: For long lasting results

Another compact kit is this one from Gellux, which comes with four shades; white, pale pink, dark pink and red, along with a cuticle oil, two nail files and a buffer, a base/top coat, a fast bonding clear solution, prep solution and remover. While the shades themselves are easy to apply with a wide brush that easily coats the nail, it doesn’t come with a lamp, which you need to buy separately, thus creating an added expense that would have been more convenient to include with the kit.

We tried using it with the Gellux mini LED lamp (£50.90, Justmylook.com) which was incredibly small but required only 30 seconds of curing time. Due to its small size, you can’t fit all five fingers in it, but it only has one button setting – which is for 30 seconds – and then it will turn off, so you don’t need to remember how long your nails have been under it for while you scroll through TikTok. 

The fast bond is a coating to be applied before the base coat, and helps the gel polish stay on the nail for longer with less chipping, and we did notice a difference, getting a full 12 days out of them before we saw any sign of wear. If you’re prepared to spend more to get the LED lamp and the starter kit, this is an excellent set that’s easy to use and delivers long-lasting results.

While this one is currently out of stock, you can sign up to be notified by email when it makes its comeback.

Best: For aspiring nail techs

One for aspiring professionals, this is a great kit for perfecting your gel application and removal. While you need to buy the LED/UV lamp separately (£39, Edgenails.co.uk), altogether it provides you with the tools you need for the entire process. Containing two gel colours, a peachy orange and a classic red, along with a top and base coat, acetone for removal, nail prep solution, two nail files, cuticle sticks, lint free pads and soak off bandages, it’s a well thought out set that has everything you need.

We used two coats of the peachy orange colour, which was enough to create an opaque finish, and the brush distributed product evenly across the nail. This left a lovely glossy finish and lasted very well without chipping for nearly two weeks (we were very careful not to scuff our nails).

The removal process of gel nails is a time-consuming process, and many gel nail kits often don’t include the tools you need to take the colour off. One of our favourite aspects of this kit is the 40 soak off bandages, which enable you to remove a full set of gel nails four times.

Best: For nail protection and nourishment

Each step in this kit only takes 30 seconds under the LED lamp, and while you cannot fit five fingers in it at a time, it dramatically reduces the time we used to spend waiting for our nails to air dry. This too comes with the tools to create a salon-quality manicure, as well as everything you need to remove them safely.

In it you’ll find the LED lamp, top coat, base coat, cuticle oil, purifying prep solution, buffer block, accessories kit with nail buffers, files, lint-free wipes and cuticle sticks, removal wraps and a miniature pale pink shade.

While we would have liked to see a full size gel colour, or more selection of shades for the price, it’s easy to follow the instructions, and the set provides a speedy way to achieve a high quality finish. The removal wraps are foils with an attached piece of cotton so removing them is a simple process too.